Designing the Organ Case: Interviews with Selected Organ Designers and Builders

Abstract

This study investigates the artistic process of designing organ cases through a series of semi-structured interviews with three currently active, well-established designers working since 1970 – Lynn Dobson, Didier Grassin, and Gesa Graumann. These interviews probe the aesthetic, architectural, visual, and engineering considerations and rationale informing the organ case design process required for a successful musical instrument and art object. Chapter One introduces the basic concepts of the organ case, the purpose and need for this study, biographical sketches for the three interviewees, and research procedures. Chapter Two offers a two-part literature review, tracing the history of the organ case and a survey of scholarship written by designers. Chapter Three details interviews individually, highlighting distinctive thoughts and themes expressed by each respectively. Chapter Four places Dobson, Grassin, and Graumann in ‘conversation’ by identifying various points of commonality and disagreement. A brief conclusion and suggestions for further research concludes the chapter. Complete transcriptions of all three interviews are provided in the appendix.