Pierced ... English

Listed only by Wedgwood, who says:

Pierced is a prefix synonymous with “slotted”. A slot is an opening cut in the side of the pipe near the top. When of narrow diameter it has the effect of weakening the ground tone of large-scaled pipes, and of rendering them somewhat horny in character. Small-scaled pipes are also affected by “slotting”, though not to the same extent. Gambas and Viols are generally slotted - as much for the purpose of facilitating tuning as for anything else. Sometimes the prefix, Pierced, refers to an arrangement similar to that described under Keraulophon. St. Asaph Cathedral (Hill). The word was also used by Lewis. When applied to stopped pipes, the prefix, Pierced, implies that a hole is bored through the stopper, in fact, that the pipes belong to the class known as Half-Stopped Pipes.

Examples

Pierced Gamba 8', Choir; Christchurch Cathedral, New Zealand; Hill 1880.

Bibliography

Wedgwood[1]: Pierced.
 
Copyright © 1999 Edward L. Stauff, all rights reserved.
Pierced.html - Last updated 6 April 2000.
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