Orgel

As Printed on a Score

The German name on organ staves (Orgel), usually three staves — two manuals and the pedal (Pedal, Ped.). German registration terms and directions such as volles Werk (full organ) may be printed above the part.

How Composers Use It

Writing Orgel rather than Organo is a matter of language, natural in German scores; Strauss’s Also sprach Zarathustra opens on a low organ pedal note beneath the orchestra. The instrument’s logic is unchanged: sustained, stop-controlled sound, crescendo by adding stops or opening a swell box, and a pedal line on its own staff.

Related Terms