The Brick Gothic Phenomenon in Northern Germany

What strikes one immediately in the north of Germany is the uniformity of the style of architecture of the major churches. Throughout Schleswig-Holstein and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern the cathedral-size edifices have certain things in common. They are all massively-built gothic churches with high arching naves, some of which are well over a hundred feet in height, and they are made of brick. This last element creates a significant difference in feeling from the churches of the south of Germany or from the great French cathedrals whose soaring features have a more delicate nature about them. The use of bricks makes for a monumental effect that is striking from within and without. The Nikolaikirche in Wismar has a vaulting of 37 meters, which is the second highest in Germany after that of the Marienkirche in Lübeck, which rises to 40 meters. The steeples of the Marienkirche in Lübeck reach the height of 125 meters and are the center-pieces of the Lübeck skyline which emphasizes a row of seven church towers in the island core that is the city center. The Marienkirche of Stralsund in Ostvorpommern is 96 meters long with a vaulting of 32 meters, and the Baroque organ of 1659 is the last work of one of Lübeck's most famous organ builders, Friedrich Stellwagen. Not only is it his last work, but it is one of his largest organs (III/51) in a case that is absolutely spectacular, which rivals that of St. Bavo's in Haarlem, Holland. One cannot help but be inspired without even having heard a note from the instrument. This feeling is reproduced in the other brick gothic churches, where the combination of a formidable organ case blends so well with the aesthetic value of the architecture.

A common quote from a variety of sources is: "A Lutheran church must have a Bach organ." The implication would be that it must be a Baroque instrument with certain specifications and yet when one listens to Bach on a variety of organs, it would be difficult to make a definitive case for specifications, given the organs that are found in the typical North German Lutheran church, most of which are a far cry from what is labeled as a typical Baroque organ. I recall a recording by Nicholas Danby doing favorite works by Bach on the 1970 Marcussen organ (III/47) in the Cathedral of Lübeck. In the liner notes he wrote that he considered that particular instrument to be ideal for Bach's music because "of all the organs of our time, I find no other that matches its majesty and subtlety."1

One could add that the Cathedral's interior itself is quite majestic and subtle. I heard Peter Stenglein from Coburg play Bach's Toccata, Adagio and Fugue in C, BWV 564, on that organ and was impressed with the colors produced, but the instrument was just as scintillating in the final movement of Vierne's First Symphony, a piece which requires brilliance and power. Conversely a small instrument can produce marvelous effects in Bach, depending on the virtuosity and articulation of the organist. I think of Simon Preston's recording on DGG of some of Bach's major works, including the Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565, on the Kreuzbergkirche organ (II/24) in Bonn. There is a strength that easily matches the sound produced by much larger organs, but the style is a winning one.

It is clear that Bach appreciated larger instruments, including those that had features not normally associated with a Baroque organ. In the Oxford Composer Companions book on Bach (edited by Malcolm Boyd), it is stated that "The 18th century Thuringian organ is characterized by an increasingly generous number of 8' flue stops, including string stops of delicate but incisive timbre, with a slight purr or sizzle, and with a characteristic initial speech suggesting the bowstroke of a string instrument. The 8' flue stops, together with an ample number of 16' and 32' stops, provide gravity of tone."2 There tended to be relatively few reeds, but Silbermann was known for having powerful reeds, which he adopted after having studied with his brother, Andreas, in Strasbourg. His implementation of reed stops of power and brilliance had a considerable influence on organ building throughout Germany for generations.

Two instruments directly provide significant information on the question of a Bach organ because of the fact that Bach played and appreciated both of them. In the Schlosskirche in Altenburg, Thuringia, the Tobias Heinrich Gottfried Trost organ (II/36) was praised by Bach for its workmanship and the character of its individual stops. One can play his most ambitious works on it. Zacharias Hildebrandt built the organ of the Wenzelskirche (III/53) in Naumburg between 1743 and 1746. Both Bach and Silbermann examined the instrument and found it successful. This organ has many 8' stops, but also has a full array of 16' stops and mixtures. There is a full complement of high-pitch stops and even by today's standards would be considered a relatively large organ. The case is elaborately decorated and quite spectacular. The Totentanz organ (IV/56) in the Marienkirche in Lübeck is noted as a Bach organ and Ernst-Erich Stender, the church organist since 1972, has played the entire gamut of Bach's works on this organ with great success. If one examines this instrument, which was built by the Führer Orgelbau of Wilhelmshaven in 1985, one finds a broad base whose divisions have a diversity of stops, including a total of 13 reed stops which give the organ a shine and power that one usually associates with very large instruments. It does not have any 32' stops, but is abundant in 8' and 16' stops. This organ is capable of playing romantic and modern compositions with success, but is usually limited to Bach, Buxtehude and their contemporaries in concerts.

Romantic and modern compositions are usually played on the V/101 Kemper & Sohn organ that was installed in 1968. Interestingly enough, Ernst-Erich Stender played major pieces of practically all of the well-known composers for the organ in the summer of 1999 and this represented a considerable feat of virtuosity. Featured at different times were the works of Liszt, including Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, the Prelude and Fugue on BACH, Ad nos, ad salutarem undam, Reubke's 94th Psalm, Franck's Pièce héroïque, and Choral No. 3 in A-minor, plus works by Vierne, Widor, Langlais, Alain, Reger, Jongen and Messiaen. This is a daunting show of virtuosity on the part of the organist, and the instrument produces a sound that is significant in size, color and brilliance. The organ sits so high in the West Tower that one can barely make out the organist when he takes a bow after a concert. This has to be the highest loft in the world and just thinking of the 40 meter vaulting in the nave puts one in awe.

In pursuing the work of the three Friedrichs--Ladegast, Friese and Stellwagen--it is noteworthy to see how their organs dove-tail with the style and architecture of the churches for which they were built. The Ladegast organ in the Schweriner Dom was basically untouched by the Second World War and was restored in the late 80s by Schuke VEB of Potsdam. This organ, IV/84, has essentially the same specifications as the organs in the Cathedral of Merseburg and the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig and represents Ladegast at the height of his powers. We know that Franz Liszt's major pieces and Reubke's 94th Psalm were first performed on the Ladegast organ in Merseburg Cathedral, and this is interesting because the installation was early in his career. There is a similarity with Silbermann's experience in Saxony in that he was given the contract for the large organ of the Freiberger Dom after having had very little experience. A recent recording by Christoph Schoener on the Mitra label of Liszt's Ad nos, ad salutarem undam and Reubke's 94th Psalm on the organ in Schwerin gives ample testimony to the fact that it matches or surpasses the Merseburg organ in color, brilliance and power. And in comparing these performances with all the other recordings that I know of the pieces, I would say that they hold their own comfortably with the competition. In a concert in July 1999, Andreas Liebig, an organist from Oslo, played Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on BACH, and the organ responded brilliantly. The acoustics of the cathedral are very good,  and one senses a warmth as well as a monumental quality to the sound. The organ was dedicated in 1871, some sixteen years after the dedication of the Merseburg instrument, which brought Ladegast instant fame.

That organ was built with 81 stops on four manuals and pedal and with its 5686 pipes was the largest in Germany at the time. The Hauptwerk had 20 stops, the Oberwerk 16, the Brustwerk 14, the Rückpositiv 11 and the Pedal 20. Liszt was so impressed with reports of the organ that he immediately sought to hear it. The Leipzig music critic, Dr. Franz Brendel, a champion of the North German school, wrote on August 31st, 1855, in the "Neue Zeitschrift für Musik," of which he was the editor, "that this instrument opened a new phase in organ-building, in which things have been achieved here that had never been attained on any other organ."3 In his review of the dedication he wrote "it was the unanimous feeling that this is a musical instrument that establishes the organ-builder as an outstanding master. The character of this work is different from any other organ. Insofar as power and fullness (body and depth, using all the stops) it is clearly the best; however it is also unique in the softer and peaceful stops. There is a euphony and mellowness to it that we have not yet heard from other organs. The sound is, to describe the main point in a couple of words, poetic nature."4

The large organ has retained the Baroque case of 1716, but was rebuilt by Schuke of Potsdam in 1984. Most of the restoration work in the former East Germany has been done by two companies in the north, Schuke of Potsdam or Wilhelm Sauer Orgelbau of Frankfurt/Oder and two in the south, Eule Orgelbau of Bautzen and the Gebrüder Jehmlich Orgelbau of Dresden. Obviously there are other companies, but it is interesting to note how many times these four firms have been mentioned since the time of the Second World War with respect to building new organs or restoring historic ones.

Following Merseburg, Ladegast moved from strength to strength and in the large organs he showed what he had learned from other sources, having particularly profited from studies with Cavaillé-Coll in France. Clearly additions were made to his art in the construction of the Nikolaikirche organ in Leipzig (IV/84) in 1862. Here he introduced the Barker lever and divided the wind chests of three manuals into two compartments, which made the playing easier and made a difference in the wind pressures as well as bettering the air intake. Johann Gottlob Töpfer's book of 1855, Theorie und Praxis des Orgelbaus, laid down principles for the specifications of pipes, wind chests, bellows and wind trunks, and Walter Ladegast writes that this organ was the first large organ that put Töpfer's principles into practice.5 This organ has had rebuilds and additions by the Wilhelm Sauer Company of Frankfurt/Oder and now has 94 stops.

   The other major organs that Ladegast built and which still exist include

1. The Marienkirche in Weissenfels (III/41) in 1863. This is where he had his workshop.

2. The Schlosskirche in Wittenberg (III/39) in 1864. The organ was rebuilt and enlarged to IV/56 in 1993-1994 by Eule Orgelbau of Bautzen. Knobs in different colors indicate the origin of the stops--red for the original ones, light red for the rebuilt ones, two Sauer stops are brown and the new Schwellwerk is in black. As such, one can play the organ with only the original specifications if one wishes.

3. Stadt-und Kathedralkirche St. Jakob in Köthen (III/47) in 1872. This organ was restored in 1993-1994 by Christian Scheffler.

4. Kreuzkirche in Posen, now Posnan, Poland (III/43) in 1876. This organ has not been altered.

5. Stadtkirche St. Marien in Ronne-burg (III/32) in 1879. The organ was restored in 1992-1993 by Rösel & Hercher Orgelbau of Saalfeld.

6.  St. Johann's in Wernigerode (III/33) in 1885. This organ was an example of his using cone chests as opposed to the slider chests that he had used in his earlier organs. There was a full restoration by Schuke of Potsdam in 1989/1991 with a view to putting the organ back into its original condition.

7. The Kirche "Zu unserer lieben Frauen" in Mittweida (III/42) in 1888. In a rebuild in 1931 by the Jehmlich Brothers of Dresden, the case and pipes were used.

I did not mention the organ of the Grosser Saal der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (III/52) in Vienna, which was installed in 1872, because it was replaced by a Rieger (IV/71) in 1907, which was replaced by an even larger organ (IV/100) in 1968 by Walcker of Ludwigsburg.

  We have to look at the organ of the Schweriner Dom to see what would have to be considered his magnum opus because it is now the largest of those that are in as close to an original state as possible. This instrument of 5197 or 5235 pipes, depending on the source, has 84 stops divided over four manuals and pedal and sits high in the West Tower of the Cathedral. It is an impressive sight and the sound surrounds one in the nave and is characterized by brilliance in the reeds and tremendous power in the 32-foot pedal stops. The key action uses the Barker lever, and  a combination action allows crescendo/

decrescendo. The pipes are 97.8% original (according to the report that the Schuke Company had written at the time of the restoration) and the tin pipes were "built according to Silbermann's principles."6 This last quote has been mentioned in a number of sources and stresses the point that Ladegast used Silbermann as his model with respect to the fashioning of the pipes. This instrument is capable of playing the entire literature and is equally as effective in Bach as it is in the moderns. A number of recent recordings give ample testimony to this point.

Schwerin is the home base of Friedrich Friese, who is little known outside of the region. Friese built primarily smaller instruments, and the II/31 organ of the Paulskirche in Schwerin, whose restoration was completed by Kristian Wegscheider at the end of June, 1999, is a good example of a medium-sized organ which produces airy sound that has heft and which is comfortable in romantic as well as baroque music. The celebrations in the summer of 1999 included a series of six concerts in which one of the Mendelssohn sonatas was played as part of the program. There is brightness at the top and the strings sing. The Paulskirche is a large brick church whose acoustics rival those of the Cathedral.  A number of other churches in Mecklenburg have Friese organs and they tend to be two-manual instruments with 20 + stops. In Schwerin itself, there is also the organ (II/33) of the Nikolaikirche, better known as the Schelfkirche because of the section of the city in which it is located, which was restored within the last few years and which typifies the clear sound of a Friese organ.

Another notable one is in the Georgenkirche in the city of Parchim, which is not too far from Schwerin. Here we have an organ (II/25) that is in a case which is quite similar to that of the Paulskirche in Schwerin. The church is not as large as some of the others, but still has an air of power because of the brick element.

Lastly we come to Friedrich Stellwagen, who is known in North Germany for two organs in particular. The small organ (III/31) in the Jakobikirche in Lübeck, which dates from 1636-1637, was a renovation project that included a new Brustwerk and Rückpositiv. Fortunately this church was not destroyed during the Second World War, and the organ survives with restoration work done in 1978 by the brothers Hillebrand. His last and largest work (III/51) was installed between 1653-1659 in the Marienkirche in Stralsund. This instrument has been maintained by different sources over the years and underwent a restoration in 1959 by the firm of Alexander Schuke of Potsdam in order to reclaim the original scalings of 1659. Further work has been done on the organ since then, and currently the church is undertaking a major fund drive to do a definitive restoration of the organ. Martin Rost, the organist at the Marienkirche, expects this project to be a very costly one and indicates that world-wide help would be appreciated. The account for the project at the Deutsche Bank in Stralsund is: 5440144-01 (Stellwagen-Orgel Stralsund).

Needless to say, this is one of the great organs in the world, one whose sound matches the incredible decoration of the case. If majesty were an adjective that one would apply to an instrument, it would certainly fit here. The first track of a recording that is available at the church tells the whole story.7 Martin Rost plays Nicolaus Bruhns' Prelude in e minor and one is struck immediately by the extraordinary sound that emanates from the organ.

Stellwagen came from Halle and moved to North Germany in 1630 and was considered the best student of Gottfried Fritzsche. Gustav Fock thought that he was the most significant conduit to Arp Schnitger, who is generally considered the most famous German organ-builder of the seventeenth century.8 Stellwagen added new stops to those introduced in the north and, in particular, was known for his Trichterregal (a type of horn or trumpet) in the Rückpositiv. Fock mentions that it was a "Schalmey construction, with a longer, slightly conical resonator and wide conical top."9  This stop is also found in the Jakobikirche organ in Lübeck.

One could easily continue with descriptions of other organs of importance in the area such as those in Güstrow (the Cathedral and the Stadtkirche), Greifswald (the Cathedral) or in the Nikolaikirche in Wismar, whose Mende organ (II/30) has a striking case and stands out because of the extraordinary mass of the interior of the church.

In Stralsund there is also the Nikolaikirche which has an historic Buchholz organ (III/55) of 1841 as well as a new Baroque-style organ (II/22) of 1986 by Schuke of Potsdam. This church has the dimensions of  the Marienkirche and the organs stand out impressively. In Rostock the Marienkirche was one of the few buildings in the heart of the city that escaped the bombing of the Second World War, and the elaborate case of the Paul Schmidt organ (IV/62) of 1766-1770 still stands. The organ was rebuilt and enlarged to 85 stops in 1983 by the Sauer Orgelbau of Frankfurt/Oder. The architecture of the church is in keeping with that of most of the large churches of North Germany and mirrors the same visual effects.

Not so far from Lübeck is the island city of Ratzeburg, which features the fortress-like Cathedral that contains an organ (IV/76) that has been widely recorded. The original organ was built by Rieger in 1978 and was subsequently enlarged and revoiced in 1993-94 by Glatter-Götz Orgelbau of Owingen. The Cathedral contains two smaller organs of recent vintage--the Choir organ (II/20) by Rieger (1972) and Michael Becker (1996), and the Becker Paradies organ (II/15) of 1985.

Suffice it to say that North Germany is a region that contains organs that would interest any aficionado and which make a visit worth while.10              n

Notes

                  1.              CBS Masterworks recording, CD MDK 45807, Bach Organ Favorites by Nicholas Danby.

                  2.              Oxford Composers Companions, J. S. Bach (Malcolm Boyd, Editor), Oxford University Press, 1999, p. 339ff.

                  3.              Friedrich Ladegast-Der Orgelbauer von Weissenfels, by Walter Ladegast, Weiding Verlag, Stockach am Bodensee, 1998, p. 54.

                  4.              Ibid.

                  5.              Ibid, p. 64

                  6.              cf. Notes from Mitra Schallplatten,  CD16245, Christoph Schoener an der Ladegast Orgel im Dom zu Schwerin.

                  7.              Die Stellwagen-Orgel von 1659 in St. Marien zu Stralsund, Discus STW 95906, Martin Rost spielt norddeutsche Orgelmusik, 1995.

                  8.              cf. Gustav Fock, Hamburg's role in Northern European Organ Building (Translated and edited by Lynn Edwards and Edward C. Pepe), Westfield Center, Easthampton, Massachusetts 1997.

                  9.              Ibid, p. 71.

                  10.           Other sources of information. All translations with the exception of the Fock were done by the author.

Die Orgelbauten der Residenzstadt Schwerin, Julius Massmann, Wismar, 1875. Commentary and additions by Hermann J. Busch and Reinhard Jaehn, Merseburger, 1988.

Wiedereinweihung der Ladegast-Orgel im Dom zu Schwerin, Evangelischer Presserverband für Mecklenburg, e. V., 1995

Die Schweriner St. Paulskirche und Ihre Orgel, im Auftrag der St. Paulsgemeinde Schwerin (Christian Skobowsky), 1999.

Einweihung der rekonstruierten Friese-Orgel in der Schelfkirche zu Schwerin, Kirchgemeinderat der St. Nikolai (Schelf), 1994.

Die Stellwagen-Orgel von 1659 zu St. Marien, Stralsund, Gemeindekirchenrat St. Marien, Stralsund, Rügen-Druck, Putbus, 1995.

Die Orgel der St. Marien-Kirche zu Rostock, Stiftung St.-Marien-Kirche zu Rostock, e. V.

Die Restaurierung der Mende-Orgel von 1845, Kirchgemeinde St. Nikolai Wismar, 1995.

Ratzeburger Dommusiken 1999, Ratzeburger Domchor (KMD Dr. Neithard Bethke), 1999.

CD, Orgelkonzert im Schweriner Dom, Jan Ernst spielt an der Ladegast-Orgel von 1871, Domkantorei Schwerin, 1997.

CD, Orgelmusik in St. Nikolai zu Stralsund, Evangelischer Kirchengemeinde St. Nikolai, Stralsund, 1998.

CD, Ornament 11445, Johann Sebastian Bach, Grosse Orgelwerke, Ernst-Erich Stender an der Totentanzorgel in St. Marien zu Lübeck, 1991.

Aldo J. Baggia is Chairman of the Department of Modern Languages and Instructor in French, Spanish, German, and Italian at Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire. He holds a Bachelor's degree from Iona College and the MA from Middlebury College, and has completed graduate work at Laval University and Duke University. He has pursued postgraduate studies in France, Germany, Austria, and Spain, and travelled extensively in Europe. He has written reviews for Quarterly Opera Review, Opera, Opera News, Orpheus, Monsalvat, and The Diapason.

St. Marien, Stralsund

HAUPTWERK

                  16'          Prinzipal

                  16'          Bordun

                  8'             Oktave

                  8'             Spitzflöte

                  51/3'     Hohlquinte

                  4'             Superoktave

                  4'             Hohlflöte

                  2'             Flachflöte

                                    Rauschpfeife II-IV

                                    Mixtur VI-X

                                    Scharff IV-VI

                  16'          Trompete

OBERPOSITIV

                  8'             Prinzipal

                  8'             Hohlflöte

                  4'             Oktave

                  4'             Blockflöte

                  4'             Kl. Quintadena

                  22/3'     Nasard

                  2'             Gemshorn

                                    Scharff IV-VII

RÜCKPOSITIV

                  16'          Gr. Quintadena

                  8'             Prinzipal

                  8'             Gedackt

                  8'             Quintadena

                  4'             Oktave

                  4'             Dulzflöte

                  2'             Feldpfeife

                  11/2'     Sifflöte

                                    Sesquialtera II

                                    Scharff VI-VIII

                                    Zimbel III

                  16'          Dulzian

                  8'             Trichterregal

                  4'             Regal

PEDAL

                  24'          Gr. Prinzipal

                  16'          Prinzipal

                  16'          Gedacktuntersatz

                  8'             Oktave

                  8'             Spitzflöte

                  4'             Superoktave

                  4'             Nachthorn

                  2'             Feldpfeife

                                    Mixtur IV

                  16'          Posaune

                  8'             Trompete

                  8'             Dulzian

                  4'             Schalmei

                  2'             Cornett

Aldo J. Baggia is the retired chairman of the department of modern languages and instructor in French, Spanish, German and Italian at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire. He has studied and traveled extensively in Europe and has written numerous opera reviews for various publications as well as articles for The Diapason.

Niederrhein (Lower Rhine) is a small part of Westphalia that borders the Dutch cities of Arnhem and Nimegen, which had great importance in the Second World War because of their strategic locations as entrances to Germany. They are dealt with at great length in the well-known film, A Bridge Too Far. They are also culturally important because of their relationship with the towns of Niederrhein. Linguistically, one sees the relationship in the fact that the Dutch language is readily understood in the towns on the immediate border. It is very common for Dutch people to shop in a town such as Kleve, which is on the border, rather than in Holland, because the prices are better. It is normal to see the parking lot at the City Hall in Kleve with half of the cars having Dutch plates. When crossing into Holland, such as we did when going to ’s-Hertogenbosch to see the famous organ at Sint Jan’s Kathedraal, we saw very few cars besides our own with German plates.
The cathedral at Den Bosch is a magnificent gothic structure that dates from 1220, and the grand organ, III/48, with its Coptic oak case, dates from 1617, although it was not ready for use until 1622. Franz Symons, a carpenter from Den Bosch, and Georg Schysler, a sculptor from the Tirol, were responsible for the beautiful case. After work by various builders, the organ, which has 3,000 pipes, was completely restored in 1984 by Flentrop. The choir organ, II/29, by Verschueren, was installed in 1985. A recording by Jacques van den Dool shows the grand organ to very good effect in pieces by Bach, Reger, Messiaen, de Grigny, Guilain and van den Dool.1
Before going to Niederrhein, I tried to buy a guide book of the area in a large bookstore in the city of Bamberg. In the travel section, there were hosts of books dealing with what seemed to be every conceivable area of Germany, but, to my surprise, there were no guides of Niederrhein. I inquired at the desk and was told that there were no guides of Niederrhein because it was not a tourist area. I found this hard to believe, but had to accept the reality of the situation. Later, I did find a few guide books when I arrived in the city of Kleve, which, as mentioned previously, is right on the border with Holland. The whole area has towns that are quite similar, with an emphasis on pilgrimage churches (Wallfahrtkirchen) that serve as a common touch. The churches tend to be very large with good-sized organs and are the focal points of the towns.

Kevelaer
Kevelaer is the most famous pilgrimage place in Niederrhein, and its Marienbasilika has the largest organ in the area (IV/128). The town was bombed during the war, but not everything in the town center was destroyed, and the main street leading to the tower of the basilica looks as though it had not been touched for hundreds of years. The Marienbasilika organ originally had 124 stops, and additions were made in 1926, bringing the total to 131. At that time it received electric action, and a four-manual movable console was built. In the last days of World War II, the echo organ was destroyed, leaving the instrument with 110 stops. A restoration by Seifert in 1977 brought the organ of 10,000 pipes to its current total of 128 stops.2 The sound is quite dramatic because of the excellent acoustics that really enhance the power and majesty of the instrument. The recording mentioned in the endnotes features works by Reger, Liszt, Reubke (The 94th Psalm), and Karg-Elert. The airy quality of the sound is clear and leaves nothing to be desired.

Seifert & Sohn IV/128
Marienbasilika, Kevelaer
Unterwerk (I)
16' Pommer
8' Principal
8' Grobgedacht
4' Octave
4' Koppelflöte
2' Octävlein
2' Querpfeife
1-1/3' Spitzquinte
Sesquialter II
Scharff IV
Cymbel III
16' Cor anglais
8' Hautbois
Tremulant

Hauptwerk (II)
16' Principal
16' Bordun
8' Principal major
8' Principal
8' Fugara
8' Flaut major
8' Gamba
8' Gemshorn
8' Gedacht
8' Quinteviole
8' Doppelflöte
51'3? Quinte
4' Octave
4' Hohlflöte
4' Fugara
4' Flauto
4' Seraphon-Octave
3-1/5' Terz
2-2/3' Quinte
2' Octave
2' Flöte
1' Octavin
Cornett IV
Mixtur V
Scharff V
Rauschquinte II
16' Tuba
8' Trompete
4' Feldtrompete

Oberwerk (III)
16' Gedacht
8' Principal
8' Doppelgedacht
8' Rohrflöte
8' Flaut harmonique
8' Quintatön
8' Seraphon-Gamba
8' Cello
8' Dolce
8' Vox angelica
4' Octave
4' Rohrflöte
4' Violine
4' Flaut dolce
2-2/3' Nasard
2' Octave
2' Piccolo
1-3/5' Terz
Progressio III
Mixtur IV
Octavcymbel III
Scharff V
Rauschpfeife II
16' Fagott
8' Trompete
8' Clarinette
4' Schalmei

Schwellwerk (IV)
16' Lieblich gedacht
8' Principal
8' Geigenprincipal
8' Konzertflöte
8' Gedacht
8' Aeoline
8' Vox coelestis
8' Quintadena
4' Gemshorn
4' Traversflöte
4' Octave
4' Nachthorn
2-2/3' Quintflöte
2' Flautino
2' Superoctave
1-3/5' Terzflöte
1-1/3' Quinte
1' Sifflöte
Mixtur V
Carillon III
Terzcymbel III
Paletta III–VII
16' Tuba
8' Trompete
8' Krummhorn
8' Vox humana
4' Clairon
4' Celesta
Tremulant

Pedal
32' Contrabaß
32' Untersatz
16' Principalbaß
16' Octavbaß
16' Salicetbaß
16' Violon
16' Subbaß
16' Gedachtbaß
10-2/3' Quintbaß
8' Principal
8' Baßflöte
8' Dulciana
5-1/3' Quinte
4' Fugara
4' Octave
4' Flöte
2' Clarine
Mixtur VI

Hintersatz V
32' Bombarde
16' Posaune
16' Trompete
8' Trompete
8' Fagott
4' Clairon

Normal couplers
Crescendo
2 free combinations
Pedal combination
3 Tutti
Electropneumatic action
Source: Psallite CD 60131. Romantische Orgelmusik (an der großen Orgel der Marienbasilika zu Kevelaer – Orgelbau Romanus Seifert & Sohn)

Next to the basilica there is the Kerzenkapelle (the candle chapel), which has an outside collection of hundreds of candles that have been left by pilgrims. It includes an organ, II/28, which was originally installed in 1843, and rebuilt and cleaned by the firm Seifert & Sohn, which had moved to Kevelaer during the construction of the new organ for the Marienbasilika in 1906.3
The pilgrimages in honor of the Blessed Mother date from the middle of the seventeenth century, and the Kerzenkapelle was built during the years 1643–45. By the second half of the century there were from 18,000 to 20,000 pilgrims on feast days, and today Kevelaer is known as the largest pilgrimage center in northwestern Europe with over one million visitors per year.4
The organ of the parish church of Kevelaer, Sankt Antonius (III/42), was also built by the firm of Seifert & Sohn and dates from 1987. It has 2,915 pipes and benefits from the excellent acoustics of the church. This church was badly hit during World War II, but has been completely rebuilt in a manner that shows off its pre-war splendor.5

Xanten
One might wonder why a large cathedral was built in Xanten, a small town with the unusual name beginning in “X,” but its history is quite telling. In 15 B.C., the Romans built a large military camp called Castra Vetera I. This lasted until 69–71 A.D., when it was destroyed and replaced by Castra Vetera II. North of the military complex, a civilian settlement was planned and created in 105 A.D., with the name Colonia Ulpia Traiana, through the good graces of the emperor Marcus Ulpius Traianus. At the time, this was a fairly large area only 23 hectares smaller than the Colonia that was the provincial capital, known today as the city of Köln (Cologne).6
In October 1933, professor Walter Bader discovered two graves located in the present-day crypt that date from the years 348–350 A.D. They were identified as Christian soldiers in their thirties, who subsequently became the symbol of the strong faith of the people in this area.7 Martin Ahls indicated that the name “Xanten” is, in effect, a derivative from “Ad Sanctos,” which means “next to the saints.” He went further to answer his own question as to why a cathedral was built in this rather remote town on the Lower Rhine:

This question is answered when we go into the crypt. Although it is the most recent part of the cathedral, built after the excavations made in our century, it contains the very core of its history: the tomb of two Christians who were slain in the fourth century. This tomb of the Holy Martyrs is the center and the starting point of religion on the Lower Rhine and at the same time it is the key that helps us understand the construction of the cathedral and of the town: Here people wanted to pray and to live—next to the Saints. History gave the Martyrs a name: Viktor—the victor even beyond death.8
After the war, it was decided to add urns filled with ashes from the concentration camps of Auschwitz, Bergen-Belsen, and Dachau as memorials to all who suffered from the atrocities of the Nazi regime.9
The cathedral can be seen from afar, inasmuch as it is such a large edifice. The organ, III/45 with 3,293 pipes, is the largest that the cathedral has ever had and was built by Seifert & Sohn of Kevelaer in 1973–1975.10 The instrument has a free-standing case on the floor in the back of the church and can effectively play the repertoire from Bach through Messiaen. The symbolic nature of the cathedral is of paramount importance to the citizens of the town, and the restoration that was done after the severe damage of World War II fits in well with the original construction work. A curious aside is that Xanten is featured in the Nibelungenlied and was supposedly the birthplace of Siegfried.11

Seifert & Sohn, III/45
Dom St. Viktor, Xanten
Hauptwerk
16' Praestant
8' Prinzipal
8' Rohrpfeife
4' Oktave
4' Koppelflöte
2' Superoctave
Kornett V
2' Mixtur V
Cymbel III
16' Trompete franz.
8' Trompete franz.
4' Clairon

Schwellwerk
8' Holzflöte
8' Viola da gamba
8' Schwebung
4' Venezianerflöte
2-2/3' Nasat
2' Querflöte
1-3/5' Terz
1' Schwiegel
4/7' Septime
1-1/3' Mixtur IV
16' Basson
8' Hautbois
Tremulant

Rückpositiv
8' Metallgedacht
4' Prinzipal
4' Rohrflöte
2' Gemshorn
1-1/3' Quinte
Sesquialter II
Scharff V
8' Cromorne
Tremulant

Pedal
16' Prinzipal
16' Untersatz
102/3' Quintbaß
8' Oktavbaß
8' Rohrpommer
4' Choralbaß
4' Spitzgedacht
2' Nachthorn
5-1/3' Rauschwerk IV
2-2/3' Hintersatz V
16' Posaune
8' Trompete
4' Schalmei

Constructed 1973–1975
45 stops (3,293 pipes)
Mechanical key and stop action
Normal couplers, 3 free combinations, Pleno, Tutti
From the liner notes of Psallite CD 60161

Kleve
If one looks at a map, one can see how the towns of Niederrhein are interrelated; the concept of so many pilgrimage churches makes sense. Kleve, right on the Dutch border, suffered as much as the Dutch cities of Arnhem and Nimegen, the largest cities on the Dutch side. This area represented one of the Allied entry points into Germany, and it is quite clear that the towns on the German side suffered tremendously because of this.
A small book that was published in Kleve in 1964 alludes to one of the biggest problems the people in this area had.12 According to the author, “the British and Canadian troops advanced without having the slightest understanding of the many-sided problems a people living under a dictatorship had, and therefore on German soil they saw every German as a Nazi.”
The organ of the Stiftskirche or St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, III/45, was built by the Austrian firm Rieger in 1991 and is primarily used to accompany congregational singing during Mass. However, a recording by Martha Schuster playing romantic and post-romantic works shows what heights the organ can achieve.13 The case, as one can see, is quite modern. Kleve is known in legends as having a relationship with Lohengrin, who is certainly well known because of Wagner’s opera. A modern fountain in the pedestrian zone of the city shows a swan pulling at Lohengrin. The symbol of the city is the Schwanenburg (the Swan’s castle), which dominates the city along with the towers of the Stiftskirche nearby.

Rieger III/45
Stiftskirche St. Mariä Himmelfahrt, Kleve
Grand Orgue (I)
16' Montre
8' Montre
8' Flûte harmonique
8' Salicional
8' Bourdon
4' Prestant
2' Doublette
2' Fourniture IV
1' Cymbale III
8' Cornet V
16' Bombarde
8' Trompette
4' Clairon

Positif (expressive) (II)
8' Principal
8' Bourdon
4' Octave
4' Flûte douce
2-2/3' Nasard
2' Doublette
1-3/5' Tierce
1-1/3' Larigot
1' Plein jeu IV
8' Trompette
8' Clarinette
Tremblant

Récit Expressif (III)
16' Quintaton
8' Flûte traversière
8' Viole de Gambe
8' Voix céleste
4' Flûte octaviante
2' Octavin
III Carillon (2-2/3' + 1-3/5' + 1')
16' Tuba magna
8' Trompette harmonique
8' Basson-Hautbois
8' Voix humaine
4' Clairon harmonique
Tremblant

Pédale
32' Soubasse
16' Contrebasse
16' Soubasse
8' Basse
8' Bourdon
4' Flûte
32' Contrebombarde (ext)
16' Bombarde
8' Trompette

Mechanical key action
Electric stop action

Kalkar
Very near Kleve lies the small town of Kalkar, which profits from a quaint setting. The Nicolai Kirche’s intricately cut wood carvings make up much of the decoration that surrounds the different altars, as well as the elaborate casework of the organ (Seifert & Sohn, III/34). The first organ of the church dated from 1457, and from 1684 there was a baroque instrument. That was replaced in 1867–72 by a two-manual and pedal organ of 30 stops by the Rheinberg builder Bernhard Tibus (1815–1896). The Cologne architect Heinrich Wiethase designed a late-gothic case that is still in use today. Holger Brülls writes about this organ and the subsequent ones in an article cited below. One notes the influence of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, and the Dombauinspektor (cathedral building inspector) Friedrich Schmidt praised the organ for its workmanship. The placement of the organ varied from the west tower to the south portal, where it is currently situated. The instrument was replaced in 1904 by Franz Tibus, but retained the Wiethase case. The two-manual and pedal organ on pneumatic cone chests was in line with German organ building of the late romantic years. In the late 1960s, Seifert & Sohn (Kevelaer) built an electric-action slider chest three-manual and pedal organ of a neo-baroque character and retained the Wiethase case. The organ has 2,450 pipes. It received some additions in the year 2000 during the course of interior renovation work in the church; two octave couplers and a new stop (Trompette-harmonique 8') were added. Jan Szopinski is the Cantor of St. Nicolai Kirche. Typical of the towns in the area, near the main square there is a picturesque windmill that was converted into a restaurant.14

Wesel
Driving directly west from Kleve, one encounters the city of Wesel, which has a very large Protestant cathedral (Dom) in the city center. The destruction during the war was substantial, and it is sad to see the pictures on display in the interior. It is a church of enormous scope, and the rebuilding was done over the span of many years, i.e., from 1947 to 1994, with the support of the Willibrordi-Dombauverein (Dom building association). The intent was to bring back the medieval nature of the Dom.15
The steeple stands high over the center of the town, and the only drawback is the fact that most of the windows are of plain glass. I don’t know what the situation was before the bombing, but there is no question that stained glass would have been extraordinary. It would have created a remarkable image in the interior because of the height of the windows. The organ, built by Marcussen & Søn of Denmark in 2000–2001 (III/54), is a very impressive instrument in a freestanding position in the west part of the church, and the case is striking. The acoustics are very good, and two recordings feature the instrument in repertoire from Buxtehude, Pachelbel, Bach, and Mozart through Franck, Mendelssohn, Reger, Brahms, and Messiaen. I found particularly impressive the Reger Introduction and Passacaglia in D minor, Boëllmann’s “Carillon” from Douze Pièces, and Dieu parmi nous by Messiaen.16

Marcussen & Søn III/54
Wesel Dom
Hauptwerk (II)
16' Prinzipal
8' Oktave I–III*
8' Hohlflöte
8' Rohrgedacht*
8' Gambe
4' Oktave I–III*
4' Spitzflöte
2-2/3' Quinte
2' Oktave I–III*
2' Waldflöte
Hintersatz VI–IX*
Scharf VI–VII
16' Trompete
8' Trompete
8' Spanische Trompete

Schwellwerk (III)
16' Rohrpommer*
8' Salizional
8' Voix céleste
8' Rohrflöte
8' Quintatön
4' Prestant*
4' Flüte octaviante
2-2/3' Nazard
2' Octavin
1-3/5' Tierce
Plein jeu V–VII
16' Basson*
8' Trompette
8' Vox humana
8' Oboe
4' Clairon

Rückpositiv (I)
16' Bordun*
8' Prinzipal
8' Gedacht
8' Spitzgambe*
4' Oktave*
4' Rohrflöte
2-2/3' Nasat
2' Gemshorn
Cornet II
Sesquialtera II*
1-1/3' Quinte
Mixtur V–VI
16' Dulzian*
8' Cromorne

Pedal
32' Untersatz*
32' Prinzipal*
16' Subbaß
8' Oktave
8' Spitzflöte
4' Oktave*
2' Nachthorn
Mixtur V*
16' Posaune
16' Fagott
8' Trompete

* all or partially made from pipes of the previous organ by Walcker

Bocholt
A very short distance from Wesel lies the city of Bocholt, which is in Westphalia but just outside the geographical limits of Niederrhein. The Liebfrauenkirche has a magnificent Klais organ, III/38, from 1979. I had been in touch with the Kantorin, Irmhild Abshoff, before going to Germany, and I knew something of its features from a recording that was issued in 1996 to commemorate 95 years of the parish’s work. When I arrived in Bocholt, the Kantorin was good enough to demonstrate the organ. There is no question that this is an extraordinary instrument capable of playing the entire repertoire for the organ. The recording opens with Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in G major, BWV 541, and the organ has a true baroque sound. The Kantorin also plays Karg-Elert’s Choralimprovisation für Orgel “Nun danket alle Gott,” which really shows the power and majesty of the instrument. It would be difficult to look for more. Bernhard Ratermann plays Franck’s Choral No. 2 in B minor, and here fonds d’orgue passages effectively contrast with a powerful reed-dominated tutti.17

Klais III/38
Liebfrauenkirche, Bocholt
Oberwerk (I)
8' Holzgedacht
8' Gamba
8' Unda maris
4' Principal
4' Traversflöte
2' Waldflöte
1-1/3' Larigot
2-2/3' Sesquialter II
2/3' Scharff IV
16' Basson Hautbois
8' Cromorne Trompete
Hauptwerk (II)
16' Quintade
8' Principal
8' Holzflöte
8' Gemshorn
4' Octave
4' Koppelflöte
2-2/3' Quinte
2' Superoctave
8' Cornet V
1-1/3' Mixtur IV
8' Trompete
4' Trompete

Brustwerk (III)
8' Rohrflöte
4' Blockflöte
2-2/3' Nasard
2' Principal
1-3/5' Terz
1' Sifflet
8' Vox humana

Pedal
16' Principal
8' Subbaß
8' Octave
8' Spielflöte
4' Tenoroctave
2-2/3' Rauschpfeife IV
16' Posaune
8' Holztrompete

6 couplers, 2 tremulants, 6 adjustable combinations
Mechanical key action, electric stop action

One could continue to visit other instruments in the area, but it is clear that this area is fairly typical of what one finds in Germany. The organ history in Germany is a long one and emphasizes the importance of music in the country.

First Baptist Church, Ocala, Florida

The Wicks Organ Co., Highland, Illinois, Opus 6382

In 1992, First Baptist Church of Ocala, Florida began a process of rebirth after a fire claimed all they had: furnishings, libraries, a concert grand piano, a Skinner pipe organ, choir robes, hymnals and Bibles. The congregation built a new 2,800-seat facility, which is one of the largest churches in Ocala. The final step of their rebuilding process was bringing a pipe organ into the new building.

David Kocsis, Wicks Area Sales Director writes:

Among the unique features of this project, the organ was to be a gift from a non-member--but one whose daughter and son-in-law were members. Secondly, the church provided a single sheet outlining their requirements for this instrument. The organ was to be a "supplemental" instrument, used mostly to enhance the 25-piece orchestra and 180-voice choir. It would also, upon occasion, be used as a recital instrument. They wanted an instrument of the "American Classic" school with the following characteristics incorporated: four-manual drawknob console; multiple Principal choruses; plentiful and opulent strings; a variety of flute choruses and solo stops; reeds to complement the overall instrument and offer solo opportunities; a Pedal division that offers strong, solid underpinning with at least two 32’ stops; a Trompette-en-Chamade of polished copper with flared bells; exposed pipework across entire chamber area (52 ft.) to eliminate existing latticework and grillwork; preparation on console for Chimes and Zimbelstern; MIDI capability.

Our proposal was for an instrument of 74 pipe ranks over five divisions with an additional four 32-foot computer-generated stops in the Pedal division, using the Walker Paradox system. The plan also called for (at the direction of the church) preparations for an 11-rank Solo division, and a 9-rank Antiphonal division.

We decided early on that Daniel Angerstein would tonally finish the instrument. Although First Baptist, Ocala was not a bad room, the irregular shape and carpeting did not make it acoustically live, either. Our factory-trained technician in Florida, Mr. Robert Campbell, would handle the  installation.

The specification for the instrument was a joint venture design involving Area Director David Kocsis, his associate Herb Ridgely, and voicer Dan Angerstein. After the contract was signed in late November, 1998, the three members of the design team met at the church to study the acoustics, room layout, chamber space, etc., so that detailed design work could begin. On the drive back to Atlanta, the pipe scales for the organ were discussed and finalized. The entire organ would be on 5" wind pressure with the notable exception of the Trompette-en-Chamade, which was to be on 10" wind pressure, and the Choir division English Tuba on 12". In order to "ring" the room, the Great 8' Principal would be built to a 40 scale, and the Great 8' Montre a 42 scale. One of the features of the design is the placement of the lowest pipes of the Pedal 16' Open Wood in the organ facade, stained to match the rest of the woodwork in the sanctuary. This placement allows the most profound of 16-foot foundation tone immediate access to the room. Of particular interest in the Walker system designed for this organ is that the computer-generated harp in the Choir can also be used with the Tremulant, providing a vibraharp sound.

There are several ancillary console controls that enhance ease of playing such a massive console, and also add facility to the instrument. These include: Pedal, Solo and Swell Melody couplers to the Great, all Swells to Swell, all Mixtures Off, all 32's Off, All Reeds Off, and All Celestes Off. To allow maximum visibility and eye contact between the organist and the minister of music, all inter-manual couplers were placed in the stop jambs, rather than on a coupler rail. This resulted in a console somewhat wider than normal (slightly over 8 feet). There are eight divisional pistons and 15 General pistons with 32 levels of memory. A 13-position transposer is included. The main body of the casework is painted semi-gloss off white, again matching the main color in the sanctuary. The whole idea was to give the impression that the building and the organ had been conceived as an integral whole.

The first of two truckloads of pipe organ arrived in Ocala on March 22, 2000, and the second truck arrived on April 12. Installation was completed on June 3 and voicing of the instrument in the room began on June 5. The logistical problems associated with installing a large pipe organ are many. The crew faced a 52-foot facade that begins 12' above the top choir riser and extends upward to accommodate full length 16-foot metal Principals and full length 16-foot Open Wood pipes. Bob Campbell's crew had scaffolding from floor to ceiling that would cover one of the four sections, and it took a considerable amount of careful planning to insure that all work was completed on one bay before tearing down the scaffolding and moving it to the next location.

From the beginning of the installation, the entire organ facade was covered every Sunday during church services so that the completed installation could be unveiled at one time. This occasion occurred on Sunday, June 4, 2000. The Sanctuary was dimly lit, and at the appropriate time, the entire organ facade was lit by a battery of specially placed lighting. This was only the prelude--the organ was heard for the first time by the congregation on July 2.

We at Wicks thank the committee and staff of first Baptist Church of Ocala for placing their trust in us to build an instrument according to their wishes. In particular, we would like to thank Dr. Ed Johnson, Sr. Pastor; Mr. Terry Williams, Minister of Music; and Mr. Larry Kerner, Chair of the Organ Committee. The entire congregation placed its confidence in us from the outset, and was extremely helpful from the beginning of the detailed design process through the installation. Several members of the church also volunteered their time and talents to help with the installation, especially with fitting and trimming of the facade to accommodate slight building irregularities. This really was a "team" effort, and everyone should be very proud of the results.

The dedication of the new IV/74 instrument at the First Baptist Church of Ocala, FL will be held on Sunday, September 24, 2000, featuring John Weaver, organ chair at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia and The Julliard School of Music in New York City.

{C}

 {C}

GREAT

1. 16' Montre

2. 16'    Bourdon

3. 8' Principal

4. 8' Montre (from #1)

5. 8' Flute Couverte

6. 8' Flute Harmonique

7. 4' Octave

8. 8' Gemshorn

9. 4' Nachthorn

10. 22/3' Twelfth

11. 2' Fifteenth

12. 2' Hohlflute (from #6)

13. 13/5' Seventeenth

14. IV-V Fourniture

15. IV Cymbale

16. 16' Kontra Trompete (from #17)

17. 8' Trompete

18. 8' Trompete en Chamade (10≤ w.p.)

19. Tremulant (Flutes)

20. Chimes [D]

21. Zimbelstern

22. Pedal Bass Coupler to Great

23. Swell Melody Coupler to Great

24. Solo Melody Coupler to Great

25. MIDI on Great

{C}

 {C}

SWELL (Enclosed)

26. 16' Bourdon Doux

27. 8' Geigen Principal

28. 8' Rohrflute (from #26)

29. 8' Viola Pomposa

30. 8' Viola Celeste

31. 8' Flauto Dolce

32. 8' Dolce Celeste TC

33. 4' Prestant

34. 4' Flauto Traverso

35. 22/3' Nazard

36. 2' Quarte de Nazard

37. 13/5' Tierce

38. IV-V Plein Jeu

39. III-IV Cymbale

40. 16' Contre Trompette

41. 8' Trompette

42. 8' Oboe

43. 8' Vox Humana

44. 4' Clairon (from #40)

45. 8' English Tuba (Ch)

46. 8' Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

47. Tremulant

48. MIDI On Swell

{C}

 {C}

CHOIR (Enclosed)

49. 16' Gemshorn [D]

50. 8' English Diapason

51. 8' Flute Ouverte

52. 8' Gemshorn

53. 8' Gemshorn Celeste TC

54. 4' Principal

55. 4' Koppelflute

56. 2' Principal

57. 11/3' Larigot

58. 1' Principal (from #56)

59. II Sesquialtera

60. IV-V Scharf

61. 16' Dulzian (from #62)

62. 8' Cromorne

63. 4' Rohr Schalmei

64. 16' English Tuba TC (from #65)

65. 8' English Tuba (12≤ w.p.)

66. 8' Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

67. 8' Harp [D]

68. 4' Harp Celesta [D]

69. Tremulant

70. MIDI On Choir

{C}

 {C}

SOLO (Enclosed)

15 Prepared Stops

71. 16' Trompette en Chamade TC (Gt)

72. 8' Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

73. 4' Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

74. 16' English Tuba TC (Ch)

75. 8' English Tuba (Ch)

76. 4' English Tuba (Ch)

77. MIDI On Solo

{C}

 {C}

ANTIPHONAL (Floating)

12 Prepared Stops

{C}

 {C}

ANTIPHONAL PEDAL

1 Prepared Stop

{C}

 {C}

PEDAL

78. 32' Contra Principal [D]

79. 32' Contra Bourdon [D]

80. 16' Open Wood

81. 16' Bourdon

82. 16' Principal

83. 16' Montre (Gt)

84. 16' Bourdon Doux (Sw)

85. 16' Gemshorn (Ch)

86. 8' Octave

87. 8' Major Bass (from #80)

88. 8' Bourdon (from #81)

89. 8' Viola (Sw)

90. 8' Open Flute (Ch)

91. 62/5' Gross Terz (Gt)

92. 51/3' Gross Quinte (Gt)

93. 4' Choral Bass

94. 4' Cantus Flute

95. 2' Flute (from #94)

96. IV Grave Mixture

97. IV Acuta

98. 32' Contra Bombarde [D]

99. 32' Contra Fagotto [D]

100. 32' Cornet des Bombardes IV

101. 16' Bombarde

102. 16' Contre Trompette (Sw)

103. 16' Kontra Trompete (Gt)

104. 16' Dulzian (Ch)

105. 8' Trompette

106. 8' Trompete (Gt)

107. 8' Oboe (Sw)

108. 4' Bombarde Clarion (from #101)

109. 4' Oboe (Sw)

110. 4' Schalmei (Ch)

111. 8' Trompette en Chamade (Gt)

112. 8' English Tuba (Ch)

113. Chimes (Gt)

{C}

 {C}

[D] = Digital Ranks

{C}

 {C}

Couplers

Sw/Gt 16 8 4

Ch/Gt 16 8 4

So/Gt 16 8 4

Ant on Gt

So/Sw 16 8 4

Ant on Sw

Sw/Ch 16 8 4

So/Ch 16 8 4

Ant on Ch

Ant on So

Gt 16 UO

Sw 16 UO 4

Ch 16 UO 4

So 16 UO 4

Ant UO 4

Gt/Ped 8 4

Sw/Ped 8 4

Ch/Ped 8 4

So/Ped 8 4

Ant/Ped 8

{C}

 {C}

Charles M. Ruggles, Conifer, Colorado, has built a new organ for The Randolph Church, Randolph, New Hampshire. The organ is designed on classic models typical of instruments found in New England and European churches; two manuals and pedal, mechanical action. Its structural and tonal characteristics make it suitable for the needs of The Randolph Church--for service playing, accompanying congregational singing, and playing a wide segment of standard organ literature. The case features cherry wood frame, redwood panels, and walnut trim. The Rohrflöte 8 and Octave 2 are common between the two manuals; the Bourdon 16 is an extension of the Bourdon 8. Manual compass 56 notes, pedal compass 30 notes; standard AGO pedalboard. Couplers, operated by foot levers, include Great to Pedal, Swell to Pedal, and Swell to Great.

{C}

 {C}

GREAT

                  8'             Principal

                  8'             Rohrflöte

                  4'             Octave

                  2'             Octave

                                    Mixture

                                    Sesquialtera II (from middle c)

SWELL

                  8'             Rohrflöte

                  8'             Gamba (tenor C)

                  4'             Flute

                  2'             Octave

                  8'             Dulcian

PEDAL

                  16'          Bourdon

                  8'             Bourdon

{C}

 {C}

B. Rule & Company, New Market, Tennessee, has rebuilt and installed a Hook & Hastings organ for Covenant Baptist Church, Houston, Texas. Built by Hook & Hastings in 1893 for First Baptist Church of Georgetown, Kentucky, the organ was removed from this church in 1963. It was owned for many years by David Bottom, of Lexington, Kentucky, who set it up in several different locations before carefully putting it in storage several years ago. B. Rule recommended the organ to Covenant Baptist Church, who bought it from David Bottom. Compass: 58/27.

B. Rule & Co. rebuilt the organ, including a complete rebuild of the chests and bellows and re-covering the manual keys with bone. The hand-pumping mechanism was also restored. Two changes were made: the Dulciana was replaced with a 2' Fifteenth, and the Oboe was extended to full compass from its previous tenor C status.

The small new sanctuary has a concrete floor and live acoustics, creating an environment which encourages congregational singing. The acoustical consultant was Charles Boner. The organist of the church is Carl McAliley, who played a joint dedication recital with Bruce Power on March 4.

{C}

 {C}

GREAT

                  8'             Open Diapason

                  8'             Melodia

                  4'             Octave

                  2'             Fifteenth

SWELL

                  8'             Stopped Diapason

                  8'             Viola (1-12 from St. Diap)

                  4'             Harmonic Flute

                  8'             Oboe

PEDAL

                  16'          Bourdon

Accessories

                                    Sw/Gt

                                    Gt/Ped

                                    Sw/Ped

                                    Sw/Gt Octaves

                                    Tremolo

                                    Blower Signal

A recent trip to Europe afforded my family and me an opportunity to hear, see, and in one instance, play organs ranging from the early Baroque to the present day. The first one we encountered was a one-manual Bazzani organ in the resort community of Cavallino, Italy, dating from 1891. Its builder, Giacomo Bazzani, was the youngest son of Pietro Bazzani, also an organ builder. Pietro learned organ building with the great Venetian organ builder Callido, who learned building organs from Nacchini, so the organ at the Church of Santa Maria Elisabetta represents a tradition dating back to the 17th century.

The specification is

Principale 8' Bassi (C - c#) 

Principale 8' Soprani (d - f3) 

Ottava 4' 

Decima Quinta 2' 

Decima Nona 11⁄3' 

Vigesima Seconda 1' 

Vigesima Sesta 2⁄3'

Vigesima Nona 1⁄2' 

Voce Umana 8' 

Viola 4' Soprani 

Flauta 4' Bassi 

Flauta 4' Soprani 

Ottavino 2'

The manual compass is C - f3. The pedal stops are

Tromboncini 4' 

Trombone 8' 

Contrabassi 16' con Ottave (8')

The compass of the pedals is 18 notes starting on low C. In the lower octave of both manual and pedal a short compass is used as follows: bottom white note sounds C; next white note plays F; first black note plays low D; next white note plays G; next black note plays E; next white note plays A; the next back note plays A#, and the next white note plays B. From there the sequence is normal. The pedal board is tilted upward from  front to back at an angle of about 25 degrees.

There are no mechanical aids except for the usual tiratutti, which brings on all the upper ripieno. This is done by means of a hitchdown pedal, so it is possible to draw on the 8' Principale treble and bass with perhaps the Flauta 4' treble and bass or Ottava 4' for a mezzo forte, and then bring on the whole ripieno quickly for a forte.

The church itself is not large, seating perhaps 200, but built with hard reflective surfaces so that the full ripieno with the pedal contrabassi 16' and 8' really fills the space admirably.

I had lots of time with this instrument since I was playing a recital, and of course the classic Italian literature suits it perfectly. The sections from Zipoli's Sonate d'intavolatura came off especially well on this instrument. The manual touch is very sensitive, much like that of a German Brustwerk.

The next organ was in the tiny Austrian village of Reutte, close to the German border, near King Ludwig the Second's castles of Schwangau, Neusch-wanstein and Linderhof. In our case we had planned a trip to Linderhof and then to the Monastery of Ettal just a few miles beyond. Renting a car from our hotel, the charming Hotel Maximillian, we set out for Linderhof, driving along the Plainsee, which was indeed awe-inspiring with its deep emerald color at the base of the German Alps.

We arrived just in time for the 11:00 English tour, which took only a half hour since Linderhof was Ludwig's smallest and most livable castle. In the first room we came to a gilded instrument that we assumed was a piano, but that we were told is a combination harmonium-piano which Ludwig commissioned in the hope that his hero Richard Wagner would visit him and perform his music on it. However, this never happened.

After the tour, those of us strong enough climbed a steep hill to reach the Venus Grotto, which is a representation of the Venusberg scene from Wagner's Tannhäuser. Appropriately, we were treated to a recording of the composer's "Hymn to the Evening Star" from Tannhäuser.

Driving on to the historic monastery of Ettal, we arrived just as a visiting organist was trying out the 1753 organ built by J.G. Hoerthrich with a beautiful  gilt casework by Simon Gartner dating from 1768. The sound of the instrument was indeed impressive as the organist pitted the divisions of the organ against each other with the full principal chorus in the pedal. As we left he or she was playing Mendelssohn's "O for the wings of a dove" on a particularly full and rich 8' flute.

When we returned to the hotel and went to the dining room, I noticed an organ console on the wall to the left of the dining room's front door. Set on top were six principal pipes of tin, with the mouths fairly deeply nicked. There were also several pictures of a man playing this console. After dinner I borrowed paper and pen to copy down the organ's specification. The hotel receptionist asked me if I was interested in organs, and I told her that I was an organist, whereupon she said her father had played this organ for fifty years and those were his pictures on the top of the console. She also said he would be happy to take me by their church. A day later that's exactly what we did.

About 9 pm we drove over to the Catholic Church of St. Peter and St. Paul, an imposing 500-year-old edifice that we had passed on the way to Linderhof. It is a Baroque church with excellent acoustics. Herr Koch  told me that since disposing of the 1817 organ, they had signed a contract for a new Vershuren instrument of 31 registers. He said, very proudly, that it was a 4-manual and that there would be six solo stops such as oboe, clarinet, etc. on one of the manuals.

They were using an electronic instrument in the meantime and he invited me to play it. After improvising briefly, I played a memorized piece and then invited him to play. He did so and I had a chance to listen to the ambience of the building. The touch of the Viscount instrument was very hard--so hard that it was difficult to play legato.

Readers may be interested in the specification of the old organ since it sheds light on early 19th-century instruments. The builder was Franz Reinisch of Steinach, Tirol, and it was his opus 158. The Hauptwerk includes

Bourdon 16' 

Prinzipal 8' 

Prinzipalino 8' 

Hohlflöte 8' 

Salizional 8' 

Oktav 4' 

Flöte 4' 

Quint 22⁄3' 

Superoktav 2' 

Mixtur 11⁄3' 

Trompete harmonic 8'

The Schwellwerk:

Geigen-Prinzipal 8' 

Gedeckt 8' 

Quintaton 8' 

Prästant 4' 

Rohrflöte 4' 

Waldflöte 2' 

Cornett 2' 

Zimbel 1'

There was a blank knob on the Schwell and I asked Herr Koch if there was an 8' Oboe on the division  but he said there wasn't. However, between his rudimentary English and my elementary German there was much room for misunderstanding, so we can only surmise what the blank represented. The pedal:

Violonbass 16'

Subbass 16'

Echobass 16'

Oktavbass 8'

Choralbass 4'

Posaune 16'

There are a number of mechanicals as well as a crescendo pedal and a Schwellwerk pedal.

Leaving the colorful Tyrol landscape behind, we boarded the train for historic Nuremberg. There we headed for Pachelbel's church, St. Sebald. Again we were in luck. A student was practicing the large organ, which was placed to one side of the choir facing the altar. In addition to the main organ, there is a one-manual organ on wheels. It can be used anywhere in the large church: as a separate instrument, or connected to the main instrument to act as a rückpositiv. There is also a four-manual console on a cable connected to the main organ. The organ builder is Willi Peter of Cologne.

The organist was practicing the six Schübler Chorales as we were studying the various treasures of this historic edifice, so we had a chance to listen to the solo voices of the instrument. Just as we were about to leave, the organist began a composition wherein a subsidiary division plays imitative counterpoint mf, only to be interrupted at regular intervals by the full ensemble including a 32' reed and a 32' Prinzipal. The effect was electrifying and we sat down until this composition ran its course.

Before we take our leave of this great church we should remember that it house the oldest organ in Germany, the "Traxdorffsche" organ that was placed in a loft at the back of the church until its destruction in the bombing of Nuremberg in 1945.

On this somber note, we walked down to the Old Market to admire the "Schöner Brunner" (beautiful fountain), a 14th-century Gothic fountain which is a symbol of Nuremberg. Close by is the lovely Frauenkirche, a small church erected during the reign of Emperor Karl IV, that served as a court chapel from 1352 until 1361.

Noting that there would be a recital that evening, we resolved to return to hear the 3-manual Klais instrument. Our efforts were well-rewarded. The recitalist was Waclaw Golonka of Prague, winner of a number of organ contests including the Wettbewerb in Pretoria (1998). His program consisted of works by Couperin, Pachelbel, Bach, Segar, and Duruflé. He is an unassuming player, but every challenge was conquered with ease, and the music reached us with no idiosyncrasies to block its beauty. One could only hope that he will play often in the United States.

Our hotel was in the St. Lorenz district, so one morning I wandered into the impressive St. Lorenz Church. Like St. Sebald, this building is a reconstruction following the bombing of World War II, but it is well done and to the casual eye it certainly looks like a Gothic masterpiece.

The organist was practicing Liszt's Prelude and Fugue on BACH while I wandered through the medieval treasures of St. Lorenz. However, in consideration of our ears, he played mf, so I cannot comment on the present organ, but it is undoubtedly significant that the church is in the midst of a drive to raise funds for a new instrument, which is to be built by Klais.

Reluctantly leaving this interesting city, we headed east to another reconstructed city, Dresden. The star of the Dresden organ world is the Silbermann instrument in the Catholic Hofkirche. The organ was unfinished in 1750 when Gottfried Silbermann fell from a scaffold in the church and died shortly thereafter. However, his son Johann Andreas Silbermann and his former journeyman Zacharias Hildebrandt completed it in 1755. During World War II the pipes were removed for safekeeping and after the war the instrument was reconstructed by Messrs. Jehmlich, a Dresden firm.

Today the interior of the church shows no evidence of the damage done by the war and a fine Anton Mengs "Ascension" hangs over the high altar, balancing the restored façade of the organ in the rear gallery.

We were fortunate to be in Dresden on a Saturday when there was an organ vesper service at 4 pm at the Hofkirche. As we entered the large church we were surprised at the large audience. Organ recitals are well attended in Europe!

The attendees at the service were well served. Opening with a toccata by George Muffat, the recitalist, Andreus Meisner of Altenburg, continued with music by Bruhns, Bach and Rheinberger. There was no admission charge but donations were accepted at the door as we left.

The impression which this instrument made was one of brilliance and warmth--plenty of bright mixtures, but also warm and full 8' tone. In studying the specification, we were struck by the  presence of a Schwebung (celeste) on the Hauptwerk. Probably because of the generous supply of 8' stops, the Rheinberger sonata came off remarkably well. The 8' flutes had quite a bit of "chiff."

As we walked back to our hotel, we came upon another important church in the life of Dresden, the Kreuzkirche. Restored after the bombings of the Second World War, the exterior looks fine. The interior, however, has been only roughly plastered over.

In the rear gallery there is a large mechanical action organ by Jehmlich, and there is a small encased organ in the front. The church is the home of the Kreutzchor, a fine men and boys choir, and there is a very busy musical schedule at this church. Some weeks there are two or three musical activities programmed.

Our next stop was another musically active city, Lübeck. One can only be impressed by the imposing Holstentor towers as one enters the old town. With Buxtehude's towering Marienkirche and the equally historic Jacobikirche, Lübeck is a paradise for organists.

We came first to the Jacobikirche. With its two historic organs it is one of Germany's most treasured sites. In the back gallery is a large Arp Schnitger, famous from the many recordings that have been made upon it. We were delighted that an organist was playing this instrument as we soaked up the atmosphere of this edifice. After several Bach works, the player switched to Reger, which worked well on the instrument.

We were sorry not to hear the Stellwagen organ on the side of the church, equally as famous as the rear gallery organ, but we were able to find a recording of Buxtehude's organ music played on both instruments by Armin  Schoof (Motette CD-10831).

The Marienkirche, Buxtehude's church, was almost completely destroyed by an air raid in 1942. Both organs were lost. Rebuilding was begun in 1947 and completed in 1980. The two new organs occupy the same spots in the church as they did in the original church, namely a large mechanical organ in the rear gallery and a smaller one, the "Danse Macabre" organ, on the side of the church above the "Danse Macabre" chapel. The rear gallery instrument is by Kemper & Sohn from Lübeck. The "Danse Macabre" organ is by Wilhelm Fuhrer of Wilhelmshaven and dates from 1986. The large organ in the rear gallery has five manuals with 101 sounding voices.

We did briefly hear the side organ after a noonday service, and purchased two CDs of the organs. Both are played by the organist of the church, Ernst-Erich Stender. The one on the Kemper instrument is "Max Reger, the organworks," Vol. I (Ornament 11447). The second, on the "Danse Macabre" instrument, is "Great Organ Works" by J.S. Bach (Ornament 11445). Herr Stender plays 30 to 40 recitals a year on these two instruments with different programs!

In the "Briefkapelle," the most im-portant of the side chapels, there is an organ which came from East Prussia. Built in 1723, it has been in Lübeck since 1933.

There is another church near the Marienkirche which was also destroyed in 1942 and which has been rebuilt. However, it is no longer used for worship, but for musical programs and art exhibits. At the St. Petrikirche one can climb its towers to get a panoramic view of this ancient free city. There is a small  encased organ in what used to be the sanctuary.

The other large church in downtown Lübeck is the Dom. While not as large as the Marienkirche, it is impressive in its own right. An enlargement of the chancel in the Gothic style in the 14th century transformed this Romanesque church.

A side placement of the large 3-manual Marcussen organ focuses the tone toward the congregation. While we were not able to hear the organ, we found an interesting CD of it played by Hartmut Rohmeyer, entitled "Johann Sebastian Bach--Orgelwerke I, Der Junge Bach" (ambitus amb 97 863).

There are other things to see in Lübeck besides organs and churches, of course, such as the interesting Dutch architecture and the "Buddenbrooks" house associated with Thomas and Heinrich Mann, and we heartily recommend Lübeck as a stop for the discerning tourist. Everything is within walking distance.

 Leaving this picturesque city, we headed for our last stop, Eisenach. Eisenach is, of course, the birthplace of J.S. Bach and we headed straight for the Bachhaus. After an individually guided tour of the house (they give you a sheet in your own language to help), we gathered in a small recital hall to hear some of Bach's music. A young man talked briefly of the significance of Bach's music and then played examples of it, on two small organs dating from Bach's era. The first was a Swiss instrument of three stops dating from 1750, in which the air was pumped by the foot of the performer. The second was a German instrument of four stops dating from 1722. In this instance he called upon a member of the audience to hand pump the bellows. He then played examples of Bach's clavier music upon a clavichord and a harpsichord from the 18th century. Interspersed with the keyboard works were taped examples of Bach's orchestral and choral works. After this, we walked down the street to the Lutherhaus where we listened to examples of Luther's chorales in 16th-century and modern settings, and saw where Luther studied Latin.

A block away we came upon the impressive parish church of St. George where Bach was baptized and where Luther preached in 1521, even though he had been banned from the Holy Roman Empire for his beliefs.

On the left wall a plaque traced the history of the Bach family members who had served as organists of this church. Even though they were not immediate members of Bach's family (they were cousins from the Erfurt branch of the Bach family), it served to remind us of the importance of the Bachs in the sacred and secular music of the 17th and 18th centuries in central Germany.

As we left Eisenach to head for Frankfurt and home, we felt that in this musical pilgrimage we had come a lot closer to the life and times of such giants as Johann Pachelbel, Dietrich Buxtehude and J.S. Bach.                 

Richard Peek is a graduate of Michigan State University and the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary. He served Covenant Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, as Minister of Music for 47 years and is now Minister of Music Emeritus. He has written articles for The Diapason, The American Organist, The Tracker, and Reformed Liturgy and Music, and has written numerous organ and choral works.

Cover

Martin Ott Pipe Organ Company, Inc., St. Louis, Missouri,
has completed two new organs for Mount Angel Abbey, St. Benedict, Oregon. The
firm's Opus 79 and Opus 80 replace the abbey's 1930s Kilgen organ
which had pipes of various vintages and builders. The Choir organ and the Grand
organ are mechanical-action instruments designed and constructed according to
classic German organ building principles, with tracker action and slider
chests. They exemplify the tonal ideas and voicing style developed during the
past 27 years since the company was founded, imparting clear, transparent
texture to the sound.

The organs are placed within free-standing cases, allowing
them to speak with a light, unforced singing tone. Their main task is to
accompany the monastic choral singing along with the full church's
congregational song in the tradition of the Benedictine order.

The stoplist was developed by the Ott firm, in collaboration
with the organ committee of the abbey. Case design was by Ott with consultation
from the architectural firm of Humayun Somjee and Associates, St. Louis,
Missouri. The cases are built of white oak and stained in a light brown color.
All wood was kiln-dried and milled at the Ott shop. The framework utilizes
mortise-and-tenon construction. The raised panels in the case are made of
quarter-sawn oak.

Facade pipes, made of 75% tin, come from the Prinzipal
stops. Manual keyboards have 61 notes; naturals are of grenadil, and sharps are
of grenadil covered with cow bone. The pedalboard compass is 32 notes; keys are
of oak, sharps are capped with ebony. Trackers are made of western cedar and
the squares are of white beech. Rollers are of metal. The wind chests are
constructed of Baltic birch plywood, ash, and maple.

The Choir organ, Opus 79, comprises 15 stops and 15 ranks,
totalling 856 pipes. All pipes with the exception of the Prinzipal 8' and
12 pipes of the Subbass 16' are under one common expression control. The
organ has a common tremulant (prepared). It was built in 1995 and installed in
the spring of 1996.

The Grand organ, Opus 80, consists of 37 stops and 44 ranks
for a total of 2,478 pipes on three manuals and pedal. The traditional layout
of the organ is in the strict order of the Werkprinzip. The pipes of the
Hauptwerk division are in the center of the case. Below the Hauptwerk is the
Schwellwerk. The divided Pedal pipes are cantilevered to the left and right of
the Hauptwerk. The Kronenwerk is above the Hauptwerk. Stop action is electric
with a computerized multi-level combination action. The Grand organ was built
from May 1997 through February 1998. It was disassembled and transported to
Mount Angel for assembly and completed in June 1998.

The following craftsmen participated in the construction of
the organs: Albert J. Brass, Alexander E. Bronitsky, James F. Cullen, Alexander
D. Leshchenko, Richard J. Murphy, Earl C. Naylor, Martin Ott, Sascha Ott, and
Karen A. Perrone. Electrical engineering and execution was by Richard Houghton
of Milan, Michigan. Wood inlay of music racks was by Herbert Bilgram of St.
Louis.

--Martin Ott

The Choir Organ, Opus 79

MANUAL I

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Prinzipal
(1-4 from Rohrflöte)

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Rohrflöte

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktave

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Flöte

                                    Mixtur
II

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oboe

MANUAL II

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Viola
(1-6 from Gedackt)

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Viola
Celeste (TC)

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Gedackt

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Flöte

                                    Sesquialter
II (TC)

                  2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktave

PEDAL

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Subbass

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktavbass
(1-19 from Man I)

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Rohrflöte
(1-19 from Man I)

The Grand Organ, Opus 80

HAUPTWERK

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Bordun

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Prinzipal

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Rohrflöte

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktave

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Nachthorn

                  22/3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>     Quinte

                  2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktave

                  13/5'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>     Terz

                                    Grossmixtur
V-VI

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Trompete

SCHWELLWERK

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Viola

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Viola
Celeste (TC)

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Bordun

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Prinzipal

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Viola

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Zauberflöte

                  2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Nachthorn

                                    Mixtur
IV

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Bombarde

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Trompete

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Englisch
Horn

                                    Tremulant

KRONENWERK

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Flöte

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Flöte
Celeste (TC)

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Prinzipal

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Blockflöte

                                    Sesquialter
II

                  2'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktave

                  11/3'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>     Quinte

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Krummhorn

                                    Tremulant

                                    Zimberlstern

PEDAL

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Prinzipal

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Subbass

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Oktavbass

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Pommer
(12 pipes)

                  4'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Choralbass

                  32'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Posaune
(prep, 12 pipes)

                  16'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>          Posaune

                  8'
style='mso-tab-count:1'>             Trompete

Joel Kuznik has served as a college organist and professor, a church musician, a pastor, and as a business executive on Fifth Avenue, Wall Street, and at MetLife. After several years of retirement from business, he revived writing for professional journals, something he had done since his college days. After attending the Bachfest 2003 in Leipzig, he again began writing articles and reviews. With over 60 pieces in print ranging from reviews of concerts and festivals, travelogues, books on church music, concert hall organs, CDs and DVDs, he was recognized and named to the Music Critics Association of North America (MCANA) in May 2005. He is also a member of the American Bach Society and serves on the board of the Bach Vespers at Holy Trinity in New York City, where he has lived for 32 years. His organ teachers were Austin C. Lovelace, Frederick Swann, Ronald Arnatt, David Craighead, Jean Langlais, Marie-Madeleine Duruflé-Chevalier, and Anton Heiller. As a member of the AGO, he has served as dean of the Ft. Wayne chapter, on the executive board of the New York City chapter, and on the national financial board. He holds a BA summa cum laude from Concordia Sr. College (formerly at Ft. Wayne), a Min.Div and STM from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and an MM from the Eastman School of Music.

Mention Saxony to most organists, and they immediately think of the 18th century, Gottfried Silbermann and his catalogue of 31 extraordinary instruments, which are still being played.1 An amazing testimony! But today one hears more and more of Kristian Wegscheider, widely admired for his dynamic restorations of Silbermann organs as well as those of Hildebrandt, Schnitger and Ladegast—and whose reputation as a builder is so respected that he was considered for the new organs at St. Thomas, Leipzig and the Frauenkirche in Dresden.
Steven Dieck, president of C. B. Fisk, Inc., credits Wegscheider with being “very helpful in discovering the ‘secrets’ of Gottfried Silbermann and continues to be, not only for us, but also for any other organbuilder. There is no disputing that Kristian and his shop are the experts on the work of Gottfried Silbermann.”
Stefan Engels of Leipzig’s University of Music & Theatre notes that “Kristian Wegscheider is one of the leading organ builders of our time when it comes to the restoration of historic instruments from the 17th and 18th centuries. His knowledge of style, his talent for research, and his ability to relate to the distinct sounds of old organs is unique. It is a joy to experience this artist and his superb work.”
And, as Steve Dieck points out, Wegscheider has an international involvement and impact. “Once East Germany opened itself to the rest of the world, Kristian’s company became a member of the International Society of Organbuilders. Shortly after that, he helped to organize one of the ISO’s biennial congresses held in Dresden. He is currently second vice president of the ISO and again helped to organize the congress in September 2008, which began in Gdansk, Poland and worked its way by train and boat to Stralsund, Germany, where members of ISO visited significant organs.”2
“He continues to share his vast knowledge of the works of Gottfried Silbermann with his many organbuilding colleagues around the world. He has visited the U.S. many times, and was invited to collaborate with Fritz Noack in making a ‘Hildebrandt’ style organ for Christ the King Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas.”
And those who have been fortunate to hear Wegscheider’s restorations or new instruments would add, “This is a builder about whom Americans need to know more.”

Background
Kristian Wegscheider was born in 1954 in Ahrenshoop, a small resort town on the Baltic Coast of Northern Germany. After stints in the army and a year with a furniture-maker, he began his apprenticeship with the esteemed Jehmlich Dresden organbuilding firm, which dates back to 1808 and is associated with the restorations of the magnificent Silbermann cathedral organs in Dresden and Freiberg.
Kristian immediately took an immense interest in historic organs and worked on restorations in Berlin and Leipzig. He became head of Jehmlich’s restoration department and supervised restorations of the 1714 Silbermann in Freiberg’s Cathedral and the 1868 Lütkemüller organ at the Güstrower Cathedral.

Orgelwerkstatt Wegscheider Dresden
As Wegscheider writes for his firm’s website,3 the creation of his organ workshop in Dresden in 1989 coincided with the fall of the Wall and became possible with the parallel vehement political and social changes. These were indeed complicated times in the GDR, and the emergence of a new private company was no simple venture.
At the time it was not unusual in the GDR for restorations and even the repair of organs to be delayed up to 20 years. In 1987, that gave Wegscheider an idea, often treated perfunctorily and bureaucratically, to create his own workshop specializing in restorations and repair. He overcame numerous hurdles—among other things, getting a trade license and acquiring the space for engaging in a trade, and one couldn’t get one without the other.
In order to bridge the gap, Wegscheider worked for almost a year in the restoration workshop of the Museum of Musical Instruments at the University of Leipzig. With the assistance of friends and with some luck, however, the initial problems were overcome. That was all quickly forgotten, once work began in the spring of 1989 with the reconditioning of an old carpenter’s shop in Dresden’s Neustadt (“new city”).4 His first two coworkers were the organ builder and pipemaker Hartmut Schütz, who had also trained with Jehmlich, and his long-time friend and a carpenter, Matthias Weisbach. Requirements were completed in December of 1990, and Wegscheider was able to receive his certification as a master craftsman (“Meisterbrief”).
The workshop officially began operating June 1, 1989, and in September there was a big celebration with friends and colleagues. For this historic event, a narrow-gauge steam train was rented, and the area in front of the shop was transformed into an open-air theatre. When the borders opened that fall, a group of five made a week-long “discovery journey” into the “West” finally to hear and investigate for themselves organs they had often read and heard about, an adventure that just weeks before had seemed impossible.
During this week, the team was able to examine the old instruments of East Frisia (Ostfriesland, a costal region along the North Sea bordering the Netherlands to the west),5 which for them was like an “organbuilder’s paradise.” There they also inspected the shop of the famous Jürgen Ahrend, contacted the North German Organ Academy, and had discussions with organ experts, musicologists and organists. This all became invaluable in forming their own firm and served as the basis for artistic work. Additional “educational journeys” became a regular experience and took them to South Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and France. How exhilarating this must have been—the new freedom to explore and discover!

Wegscheider: first projects
The first project was a new instrument for the Allstedt Castle Chapel in Mansfeld. The small organ was to complement the Baroque room and conform to old established models of classical organbuilding. The shop was to do something that had never been done in East Germany before—to make an instrument completely from wood, tin, lead, leather and brass without using plywood, aluminum, nitrate lacquer, plastic and prefabricated mechanisms.
Also, this instrument would reflect Wegscheider’s long-held interest in providing two temperaments that can be played interchangeably: meantone for Renaissance music and well-tempered for Baroque. The idea originated in Charles Fisk’s dual-temperament organ at California’s Stanford University (1984),6 but this was to be the first such instrument in Europe, with Wegscheider working to improve the result both technically and musically.7
This new organ for Allstedt was followed by a number of restorations in the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg and Thuringia, while at the same there developed partnership work in Saxony. Much of the work, now with seven co-workers, involved restoring damaged organs, some long unplayable due to water damage or wood worms. Other builders had refused to work on them or recommended replacements, but to Wegscheider these instruments were too valuable to be discarded. Congregations, in turn, were grateful for the efforts of their municipalities to preserve these organs.
Expansion
By 1993 it was clear that the company needed new, larger facilities. The company had expanded to ten employees, with only 400 square meters of workspace and with insufficient height to assemble instruments. Finally a carpenter’s workshop was found in Dresden–Hellerau in the old village center of Rähnitz. During the move, the firm continued to work on a restoration of the Silbermann for the Bremen Cathedral (I/8, 1734)8 and an identical copy of it for the Silbermann Museum in Frauenstein, so that the dedication of the new workshop in July 1994 could take place in a concert using both organs with the Dresden Baroque Orchestra.
After all this excitement, work continued routinely, but always with interesting projects. One was the extensive renovation of the Schulze organ, with the reconstruction of a 32′ Posaune in Markneukirchen, a town in Saxony known as a center for making musical instruments as well as its Museum of Musical Instruments. Another instance was building a new 20-rank organ inside an historic case in Steinwedel near Hannover, which demonstrated what a builder like Wegscheider with experience in historical models could do.

Langhennersdorf, Nikolaikirche
But the high point of this period was completing the renovation of the organ at St. Nicholas Church in Langhennersdorf, a beautiful village near Freiberg. This Opus 1 by Silbermann’s apprentice Zacharias Hildebrandt (1722) as his Meisterstück (masterpiece) was built to certify him as an organbuilder. It is a revelation to hear—exciting, vibrant, present, colorful, and commanding.
But all this came after some blood, sweat and tears. Begun in 1989–90 during the turbulent reunification of Germany, this was Wegscheider’s first big contract and was threatened by obstacles beyond his control. However, he remained determined and continued working piece by piece as the church, which was committed to the challenge, raised funds. What exuberance there must have been at rededication on Reformation Day, 1996!

Langhennersdorf Nikolaikirche9
1722 Zacharias Hildebrandt (II+P/21)
1989–1996 Kristian Wegscheider

Hauptwerk
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöte
8′ Quintadena
4′ Praestant
4′ Spitzflöte
3′ Quinta
2′ Octava
III Mixtur
II Cymbeln
III Cornett (from c1)

Oberwerk
8′ Gedackt
4′ Rohrflöte
3′ Nasat
2′ Principal
2′ Waldflöte
1′ Sifflöte
11⁄3′ Quinte
II Cymbeln

Pedal
16′ Sub-Baß
16′ Posanenbaß
8′ Trompete

Tremulant
Shove coupler II/I
Pedal coupler I/P
Manual compass C, D–c3
Pedal compass C, D–c1

Choir pitch: a = 468 Hz
Modified meantone

Dresden-Loschwitz church
The lessons learned in Langhennersdorf would prove helpful in designing the 1997 organ for a church in the outlying regions of Dresden-Loschwitz. The organ was conceived as a large one-manual and pedal instrument that would combine the typical stops of Silbermann with other 18th-century Saxon builders in one division, but some stops are also playable on a second manual. The building, virtually destroyed in the 1945 Blitz by an errant bomb, has been restored with spectacular but simple beauty. The church—with its historic altar rescued and restored from the Sophienkirche, where Bach played two recitals (1825 and 1731), and where his son Wilhelm Friedemann was organist (1733–1746)—has its organ sitting center stage in the second gallery.
The impact of this small instrument is remarkable and a joy to hear. Just a day after playing and listening to the impressive Silbermann-Hildebrandt (III/47, 1755) at Dresden’s Hofkirche and the imposing new Kern at the Frauenkirche (IV/67, 2006), the sound of this little organ in the suburb of Dresden-Loschwitz moved 45 American organists last September to spontaneous smiles of delight and satisfaction. The stunning immediacy of the sound combined with the brilliance of the ensemble and the colors of individual stops was a joy to hear.
And then listening to Wegscheider himself—on how Silbermann swept into this part of Germany with the fresh bold sounds of France and dominated organbuilding, on the speech and design of his pipework, and clarifying differences of temperament in the area—was an informative revelation. The man has a large presence, an expansive expression of speech, and in his eyes the gleam of an inspired creator, all reflected in his restorations and new designs.

Dresden-Loschwitz:
Loschwitz Church10
1997 Wegscheider II+P/20

Manual I
16′ Bordun
8′ Principal
8′ Gedackt
8′ Flauto traverso
8′ Viola di Gamba
4′ Octave
4′ Rohrflöte
4′ Flauto amabile
3′ Nasat
2′ Octave
2′ Flöte
13⁄5′ Tertia
1′ Flageolet
III Cornett (from g)
III Mixtur

Manual II (stops from I)
16′ Bordun
8′ Gedackt
8′ Flauto traverso
8′ Viola di Gamba
4′ Rohrflöte
4′ Flauto amabile
3′ Nasat
2′ Flöte
13⁄5′ Tertia

Pedal
16′ Bordun
8′ Octavbaß
8′ Violonbaß
4′ Octavbaß
16′ Posaune

Tremulant
Manual shove coupler
Pedal couplers I/P, II/P

Manual compass C–e3
Pedal compass C–e
Pitch: a = 440 Hz
Tuning: modified Valotti
Wind pressure: 70 mm

Houston, Christ the King Lutheran Church
Wegscheider has been involved in several “Bach organs.” The first was in collaboration with the Noack Organ Company at Christ Lutheran Church in Houston, where he served as co-designer.

Christ the King Lutheran Church, Houston
Builder: Noack Organ Company, 1995
Co-designer: Kristian Wegscheider II+P/30

Hauptwerk
16′ Bordun
8′ Principal
8′ Viola di Gamba
8′ Rohrflöte
4′ Octava
4′ Spitzflöte
22⁄3′ Quinta
2′ Octava
III Mixtur
II Cimbel
IIII Cornet
8′ Trompete
8′ Vox Humana

Oberwerk
8′ Gedackt
8′ Quintadena
4′ Principal
4′ Rohrflöte
22⁄3′ Nasat
2′ Octava
2′ Waldflöte
13⁄5′ Terz
11⁄3′ Quinta
1′ Sifflet
8′ Krummhorn

Pedal
16′ Principal Bass
16′ Subbass
8′ Octaven Bass
4′ Octava
16′ Posaunen
8′ Trompete

The organ at Christ the King Church follows the example of Hildebrandt, thus adding a Bach organ of a new dimension on the North American continent.
Fritz Noack and the Noack Organ Company were selected to design and build the organ. Noack is an American builder born and trained in Germany and uniquely situated to bridge the Saxon past and the Texan present. Kristian Wegscheider of Dresden, restorer of important Silbermann organs, accepted appointment as a design consultant; Reinhard Schaebitz of Dresden, voicer in the restorations, assisted in the voicing; and most of the metal pipes were built near Dresden in the workshop of Günter Lau. The result is a wonderful instrument which not surprisingly, but quite remarkably, evokes the look, feel, and sound of an 18th-century Saxon organ. One can imagine Bach’s walking in, sitting down without missing a beat and, as was his custom, pulling all of the stops to see whether or not the instrument has “good lungs.”
This Bach Organ possesses attributes commonly found in organs built today in historical style—tracker action; mechanical stop action; keys suspended below the pipe chests; a flexible wind supply provided by bellows; flat rather than radiating pedalboard; narrower, shorter manual keys; no pistons or combinations; and tuning in a historic temperament. The Saxon style imposes a series of additional design characteristics. The entire organ is housed in one case, rather than in compartments for each division according to the Werkprinzip; the case design and beautifully executed carvings employ 18th-century Saxon conventions; and the case is built of pine and painted (blue-green, red, and gold leaf). The Oberwerk to Hauptwerk coupler is activated by shoving the Oberwerk manual forward, and the Oberwerk does not couple to the Pedal. The pipe scalings are taken from Hildebrandt’s, and the principal pipes have a high tin content rather than lead.11

Stuttgart, Musikhochschule
Another “Bach organ” was built by Wegscheider for the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart, which has a large collection of historic prototypes. One can see an overview at <http://www.mh-stuttgart.de/studium/orgel/ueberblick/&gt;.

Stuttgart: State University of Music and Performing Arts
2006 Wegscheider
II+P/21

Hauptwerk
8′ Principal
8′ Rohrflöte
8′ Viola di Gamba
8′ Quintadena
4′ Octave
3′ Quinte
2′ Octave
2′ Terz (from 2′) [listed as 2′ but actually 13⁄5′]
III Mixtur
8′ Trompete

Positiv
8′ Gedackt
4′ Spitzflöte
4′ Flauto dolce
2′ Gemshorn
II Cymbal
8′ Vox Humana

Pedal
16′ Subbass
8′ Principalbass
4′ Octave
16′ Posaunebass
8′ Trompettenbass
Manual compass: C, D–d3
Pedal compass: C, D–f
Pitch: a1 = 466 Hz
Tuning: Modified Pythagorean

In the winter 2005–06 issue of Spektrum, Prof. Jürgen Essl writes:

In the fall of 2006 organ music of Bach will ring out. Then the long-anticipated “Bach organ” will supplement the university’s instrument collection. The Dresden organ builder, Kristian Wegscheider, received the commission to build an organ of 21 stops on two manuals and pedal according to 18th-century Thuringian and Saxon models. It is intended to be the ideal instrument for presenting Bach’s organ music with its choice of stops, its style of construction, its keyboard range, its speech and intonation.
Kristian Wegscheider is an undisputed expert in this area, and it would be hard to find a more first-class organ. Naturally there is no absolute “Bach Organ.” Johann Sebastian Bach, as is well known, played on many organs and was frequently active as consultant and examiner. The composition of the organ is therefore also no copy of an existing historical instrument, but an approximation of the Bach sound world in a variety of ways. The new organ is based on Bach’s expert opinion of existing instruments of similar 18th-century size, e.g., (Gottfried) Silbermann and Trost, on the compositional characteristics of his organ music, the restoration experience of the organbuilder and last but not least on the size of the room.12

Essl added in an e-mail to the author, “Indeed there were a large number of special problems for which Kristian had a good solution and fought hard to get the right results.”

Freiberg, Petrikirche
Another recent collaboration, this time with Jehmlich, was the restoration of Silbermann’s largest two-manual organ, at the Petrikirche in Freiberg, completed and rededicated in July 2007.13 It is an instrument with pizazz, brilliance, and clarity, while individual stops retain character and color. It also happens that the best CD that effectively reflects Wegscheider’s work is a recent release of a recording at the Petrikirche on the Syrius label, Johann Sebastian Bach, Vol. 4, with works from the early Weimar period played with verve, imagination, and excitement by Helga Schauerte (Syrius 141433, €22.00; <[email protected]>; the Organ Historical Society carries other recordings by Schauerte).

Freiberg: Petrikirche
1735 Silbermann
1959, 1993/94 Jehmlich Brothers
2006–07 Wegscheider, together with Jehmlich Orgelbau
II+P/32

Hauptwerk
16′ Principal
8′ Octav Principal
8′ Viol di Gamba
8′ Rohr-Flöte
4′ Octava
4′ Spitz-Flöte
3′ Qvinta
2′ Octava
2′ Tertia (from 2′) [listed as 2′ but actually 13⁄5′]
IV Cornet (from c1)
IV Mixtur
III Cymbel
8′ Trompette
16′ Fachott

Oberwerk
16′ Qvinta dena
8′ Principal
8′ Gedackts
8′ Qvinta dena
4′ Octava
4′ Rohr-Flöte
3′ Nassat
2′ Octava
11⁄3′ Qvinta
1′ Sufflöt
Sechst Qvint Altra (4⁄5′, 13⁄5′ from c1)
III Mixtur
8′ Vox humana

Pedal
32′ Groß-Untersatz
16′ Principal Bass
8′ Octaven Bass
16′ Posaune
8′ Trompete
Tremulant
Manual compass: C, D–c3
Pedal compass: C, D–c1
Manual coupler II/I
Pedal coupler P/I
Tuning: 462.5 Hz
Temperament: Neidhardt II
(for a small city), 1732

In summary, restorations include organs by:
Gottfried Silbermann
Niederschöna, 1715/1993, I/14
Bremen Cathedral, 1734/1994, I/8
Jacobikirche, Freiberg, 1717/1995/2006, II/20
Reinhardtsgrimma, 1731/1997, II/20
Tiefenau, 1725/1997, I/9
Dresden Cathedral, 1755/2002, III/47, jointly with Jehmlich Orgelbau
Petrikirche, Freiberg, 1735/2007, II/32, jointly with Jehmlich Orgelbau

Zacharias Hildebrandt
Langhennersdorf, 1722/1996, II/21

Friedrich Ladegast
Biederitz, 1868/1997, II/12
Hohenmölsen, 1851/1998, II/24
Merseburg Cathedral, 1855/1866/2003, IV, 84, joint with Eule/Bautzen and Scheffler, Frankfurt/Oder
Pomssen Wehrkirche, 1671/2000/2007, 1/13

Wegscheider’s firm has built to date thirty new organs including:
Silbermann Museum, Frauenstein, copy of Bremen positive, 1994, I/8
Güstrow Cathedral, 1996, I/15 registers with bass drums, bells, cymbelstern, 2 cuckoos, drum, nightingale
Dresden–Loschwitz, 1996, II/20
Bremen Cathedral, 2002, I/8
Cologne–Michaelshoven, 2003, II/ 28 (in the style of Silbermann/Hildebrandt)
Stuttgart, Musikhochschule, 2006/2007, II/21, Bach Organ
Sacrow-Potsdam, Heilandskirche, 2008/ 2009, II/17 registers
Current work includes:
Fritzsche-Treutmann-Organ in Harbke (restoration in cooperation with Dutschke-Orgelbau), completed 12/07 and dedicated 5/08
Altarpositiv, Kreuzkirche in Dresden, dedicated 5/08
Stellwagen Organ in Stralsund St. Marien (1659).