Johann Nikolaus Schäfer

Schäfer's prospectus has been preserved from the organ in the Luther Church in Marburg.

Johann Nikolaus Schäfer (* 1671 in Kilianstädten ; † 1744 ) was a Baroque organ builder who worked in Hesse.

Life

Schäfer came from Babenhausen and settled in Hanau in 1705 , where he built an organ for his hometown Kilianstädten in the same year . It is not known from whom he learned organ building. His wife was called Helena Catharina and gave birth to their son Johann Ernst Henrich Schäfer in 1726. Schäfer is considered the most important organ builder in Hanau in the 18th century. His successor was Joseph Carl Großwaldt (* 1760), of which only one new building ( Wickstadt , 1759) is documented.

plant

The broad prospectus is typical of Schäfer . His organs are characterized by idiosyncratic dispositions . His Marburg plant had four eight-foot labial registers; in the pedal four of seven registers were 16-footed; Oberwerk and Brustwerk had a six-fold mixture . The design of the prospectus in the Regency style in the town church of St. Marien (Homberg) is unusual for Hessen-Kassel and points to Johann Friedrich Schäffer from Witzenhausen as the builder. In 1716 Schäfer was asked to examine Caspar Kirchner's design for a new organ in Hachenburg. He essentially endorsed the design and sent two of his own disposition drafts, which were implemented in a similar form in his own new buildings. Apart from a few brochures, essentially only his Dieburger work is still preserved as a Rückpositiv in Nieder-Ramstadt .

List of works

year	place	church	Manuals	register	Remarks
1705	Kilian cities	Ev. church
1710	Marjoss	Ev. church			New construction or installation of an older organ
1717-1718	Usingen	Laurentiuskirche	I / P	14th	In 1881 Gustav Raßmann added a second manual; 1971/72 new building by Günter Hardt behind the historical housing and using 4–5 registers from Raßmann and the manual drawer from Schäfer.
1720	Kleestadt	Ev. church	I.	7th	built without a pedal; 1786 expanded to include a free pedal; Housing and manual wind chest received from Schäfer (today I / P / 12)
1720	Schaafheim	Ev. church	I.	13	1841 to the cath. Church Erbach sold; received some registers
1721-1722	Marburg	Lutheran Parish Church of St. Mary	II / P	28	Prospectus received
1723	The castle	St. Peter and Paul	I.	11	Transferred to Lengfeld in 1844, since 1965 as Rückpositiv in Nieder-Ramstadt ; best preserved work
1725	Erbach	City church Erbach	II / P	20th	Replaced in 1899 by a new building by Wilhelm Sauer behind the historical housing
1726	Altheim	Ev. church	I.	8th	built without a pedal; later expanded several times and replaced by a new Walcker organ in 1967; Prospectus received
1727	Hanau	Johanneskirche
1729-1731	Steinau an der Straße	Reinhard Church	I / P	15th	New building; not received
1734	Babenhausen	Ev. church	I / P	17th	1951 replaced by a new Walcker building behind the historic housing
1732-1736	Homberg (Efze)	City Church of St. Mary	II / P		by Johann Friedrich Schäffer, formerly attributed to Johann Nikolaus Schäfer; only richly decorated prospectus by Josef Dietrich Göhring in Regency style preserved (today III / P / 32) → organ

literature

Hans Martin Balz : organs and organ builder in the area of the former Hessian province of Starkenburg. A contribution to the history of organ building . Bärenreiter-Antiquariat, Kassel 1969 (Studies on Hessian Music History 3).
Hans Martin Balz, Reinhardt Menger: Old organs in Hessen and Nassau (= publication of the Society of Organ Friends . Volume 72 ). Merseburger, Kassel 1979, ISBN 3-87537-169-0 .
Franz Bösken : Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (= contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 7.1 ). tape 2 : The area of the former administrative district of Wiesbaden. Part 1: A-K . Schott, Mainz 1975, ISBN 3-7957-1307-2 .
Franz Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (= contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 7.2 ). tape 2 : The area of the former administrative district of Wiesbaden. Part 2: L-Z . Schott, Mainz 1975, ISBN 3-7957-1370-6 .
Franz Bösken, Hermann Fischer: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (= contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 29.1 ). tape 3 : Former province of Upper Hesse. Part 1: A-L . Schott, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-7957-1330-7 .
Franz Bösken, Hermann Fischer: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine (= contributions to the Middle Rhine music history . Volume 29.2 ). tape 3 : Former province of Upper Hesse. Part 2: M-Z . Schott, Mainz 1988, ISBN 3-7957-1331-5 .
Dieter Großmann: Kurhessen as an organ landscape . In: Acta Organologica . tape 1 , 1967, p. 69-112 .
Gottfried Rehm: The organs of the former Schlüchtern district (= North German organs. Vol. 10). Pape, Berlin 1975, ISBN 3-921140-14-5 .

Web links

Helmut Fritz: Organ history of the Ev. Laurentius Church in Usingen (PDF file; 4.72 MB)
The baroque organ by Joh. Nik. Schäfer (Nieder-Ramstadt) ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )

Individual evidence

^ Hans Martin Balz: organs and organ builders in the area of the former Hessian province of Starkenburg. A contribution to the history of organ building (= studies on Hessian music history . Volume 3 ). Bärenreiter-Antiquariat, Kassel 1969, p. 111 .
^ Bösken, Fischer: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 3, Part 1: A – L. 1988, p. 16.
^ Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 2, Part 2: L – Z. 1975, p. 781.
↑ See the complete disposition from Dieter Großmann: Orgeln und Orgelbauer in Hessen (= contributions to Hessian history . Volume 12 ). 2nd Edition. Trautvetter & Fischer, Marburg 1998, ISBN 3-87822-109-6 , pp. 54 .
^ Eckhard Trinkaus: organs and organ builders in the former district of Ziegenhain (Hesse) (= publications of the historical commission for Hesse . Volume 43 ). Elwert, Marburg 1981, ISBN 3-7708-0713-8 , pp. 280 f .
^ Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 2, Part 1: A – K. 1975, p. 392.
↑ The baroque organ by Joh. Nik. Schäfer ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
^ Balz: organs and organ builders in the area of the former Hessian province of Starkenburg. 1969, p. 117 f.

personal data
SURNAME	Shepherd, Johann Nikolaus
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Scheffer
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German organ builder
DATE OF BIRTH	1671
PLACE OF BIRTH	Kilian cities
DATE OF DEATH	1744

[1] Hans Martin Balz: organs and organ builders in the area of the former Hessian province of Starkenburg. A contribution to the history of organ building (= studies on Hessian music history . Volume 3 ). Bärenreiter-Antiquariat, Kassel 1969, p. 111 .

[2] Bösken, Fischer: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 3, Part 1: A – L. 1988, p. 16.

[3] Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 2, Part 2: L – Z. 1975, p. 781.

[4] See the complete disposition from Dieter Großmann: Orgeln und Orgelbauer in Hessen (= contributions to Hessian history . Volume 12 ). 2nd Edition. Trautvetter & Fischer, Marburg 1998, ISBN 3-87822-109-6 , pp. 54 .

[5] Eckhard Trinkaus: organs and organ builders in the former district of Ziegenhain (Hesse) (= publications of the historical commission for Hesse . Volume 43 ). Elwert, Marburg 1981, ISBN 3-7708-0713-8 , pp. 280 f .

[6] Bösken: Sources and research on the organ history of the Middle Rhine. Vol. 2, Part 1: A – K. 1975, p. 392.

[7] The baroque organ by Joh. Nik. Schäfer ( Memento from September 4, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )

[8] Balz: organs and organ builders in the area of the former Hessian province of Starkenburg. 1969, p. 117 f.