Use and Abuse of the Organ

The “organ-building boom” demonstrable for the region of Austria as well in the fifteenth century should not obscure one fact. The scope, value, and functions of organ playing within the church remained partly disputed, and by no means uniformly regulated, right up to the Reformation era.[35] Its place as an ecclesiastical instrument in its own right, documented as early as the thirteenth century at Admont Abbey, long remained the exception.[36] As a rule, organ playing during the liturgy required special authorization, even where it was welcomed. However, continual complaints about abuses show that the instrument had prevailed by around 1500. By then it was used in the solemn liturgy of all the larger churches of the German-speaking lands. The nomination of a patron saint in the figure of St Cecilia contributed to promoting its use in church.[37]

At the start of the fifteenth century, the use of the organ was still restricted to the highest feast days. Within a few decades it evidently expanded to all Sundays and feast days. It established itself in a close relation to the human voice, as a factor that abbreviated the singing or replaced it in phases in a technique of alternation (“alternatim” practice).[38] The extent and quality of its use depended on the rank of the feast, and sometimes on that of the celebrant. This could at times even influence the choice of tempi and stops.[39] There were no uniform rules for liturgical participation. Precise stipulations of the duties were only rarely set down, as in Hans Buchner’s contract of employment at the cathedral of Constance in 1512.[40])

Even so, the performance of the Mass Ordinary was usually divided entirely between singers and organist. The organ was also used regularly in certain parts of the Proper (Introit, Gradual, Communion), during the offertory, and for hymns, psalms, the Magnificat, and the Te Deum. It opened and closed the liturgy and accompanied processions. Only in Advent and Lent did it fall silent, except on the feasts of Candlemas and the Annunciation.

Complaints about improper use in worship run like a recurring thread through the history of organ playing, well into the sixteenth century. However, the frequent repetition and renewal of official prohibitions evidently had little effect.[41] Among the most denounced abuses were two: the playing of music deemed too secular — chiefly dances — and playing that became intrusive because it was too frequent and too long. A visitation of Garsten monastery in 1419 complained of the latter.[42] Because organs could not convey text as did the human voice, a suspicion persisted  that the meaning and message of the word were also lost.

Little is known about organ playing in secular contexts, though it is well documented iconographically. The repertoire is likely to have consisted mainly of intabulations of vocal pieces and of dances. Landini, Paumann, and Du Fay all had themselves portrayed with the portative. Yet the portative, like the positive and the regal, counted as a primarily courtly or domestic instrument.