Organ of the Cathedral of Mariana

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Organ of the Cathedral of Mariana
Órgão trópia-LF.png
General
alternative name Schnitger organ
place Mariana Cathedral
Organ builder Arp Schnitger
Construction year around 1712
Last renovation / restoration Bernhardt Edskes , 2001
epoch Baroque
Technical specifications
Number of registers 19th
Number of rows of pipes 25th
Number of manuals 2
Tone tract Mechanically
Register action Mechanically
Frontal view of the organ

The organ of the Cathedral of Mariana in Brazil was built by Arp Schnitger around 1712 . The instrument originally stood in Lisbon and was set up there by Schnitger's student Johann Hinrich (H) ulenkampf. The organ was donated to Brazil in 1752, where the case and 14 registers were completely preserved and two in part and are installed in the Cathedral of Mariana . The organ has a total of 19  registers , which are distributed over two manuals .

Building history

New building by Schnitger

In 1854 the Schnitger biographer Siwert Meijer published on the basis of Schnitger's original notes that he had exported two organs with twelve registers each to Portugal in 1701 : “Made two new organs, each with 12 registers, 2 manuals and a bellows. These two works were delivered to Portugal. ”It is questionable whether this information relates to the construction of the organ in Mariana. In contrast, the activity of Schnitger's employee Ulenkampf (Joâo Henriques Hulencampo) is secured in Portugal, with whom three contracts were concluded in Lisbon. From 1711 he worked in Lisbon, where a new building for the Carmel Church was built in 1725.

It is not certain for which Lisbon church Schnitger and / or Ulenkampf built the organ and which organ was sold. But an emblem with crossed arms on a sign indicates a Franciscan church. As with the sister instrument in Faro , the main movement and breastwork are housed in one case. This is only slightly wider than the lower case. The polygonal, elevated central tower is flanked by two pointed towers. Two-storey flat fields, which are structured by a profiled transom bar, mediate between the towers. Two large angel figures are attached to the lateral blind wings with curved acanthus tendrils and volutes . Three other angels crown the pipe towers, the middle one blows the trumpet. The design with large figures is characteristic of the style of the Hamburg city organs, while the country organs usually have only crowning carvings or cut-out bas-reliefs.

Later work

Due to a donation for the newly founded Diocese of Mariana, the organ was dismantled in 1752 and shipped to Rio de Janeiro in 18 boxes . After arriving in the port city on October 16, 1752, the boxes reached Mariana, a center of rich gold finds, more than 400 kilometers away in the highlands of Minas Gerais, via the arduous land route on November 22, 1752. The construction of the organ was probably completed on August 15, 1753 and in this context the quintade 16 'was replaced by a flute 4'. Due to the overpass, the instrument escaped the Lisbon earthquake in 1755 . Similar to the instrument in Faro, the organ was painted with chinoiseries , which was carried out at the latest when it was installed in Mariana.

Changes were made in the 19th century. The reed registers were removed, the wedge bellows replaced with a magazine bellows and new keyboards were installed. As a result, the instrument deteriorated and was unplayable for decades.

Restorations

After several European organists got to know the instrument and pointed out its special value, it was restored by Rudolf von Beckerath Orgelbau between 1977 and 1984 . The restoration was not carried out according to historical standards. The organ received new keyboards and a modern pedal. The missing tongue registers were replaced, but the original disposition was not restored. The old high chorus was also not used and the original pipework was cut off.

Bernhardt Edskes carried out a second restoration in 2001 , which was consistently based on the condition of 1753. The measures of the first restoration were reversed, the shortened pipes attached and the lost registers and pipes in the old scales reconstructed. Edskes restored the housing and created a new wind turbine with three wedge bellows in the Schnitger style. The preserved manual keyboards were used again in a restored form, the pedal keyboard and the keyboard and register action were reconstructed. The restoration confirmed that it came from Schnitger's Hamburg workshop.

Disposition since 1753

I main work CDEFGA – c 3
Principal 08th' S.
Quintad 16 ′00 S / U
Dumped 08th' S / E
Octave 04 ′ S.
flute 04 ′ U
Quinta 03 ′ S.
Super octave 02 ′ S.
Sesquialtera II0 S.
Mixture IV-V S.
bassoon 16 ′ E.
Trumpet B / D 08th' E.
II breastwork CDEFGA – c 3
Dumped 08th'00 S.
Flute 04 ′ S.
Octave 02 ′ S.
Pointed Flute D. 02 ′ S.
Fifth 1 1 ⁄ 3  ′ S.
Sifflet 01' S.
Sesquialtera II B / D0 S.
Dulcian B / D 08th' S.
Pedal CDEFGA – d 1
attached
Remarks
S = Schnitger around (1712)
U = unknown, when installed in Mariana (1752)
E = Edskes (2001)

Technical specifications

  • 19 stops, 25 rows of pipes.
  • Wind supply : 3 wedge bellows (Edskes)
    • Wind pressure: 71 mm water column
  • Windchest with bass / treble division (Schnitger)
  • Action (Schnitger):
    • Keyboards: manuals (Schnitger), pedal (Edskes)
    • Tone action: mechanical
    • Stop action: mechanical
  • Mood :

literature

  • Cornelius H. Edskes , Harald Vogel : Arp Schnitger and his work (=  241st publication by the Society of Organ Friends ). 2nd Edition. Hauschild, Bremen 2013, ISBN 978-3-89757-525-7 , pp. 112-113, 199-200 .
  • Gustav Fock : Arp Schnitger and his school. A contribution to the history of organ building in the North and Baltic Sea coast areas . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1974, ISBN 3-7618-0261-7 , p. 263, 281 .

Web links

Commons : Organ of Catedral Basílica Nossa Senhora da Assunção  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edskes, Vogel: Arp Schnitger and his work. 2nd edition 2013, p. 227.
  2. ^ Gerhard Doderer: Internationaler Kongress Brasil-Europa , accessed on March 2, 2018.
  3. ↑ Fock: Arp Schnitger and his school. 1974, p. 281.
  4. ↑ a b Edskes, Vogel: Arp Schnitger and his work. 2nd edition 2013, p. 199.
  5. ↑ a b Edskes, Vogel: Arp Schnitger and his work. 2nd edition 2013, p. 112.
  6. ↑ a b c page by H.-W. Coordes , accessed March 2, 2018.
  7. ^ The Mariana Organ Brazil : Restoration , accessed March 2, 2018.

Coordinates: 20 ° 22 ′ 41.8 ″  S , 43 ° 24 ′ 59.1 ″  W.