Organ of St. Peter's Church (Riga)
The organ of the Petrikirche in Riga is an international organ building project for the Petrikirche in Riga . A German-Latvian citizens' initiative has been in the process of having Gottfried Kloosen's baroque organ from 1734 reconstructed by the Wegscheider organ workshop in Dresden since 2016 .
history
The Petrikirche is one of the oldest and largest churches in the Baltic States, is the Reformation church of the over 800 year old Hanseatic city of Riga, the capital of Latvia, and with its striking baroque tower a landmark of the city.
The history of the church is shaped by an outstanding musical tradition, the most famous representative of which is the organist Johann Gottfried Müthel , the last student of Johann Sebastian Bach . He played on the baroque organ built by the organ builder Kloosen in 1734.
(Johann) Gottfried Kloosen (also Cloosen , Closs and Kloss ) came from Meffersdorf . He was presumably a student of the organ builder Andreas Hildebrandt and worked in the Baltic States from the 1720s . In 1720/1721 he repaired the organ of the Niguliste kirik in Tallinn. From 1728 to 1740 he was organist at St. John's Church in Riga. Since 1728 his activities in the Petrikirche in Riga are documented, for which he completed a new organ in 1734 after four years of construction. After his instrument in Riga Cathedral, it was the second largest organ in the city at the time. In Riga's city archive, the following is said about the construction time, the number of registers and the costs:
“Because this required a lot of resources and time, the organ, as one of the most necessary pieces, could only be made in 1733. This organ, which was made by the organ builder Gottfried Klossen within four years, was stirred for the first time on September 23 of the planned 1733th year. It consists of three pianos and 41 voices, 12 of which are in the main manual, 10 in the upper part, 9 in the chest part, 9 and 10 in the pedal. According to the contract signed with the church administration on September 30th in 1729, the organ builder has 4,200 Rthl for his work and the materials required for it. Albr. and a four-year free apartment. The sculptor Hinrich von Bergen received 210 Rthl for his work. Albr. to get. And this organ cost almost 5,350 in all. "
Kloosen repaired the cathedral organ in 1738. He then moved to Görlitz, where he acquired citizenship on February 6, 1740.
In 1886 the Walcker company replaced the Kloosen organ with a romantic instrument. The church was badly damaged in the Second World War in 1941, the organ burned down with all the church furnishings . In 1984 the church building was restored and the tower rebuilt. The organ loft, however, remained empty.
In 2011, an organ association was founded, which presented the plans to restore the baroque organ to the public for the first time in that year. The planning and reconstruction were entrusted to the Dresden organ builder Kristian Wegscheider . The Latvian architect Peteris Blums, who is the project manager, submitted the structural engineering report to the authorities of the city of Riga in 2017.
Experts describe the project as an interesting European organ project. As a baroque counterpart to the large romantic organ in the cathedral, Riga has an instrument for the rich variety of baroque organ music.
Research and reconstruction
Due to the already numerous researches on the musical concept and the external appearance of the Kloosen organ, it is possible to bring this instrument back to life. It is planned to support further scientific research by the Baltic Organ Center Stralsund and by other experts.
The basic technical and musical conception as well as the optical design of the Kloosen organ are largely known. However, the exact details of this organ from 1734 still require further research. This also includes examinations of organs from the temporal and regional environment, which must be used for conclusions by analogy. The Kloosen organ exemplarily reflects the spirit of the musical development of that time. Gottfried Kloosen added significant extensions to his baroque organ. The Hildebrandt organ in the parish church of St. Bartholomew in Pasłęk / Prussian Holland (Poland) is an excellent example of the organ building of that time with similarities to the Kloosen organ .
Furthermore, an accompanying scientific research on the environment of the organ builder Kloosen, his origin and possible work is necessary. The archive in Marburg offers some photos of the old case and the ornamentation. Organ building in Danzig in the early 18th century and comparative studies in Central Germany offer good analogies.
In cooperation with suitable wood sculptors and restorers, the artistic equipment of the organ could be restored. This requires direct cooperation with the organ builders. The elaborate reconstruction of the entire carving, including the necessary models of the two large angel figures, was assessed by two different wood sculptors.
The reconstruction of this historical instrument not only makes a valuable contribution to the documentation of music history, but also creates a practical musical instrument that can enrich today's musical life in the city in church services and concerts.
During the reconstruction of the church after the Second World War, the organ gallery was also reconstructed, but not the singing gallery below, which is of great importance for the design of the west wall of the church. The reconstruction of this music gallery belongs in the broadest sense to the reconstruction of the entire organ system, because the gallery can be used musically in connection with the organ.
Conception of the baroque organ
In the search for the “true sound”, a concern at least since the efforts of historically informed performance practice , as many parameters as possible should be combined for the planned organ reconstruction. International instrument makers and practicing musicians should contribute in an interdisciplinary way to come close to such an ideal. In the organ sector in particular, the so-called organ movement in the 1920s, which experienced a further period of prosperity after the Second World War, did pioneering preparatory work, but in its glorification of the baroque organ, especially of the Schnitger type, carried out an unhelpful polarization. Today a more objective differentiation is given.
In view of the disadvantages of a " universal organ", the attraction of a stylistically defined organ lies in the greater color and nuance of details. Even a “baroque organ”, disregarding the closer delineation especially in comparison to fine art, architecture and poetry, can be used in a more diverse way beyond its supposedly narrow limits. The Baroque era is and will remain a culmination point in the history of the organ (sonically as well as technically) and its music (compositionally and genre-pluralistic) towards which a development took place that had a long-lasting aftereffect.
A richly equipped baroque organ usually contains both backward-facing sounds (e.g. short-bellied tongues and overtone aliquot registers ) as well as timbres that look into the future (e.g. strings and overblown registers). Such a comprehensive type has been predominant for a long period of time. The baroque organ lives from the multicolor both of the (late) renaissance , which includes the vocal ideal of the singing of the principals , and of the high baroque instrumentation, which is reflected in many register names as replicas of various ensemble and solo instruments.
That is why a baroque organ arranged in this way, apart from its compatibility with contemporary repertoire, allows the presentation of earlier styles right up to the music of the Rococo and early Romanticism. This multifunctionality is what makes a baroque organ so attractive, as it can be a motivational boost for restorations, reconstructions and new buildings.
Disposition
The original disposition of the Kloosen organ is known. The reconstructed organ will accordingly have 43 registers , which are divided into three manuals and pedal :
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Grants
The cost of the reconstruction of the organ is expected to be 1.5 million euros.
The project is sponsored and organized by the Latvian “Organ Foundation Petri Church Riga” (Latvian: Rīgas Sv. Pētera baznīcas ērģeļu fonds ), which is made up of German and Latvian members. The patron is the violinist Gidon Kremer .
The foundation was established in 2011 and follows the German-Latvian concern of preserving the musical tradition of baroque music. In addition to the administrative tasks involved in organ reconstruction, the foundation would like to promote and expand German-Latvian cooperation. She would also like to support the international exchange of organists and other artists as well as interested sponsors of the project.
In 2016 the German "Förderverein Orgel Petri-Kirche Riga eV" was founded in order to effectively support the Latvian "Orgel-Stiftung-Petrikirche Riga" as the construction agency of the project. The development association is recognized as a non-profit organization under German law. Proper use of the funds collected is evidenced in an annual financial report. In line with its objectives, the association also supports international meetings of organ musicians and experts as well as other artists to promote important musical traditions.
A first presentation of the project took place in October 2011 in St. Peter's Church in Riga. Fundraising events followed in 2012 in the Embassy of the Republic of Latvia in Berlin, 2013 in Switzerland, Berlin and Riga, 2014 in Bremen, 2015 in the Berlin parish church Zur Happy Message .
As part of the Evangelical Church Congress in Berlin - Wittenberg from May 25 to 27, 2017, a stand on the Market of Possibilities in the Berlin Exhibition Center provided information about the project.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Organ Foundation Petrikirche Riga , accessed on October 22, 2019.
- ^ Foundation of German Culture in Eastern Europe: The Queen of Instruments should rule again. Organ Foundation Petrikirche Riga , accessed on July 1, 2017.
- ^ Andrew McCrea: Towards a History of Organ-Building in the Baltic States. In: The Organ Yearbook. 25, 1995, pp. 1-32, here: p. 6.
- ^ Vor Frue Kirke - Doria , p. 350, accessed July 1, 2017.
- ↑ Ekkehard Ochs, Nico Schüler, Lutz Winkler (ed.): Musica Baltica. Interregional musical and cultural relations in the Baltic Sea area. Lang, Frankfurt am Main 1997, ISBN 3-631-30480-3 , p. 270.
- ↑ August von Bulmerincq (ed.): Documents and documents on the history of the city of Riga 1710–1740. Vol. 3. Deubner, Riga 1906, p. 57 ( online ).
- ↑ Uwe Pape (Ed.): Lexicon of North German Organ Builders . tape 2 : Saxony and bypassing . Pape Verlag, Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-921140-92-5 , pp. 192 .
- ↑ Orgeldatabase: Walcker organ from 1886 , accessed on June 30, 2017.
- ^ Latvian press review: The historic Petrikirche in Riga lacks the organ. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- ↑ An organ for Riga: The baroque Kloosen organ of the Petri Church should sound again! , Notification dated August 12, 2018, accessed on August 20, 2018.
- ↑ Chronicle of the project, accessed on October 22, 2019.
- ↑ An organ for Riga , accessed on June 30, 2017 (PDF).
- ↑ Hildebrandt organ in Pasłęk , accessed on June 30, 2017.
- ↑ Alexander Eckert: Organ reconstruction in the Riga Petrikirche as a European research, training and funding project in cultural studies and instrument making. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
- ↑ Hans Klotz : About the organ art of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque. Music, disposition, mixtures, lengths, registration, use of the pianos. 3. Edition. Bärenreiter, Kassel 1986, ISBN 3-7618-0775-9 , p. 60.
- ↑ Klaus Eichhorn , University of the Arts Bremen, on An Organ for Riga: Why a Baroque Organ? Retrieved June 30, 2017.
- ^ Erik Fischer: Musical instrument making in intercultural discourse. Franz Steiner, Wiesbaden 2006, ISBN 978-3-515-08811-4 , p. 119 f.
- ↑ Disposition of the Kloosen organ , accessed on May 5, 2019 (PDF).
- ^ Reformatorisch Dagblad dated August 16, 2016: Plannen voor reconstructie barokorgel Petrikirche Riga , accessed on July 1, 2017.
- ↑ University of the Arts Bremen , accessed on July 1, 2017.
- ↑ Berlin Week : Benefit concert and lecture in the church on the good news , accessed on July 1, 2017.
Coordinates: 56 ° 56 ′ 51 ″ N , 24 ° 6 ′ 33.6 ″ E