Vox humana
Encyclopedia
The Vox Humana is a short-resonator reed stop
on the pipe organ
, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice
. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant
, which undulates the wind supply, causing a vibrato
effect. The vox humana is intended to evoke the impression of a singing choir or soloist, though the success of this intent depends as much upon the acoustics
of the room in which the organ speaks as it does the voicing
of the pipes. It is almost invariably at 8′ pitch, though on theater organs it is not uncommon to encounter a chorus of vox humana stops at 8′ and 4′ pitch, with the addition of a 16′ acting as a pedal stop.
The vox humana is one of the oldest reeds in organ building, based on its appearance in very early instruments. It is common on French classical organs in the 17th and 18th centuries, where it was used as a solo voice. The vox humana also appears on German and Dutch organs of the period, though not as frequently as in France. French organs in the 19th and 20th centuries almost invariably featured a voix humaine in the Récit (the most commonly enclosed division of the French romantic organ), though by this time the literature
had evolved and it was used to play rich, harmonic chordal progressions. Many American organs built in the romantic style include a vox humana in order to facilitate the playing of this literature.
Vox humana stops in very old organs had a fairly wide variety of designs and tonal qualities. It was during the nineteenth century that the design became fairly standardized. Today, most builders construct vox humana pipes in approximately the same way, though the scaling
will vary between builders and according to the tonal style in which the organ is designed. The actual sound of the pipe is dependent upon the voicer, with an open "O" or a long "E" sound probably being the most common result.
Occasionally, an organ will feature a stop knob marked "Vox humana" that does not engage a rank of pipes, but rather the tremulant instead. While it is seen not infrequently in pipe organs, this usage of the term is more common on the harmonium
and the american reed organ
.
The Italian "Voce Umana" is not a reed stop, but rather a Celeste Diapason; that is, a Diapason rank which is slightly out of tune, producing an undulating effect.
Reed pipe
A reed pipe is an organ pipe that is sounded by a vibrating brass strip known as a reed. Air under pressure is directed towards the reed, which vibrates at a specific pitch. This is in contrast to flue pipes, which contain no moving parts and produce sound solely through the vibration of air...
on the pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice
Human voice
The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc. Its frequency ranges from about 60 to 7000 Hz. The human voice is specifically that part of human sound production in which the vocal folds are the primary...
. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant
Tremulant
A tremulant is a device on a pipe organ which varies the wind supply to the pipes of one or more divisions . This causes their pitch to fluctuate, producing a vibrato effect. A large organ may have several tremulants, affecting different ranks of pipes...
, which undulates the wind supply, causing a vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
effect. The vox humana is intended to evoke the impression of a singing choir or soloist, though the success of this intent depends as much upon the acoustics
Acoustics
Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics...
of the room in which the organ speaks as it does the voicing
Voicing (music)
In music composition and arranging, a voicing is the instrumentation and vertical spacing and ordering of the pitches in a chord...
of the pipes. It is almost invariably at 8′ pitch, though on theater organs it is not uncommon to encounter a chorus of vox humana stops at 8′ and 4′ pitch, with the addition of a 16′ acting as a pedal stop.
The vox humana is one of the oldest reeds in organ building, based on its appearance in very early instruments. It is common on French classical organs in the 17th and 18th centuries, where it was used as a solo voice. The vox humana also appears on German and Dutch organs of the period, though not as frequently as in France. French organs in the 19th and 20th centuries almost invariably featured a voix humaine in the Récit (the most commonly enclosed division of the French romantic organ), though by this time the literature
Organ repertoire
The organ repertoire consists of music written for the organ. Because it is one of the oldest musical instruments in existence, written organ repertoire spans a time period almost as long as that of written music itself. The organ's solo repertoire is among the largest for any musical instrument...
had evolved and it was used to play rich, harmonic chordal progressions. Many American organs built in the romantic style include a vox humana in order to facilitate the playing of this literature.
Vox humana stops in very old organs had a fairly wide variety of designs and tonal qualities. It was during the nineteenth century that the design became fairly standardized. Today, most builders construct vox humana pipes in approximately the same way, though the scaling
Organ flue pipe scaling
The subject of this article is technical in nature and requires an understanding of organ terminology. This is in the process of being rectified. Many of the terms used here are defined in the pipe organ article....
will vary between builders and according to the tonal style in which the organ is designed. The actual sound of the pipe is dependent upon the voicer, with an open "O" or a long "E" sound probably being the most common result.
Occasionally, an organ will feature a stop knob marked "Vox humana" that does not engage a rank of pipes, but rather the tremulant instead. While it is seen not infrequently in pipe organs, this usage of the term is more common on the harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
and the american reed organ
Reed organ
A reed organ, also called a parlor organ, pump organ, cabinet organ, cottage organ, is an organ that generates its sounds using free metal reeds...
.
The Italian "Voce Umana" is not a reed stop, but rather a Celeste Diapason; that is, a Diapason rank which is slightly out of tune, producing an undulating effect.