A loud, large-scale Diapason, nearly always of 8' pitch, invented by Robert Hope-Jones. While Audsley claims that it is constructed in the same was as a normal Diapason, most other sources describe it as having leathered upper lips. Irwin describes the upper lip as having a roll of pipe metal, serving the same purpose as leathering, but being more durable. This treatment, according to Irwin, “gives it a pervasive, dull, round tone that is unfit for use as a base-tone for any type of Diapason Chorus.” He describes it as a solo voice, unfit for hymns or polyphonic music. Maclean describes its tone as “rich, full, and strongly foundational”, and says that it “blends well with other stops of similar pitch and character, but failed to combine effectively with upper octave and mutation ranks”.

Examples

Osiris contains ten examples, all at 8' pitch except for one at 16'.

Diapason Phonon 8', Swell; City Hall, Portland, Maine, USA; Austin 1912.

Diapason Phonon 8', Swell; First Church of Christ, Scientist, San Francisco, California, USA; Kimball 1924.

Diapason Phonon 16', 8', Great; Worcester Cathedral, Worcester, England; Hope-Jones 1896. Bonavia-Hunt considered this a particularly fine example.

Bibliography