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A combination action is a system designed to capture specific organ registrations to be recalled instantaneously by the player while he is playing. It usually consists of several numbered general or divisional pistons (buttons) situated in the space between manuals at the console. Each piston is programmed by the organist with a particular registration that will be activated when the piston is pressed. This allows the organist to change registrations on the fly, without the assistance of a registrant.
Uses
Systems
The most widely used combination action in newly built organs has at its heart a system of electronics. The combinations are stored in a computer memory. Larger organs or organs played by several organists or guest artists sometimes feature a system of memory levels: each organist is assigned a level or a range of levels and is able to keep his registrations separate from those of other organists who play the instrument. This is especially useful in academic and concert settings, as it makes it unnecessary for organists to write down their registrations and reset the pistons every time they sit down at the organ. Some organs feature a disk drive which enables the organist to save combinations to a floppy disk or other removable media. To set a combination, the organist pulls the desired stops, holds the setter button (usually labeled "Set") and presses the desired piston.
Another system still in use, but no longer built into new organs, is an electropneumatic capture system. The organist must hold the desired piston down while pulling the desired stops. Due to its nature, this system cannot be outfitted with memory levels.
Some organs dating from the early twentieth century which have not had updates to their combination action will have a setterboard inside the console or the organ case; to change a combination the organist must go to the setterboard and make the necessary alterations there.
Saint-Sulpice
The combination action in the organ at the church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris deserves special mention. It was designed by the renowned French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll. Because the organ predates the advent of electricity, there are no pistons or toe studs. The combination action consists of six stop knobs, one for each division of the organ, connected to a system of pneumatics. When one of these knobs is pulled, the registration on its respective division may be altered without the stop changes taking effect. When the knob is pushed back in, the new registration sounds. Using this system along with the pédales de combinaison, an organist (and an assistant or two) can prepare elaborate registrations in advance of their use during a performance. Unlike a modern electrical combination action, this system cannot retain combinations to be recalled later; registrations must be prepared on the spot. It is, in spite of its shortcomings (which are only recognized in light of present-day combination actions), an ingeniously designed system that was groundbreaking for its time.
Sequencers
In recent times, sequencers have become an integral part of combination actions, primarily on large organs. A sequencer allows an organist to program a list of registration changes and advance through it by pressing a piston labeled "+" (or regress through it using a "–" piston). It becomes unnecessary for the organist to push the proper piston; he must only press the "+" piston and the next registration in the sequence will be activated. Some sequencers have an "all pistons plus" feature, which makes all the pistons on the console (excepting the General Cancel and the "–" pistons) function like the "+" piston; in this case the organist can press any piston which is in convenient reach to advance through the sequence.
Using a sequencer can remove many of the complications related to changing registrations during a performance that have traditionally plagued organists. However, there is a school of thought that decries the use of the sequencer on the grounds that it makes organ playing too easy. Members of this school hold that working one's way through general and divisional pistons during a piece is an integral part of playing the organ, and that the advent of the sequencer has resulted in a generation of organists who cannot play a large organ without using sequencing their registrations.