Adolf Reubke (organ builder)

Adolph Christian Reubke (born December 6, 1805 in Halberstadt , † March 3, 1875 in Hausneindorf ) was a German organ builder .

Life and work

Reubke was born in Halberstadt in 1805. His father was employed there by the War and Domain Chamber, and was transferred to Hausneindorf in 1809 as domain collector. There Adolf received his first piano lessons. At an early age he developed a particular fondness for the organ, but without receiving any specific training.

From the age of eleven, Reubke attended the cathedral grammar school in Halberstadt, but had to end his school education in 1819 after the sudden death of his father. A subsequent apprenticeship as an art turner also remained unfinished after falling out with the teacher.

After he started around 1825 with the construction of pianos, he received in 1837 the organ building of Johann Gottlob Töpfer sent to the view from a music shop. He now devoted himself intensively to organ building, calculated and designed dispositions . His first work had a manual, pedal and seven voices . The instrument was later sold to the band at Hüttenwerk Thale. By November 1869 65 organs were built, including a. an organ with four manuals, two pedals and 87 sounding voices (cathedral organ in Magdeburg). The Reubke organs were mainly installed in rural churches in the northern Harz foreland , the Magdeburg Börde and the Magdeburg area.

In 1860 his son Emil (1836–1884) became a partner, in 1872 sole owner of the Reubke & Sohn company.

Adolph Reubke died in 1875. His son continued the company until his death in 1884, then it was sold to Ernst Röver, who continued it until 1921.

progeny

In addition to the aforementioned organ builder Emil Reubke, he had two other sons. The composer Julius Reubke died in 1858 at the age of 24. Otto Reubke became an organ player and died in 1913 as a professor and university music director in Halle (Saale) .

Works (selection)

The size of the instruments is indicated in the fifth column by the number of manuals and the number of sounding registers in the sixth column. A capital “P” stands for a separate pedal.

year	opus	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1852	18th	Benneckenstein (Harz)	St. Lawrence Church		II / P	19th	During the organ visit, the expert declared: “That this organ deserves to be called a very good, durable and successful work.” It was rearranged and expanded in 1940 according to contemporary tastes, but still has 13 registers and around half of the pipes from the original inventory. In 1997/98 a general repair took place. Today II / P / 20.
1853		Roxförde	Ev. church		II / P	19th	originally in Magdeburg Cathedral, implemented in 1857, restored in 2004; largely preserved
1856 to 1861		Magdeburg	Dom			81	Construction initiated by August Gottfried Ritter , at his disposal, use of case parts and some stops of the predecessor organ by Compenius, later expanded to 88 stops, one of the largest organs of its time. Replaced in 1906 by a new building from Röver
1858/59		Kroppenstedt	Saint Martin Church		II / P	20th	1957/58 rearranged; largely preserved
around 1860		Magdeburg					House organ of the cathedral organist August Gottfried Ritter, reconstructed in 2003, currently in the Schinkel Hall of the Society House in the Kloster-Berge-Garten
1866		Westerhüsen	Saint Stephen Church				1945 destroyed in a bomb attack → Westerhüser church organ
1869		Neuendorf Monastery	Neuendorf Monastery				previously in Nicolaikirche in Oebisfelde, transferred in 1988; largely preserved
1869/70		Brumby	St. Petri				Refurbished in 1988; largely preserved
1873		Kyritz	St. Mary's Church		III / P	40	Originally built with a mechanical cone drawer. Rebuilt in 1904/1905 (pneumatic action, new fan, 8 'viola da gambe in the main factory renewed and new console), but 90% of the pipes and wind chests are from Reubke. 1930 Cleaning of the organ by the Sauer company, Frankfurt (Oder). 1963 renewed cleaning. This time by the company Voit from Rathenow. 1994 General cleaning and partial restoration by the Schuke company from Potsdam. 1999 Installation of a new blower. 2,400 pipes.
1878/79		Bad Suderode					Rearranged in 1960, restored in 2006; largely preserved
1860 (?), 1880		Wahlitz	Ev. Village church of St. Dorothea				Restoration required and planned; largely preserved

additional

In 2013 a "Reubke Museum" was opened in Hausneindorf.

Web links

• Reubke organ in Kyritz

• Adolph Christian Reubke University of Magdeburg

literature

• Kultur- und Heimat-Geschichts-Verein Hausneindorf (Ed.): The Reubke family of organ builders from Hausneindorf . 1993.
• Uwe Pape, Wolfram Hackel (Ed.): Lexicon of North German Organ Builders. Volume 3: Saxony-Anhalt and the surrounding area . Pape Verlag, Berlin 2015, ISBN 978-3-921140-98-7 .
• Lutz Wille: The Reubke organ building workshop in Hausneindorf am Harz and their instruments 1838–1884. Edited by Elisabeth Rüber-Schütte. State Office f. Monument preservation u. Archeology Saxony-Anhalt, 2017, ISBN 978-3-944507-39-2 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ History: The Reubke organ in Kyritz. Retrieved July 21, 2015.