Gerhard Brunzema
Gerhard Friedrich Brunzema (born July 6, 1927 in Emden ; † April 7, 1992 in Fergus, Ontario ) was an organ builder who worked together with Jürgen Ahrend mainly in northern Germany and then in Canada until 1972 .
Life
Gerhard Brunzema was born on July 6, 1927 as the fourth of seven children of the general practitioner Dr. Friedrich Brunzema was born. When his father, who was close to the Confessing Church , refused to send his four oldest children to the Hitler Youth in 1938, he was threatened with deprivation of custody. Friedrich Brunzema invoked his religious and ideological freedom and his political neutrality towards the state. Despite a long legal dispute and the compulsory youth service from March 1939, Friedrich Brunzema did not comply with the demands to send his children to the German Young People and the Hitler Youth, which, however, had no consequences.
Gerhard Brunzema grew up in Emden and learned organ building from Paul Ott (1948–52). He continued his education at the TU Braunschweig and graduated with a master’s degree in 1955 . Together with Jürgen Ahrend, he founded the company Ahrend & Brunzema (1954–1971) in Leer-Loga ( East Friesland ) in 1954 . The restoration of the historic organs in Larrelt , Westerhusen , Uttum and Rysum caused a stir, especially the reintroduction of the mid-tone tuning . In contrast to other organ building companies, the company did not want to intervene in the historical substance of the instruments, but attached importance to preserving the original parts and a consistent reconstruction using traditional craftsmanship and sound ideals. Ahrend and Brunzema received the Lower Saxony State Prize for Crafts in 1962. By 1971 55 new buildings had been built and 15 instruments were restored.
In 1971 Brunzema left the cooperative to settle in Canada. From 1972 to 1979 he was artistic director of the organ building company Casavant Frères , which, under his influence, turned to the principles of the north German baroque organ. Here Brunzema was responsible for larger organ projects in Canada, the USA, Japan and Australia as well as for some restorations of historical Casavant organs in Ontario and Québec .
In 1980 Brunzema set up his own company Brunzema Organs in Fergus. He built a total of 25 box organs with three or four registers , which churches and music colleges served as continuo instruments. There were also nine two-manual mechanical instruments with up to 25 registers, most of which were made between 1985 and 1987. In terms of sound, his new buildings were based on the north German baroque organ, especially the works of Arp Schnitger , but were characterized by a contemporary organ case with an independent artistic profile. 20 of his 41 new organs were built in Canada and 17 in the USA. 1985/86 and 1990–1992 his son Friedrich (born June 7, 1963), who had learned organ building from 1982 to 1985 from Rudolf Janke ( Bovenden ), worked in his father’s business. The poor health of the father finally led Friedrich to take over the company in early 1992. After Gerhard Brunzema died in April 1992, the company was initially discontinued. D. Leslie Smith, who worked for Brunzema from 1982 to 1992, built a new workshop in 1996 on the former Brunzema estate in Fergus and carried on its tradition.
Works (selection)
The size of the instruments is indicated by the number of manuals (Roman numerals) and the number of sounding registers (Arabic numerals). A separate pedal is marked with a capital "P", an attached pedal with a small "p". R = restoration, Rk = reconstruction and NB = new building. The links in the last column refer to further information and the dispositions .
Ahrend & Brunzema (1954–1971)
year | opus | place | church | image | Art | Manuals | register | info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1954/1988 | 1 | Larrelt | Larrelter Church | R. | I / p | 11 | organ | |
1955 | 4th | Westerhusen | Westerhuser Church | R. | I / p | 7th | organ | |
1957 | 8th | Emden | Harsweg | NB | I. | 4th | ||
1957 | 9 | Uttum | Uttum Church | R. | I. | 9 | organ | |
1957 (1997) | 10 | Veldhausen | Old Reformed Church | NB | I (II / P) | 6 (13) | organ | |
1959/2002 | 18th | Scheveningen (NL) | Zorgvlietkerk | NB | III / P | 26th | organ | |
1960 | 22nd | Zutphen (NL) | Walburgiskerk | NB | I / p | 6th | organ | |
1961 | 25th | Rysum | Rysumer Church | R. | I. | 7th | organ | |
1961 | 27 | Aurich | Lamberti Church | NB | II / P | 25th | organ | |
1962 | 30th | Bremen | St. Martini | NB | III / P | 33 | organ | |
1964 | 35 | Hatzum | St. Sebastian Church | NB | I / p | 7th | organ | |
1965 | 41 | Amsterdam (NL) | Oude Kerk (transept organ) | NB | II / P | 17th | organ | |
1965 | 43 | Amsterdam (NL) | Oude Waalse Kerk | R. | II / P | 26th | organ | |
1966/96 | 45 | Bremen - Oberneuland | St. Johann | NB | III / P | 28 | Organ (PDF; 203 kB) | |
1967 | 49 | Castrop-Rauxel | Johanneskirche Schwerin-Frohlinde | NB | III / P | 27 | ||
1968 | 57 | Gutersloh | Gospel Church | NB | II / P | 20th | organ | |
1968 | 58 | Haarlem (NL) | Doopsgezinde kerk | NB | III / P | 24 | organ | |
1969 | 62 | Hamburg | Reformed Church Altona | NB | II / P | 13 | organ | |
1969 | 63 | Loga | reformed Church | NB | I / P | 9 | ||
1966/69/87 | 65 | Marienhafe | Marienkirche | R. | II / p | 20th | organ | |
1970 | 68 | Frankfurt am Main | Cantate Domino Church | NB | III / P | 33 | Organ (PDF; 2.3 MB), p. 162f. | |
1970 | 69 | Uelsen | reformed Church | NB | II / P | 20th | organ | |
1965-70 / 75-77 | 70 | innsbruck | Court Church | R. | II / p | 15th | organ | |
1971 | 72 | Westerstede | St. Peter's Church | NB | II / p | 22nd | organ | |
1963-1971 | 74 | Empty | Big church | R. | III / P | 37 | organ |
Gerhard Brunzema (1980–1991)
year | place | church | image | Art | Manuals | register | info |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | Pella , Iowa | Central College | NB | II / P | 19th | ||
1983/1991 | Kitchener , Ontario | Blessed Sacrament | NB | II / P | 13 | organ | |
1986 | Glace Bay , Nova Scotia | St Anne's | NB | ||||
1986-1987 | Toronto | Holy Family Church | NB | II / P | 20th | ||
1988 | Charlotte, North Carolina | St John's | NB | II / P | 26th | organ | |
1990 | Seoul , South Korea | Dong Presbyterian Church | NB |
literature
- C. Cramer: An Interview with Gerhard Brunzema . In: American Organist , 23/3, 1989, pp. 46-49.
- Thomas Donahue (Ed.): Gerhard Brunzema. His Work and His Influence. Scarecrow Press, Lanham 1998, ISBN 0-8108-3366-2 .
- Günter Lade (Ed.): 40 years of organ building Jürgen Ahrend 1954-1994 . Self-published, Leer-Loga 1994.
- In memoriam Gerhard Brunzema . In: The Diapason . 83/8, 1992, p. 12.
- Brunzema, Gerhard (B. 1927) . In: Douglas E. Bush, Richard Kassel (Eds.): The Organ. To Encyclopedia . Routledge, New York, London 2006, ISBN 0-415-94174-1 , pp. 83 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
- Jan Overduin: Gerhard Brunzema: Canadian Organ Builder . In: Organ Yearbook . 15, 1984, pp. 124-129.
- Uwe Pape : Jürgen Ahrend and Gerhard Brunzema . In: Organ Yearbook . No. 3, 1972, pp. 24-35.
Web links
- Official homepage of Jürgen Ahrend Orgelbau
- Official homepage of Casavant Frères (English / French)
- The Canadian Encyclopedia: Gerhard Brunzema
Individual evidence
- ^ Family history of Friedrich Brunzema , accessed on August 15, 2017.
- ^ Homepage Jürgen Ahrend Orgelbau : Geschichte , accessed on August 15, 2017.
- ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia: Gerhard Brunzema , accessed August 15, 2017.
- ^ Homepage of Friedrich Brunzema , accessed on August 15, 2017.
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Brunzema, Gerhard |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Brunzema, Gerhard Friedrich (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German organ builder |
DATE OF BIRTH | July 6, 1927 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Emden |
DATE OF DEATH | April 7, 1992 |
Place of death | Fergus, Ontario , Canada |