Salamine English?
Solamine unknown

A rare stop apparently used by only two organ builders. Its name was supposed to imply the sound of waves on the island of Salamis in Greece.

Forster & Andrews of Hull, England placed one in the organ they built for the Church of All Souls, Halifax. (Neither Audsley nor Wedgwood saw fit to specify which of the dozen Halifaxes in the world; we can only assume they meant the one in England.) Audsley reports that it was of 8' pitch, small scale, metal, and had “a delicate tone slightly inclining to stringiness”. Wedgwood characterizes it as an Echo Dulciana, and says that it formed a celeste with a Vox Angelica. He provides the following scaling information:

Tenor C compass; T.C. pipe, diameter, 1 7/8 in.; width of mouth, 1 3/8 in.; cut up 3/8 in. The stop is scaled to the 17th note throughout (i.e., the diameter halves on the 17th semitone), and speaks on a pressure of only 1 1/2 in.

Meyer of Hanover also used the stop in at least two instruments in his home town: Market Church and St. John. (Again, we must assume Audsley and Wedgwood meant the English Hanover.) We have no particulars regarding these stops, but Wedgwood lists Salamine as occurring at both 8' and 4' pitch, and Sumner describes it as an Echo Salicional, mentioning both builders. Sumner also dates these stops around the end of the 19th century. According to Maclean, Meyer spelled the name Solamine.

Irwin mentions it only in passing as “a Salicional - Principal hybrid of very soft intonation”.

Bibliography

Audsley[1]: Salamine. Irwin[1]: Salicional. Maclean[1]: Salamine. Sumner[1]: Salamine. Wedgwood[1]: Salamine.
 
Copyright © 1999 Edward L. Stauff, all rights reserved.
Salamine.html - Last updated 13 November 2001.
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