(Ger. volles Werk; It. organo pleno, pieno).
An organ registration. Perhaps because the early monastic Blockwerk organ apparently created a loud and undifferentiated noise, ‘full organ’ in the sense of ‘loud organ’ has always meant the use of as few (or as many) stops as will make the maximum of impression with the minimum consumption of wind. Before the invention of stop actions, the undivided Blockwerk of Principals was itself the full organ throughout north-west Europe; since then, with the introduction of flute and reed stops and the separation of the Blockwerk into several single or multiple ranks, organ makers have been careful, when allowed, to specify which stops are likely to give the best effect. Each school has its own kind of full organ, some having more than one, depending on the period and the kind of music concerned. In France, for instance, the organ in the church of St Michel, Bordeaux (1510), was given seven new jeux, the loudest of which was apparently a grand jeu. The classical Grand jeu comprised the reeds and the jeu de tierce of both Great organ and Positif, and the Plein jeu was based on the diapason or principal ranks, including mixtures, of both Great organ and Positif. In Italy, the ripieno (or pieno) was based on single ranks, excluding flutes (Antegnati, 1608) and sometimes including (Principal) Tierce ranks.
The character of the congregation-accompanying Hoofdwerk in Flanders and the Netherlands, changed in character from vocal (Krewerd, 16th century) to bright and sharp (Arp Schnitger, 17th century) and to French style (Gouda, 1736). In England the terms ‘full organ’ and ‘Great Organ’ were inevitably practically interchangeable since there were very rarely any manual couplers. William Russell's Voluntaries (first book, 1804) specified ‘Full Swell’ as well as ‘Full Organ’; his second set (1812) has ‘Full Organ without the Trumpet’. John Marsh (1791), a sensitive player, suggested five ‘kinds of the full Organ’ to be obtained by adding stops to the basic Great chorus. The Spanish plé (16th century) indicated the chorus in general, and lleno (17th century) the main Mixture.
From das Werck at Haguenau (1491; the total chorus Mixture excluding the Diapason and Zimbel) to Mattheson's treatises of 1721, the German organ progressed towards an ideal of heavier and thicker plena for massive effects in Preludes, Toccatas and Fantasies, in which reeds were not used. Praetorius and Werkmeister insisted that the narrower-scaled (strings) and wide-scaled (flutes) ‘families’ of stops should not be used together.
PETER WILLIAMS, MARTIN RENSHAW