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Contra Gamba Italian (Primary)

Contre Gambe French

Grossgamba German


Description:

A Gamba stop pitched an octave lower than normal, at 16' (manuals) or 32' (pedal). According to Hopkins & Rimbault, it was frequently used by Henry Willis. Irwin describes its tone as �rich, brilliant, but not especially loud�; Audsley calls it �string-like ... but not so pronounced as to be imitative�. According to Audsley, it is constructed from cylindrical open metal pipes of medium scale. The name Contre Gambe does not appear in the literature, but we assume it to be a synonym. Irwin alone lists Grossgamba as a synonym, but other information shows it to be a different stop; see Grossgamba.


Examples:

Osiris contains about six dozen examples. All are at 16' pitch except for three at 32' pitch, of which 2 are electronic.

Contra Gamba 32' (metal), String Pedal Organ; John Wanamaker Store, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

Sound Clips:

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Contra Gamba 16', Solo
Kellogg Auditorium, Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
Aeolian-Skinner, 1933,
St. Anne (8va):
This page was last last built on June 24, 2020
Original site compiled by Edward L. Stauff. For educational use only.