Draft drawing by Glogers for the organ of the Osterholz monastery church
After completion of the Zionskirche, whose construction Jürgen Christian Findorff had directed from 1757-1759, he agreed in November 1759 to build a new organ with Gloger. Gloger was not a direct student of Arp Schnitger , but continued his tradition. He married the widow of Schnitger's pupil Nathanael Krusewitz and ran his workshop in Stade, which Krusewitz had taken over after Schnitger's death in 1719. The disposition comprised 15 registers on a manual (10 registers) and pedal (5 registers). The pedals were set up behind. Originally, a prospect based on a principal 4 'was planned because of the low gallery . This plan was later probably changed in favor of a principal 8 ′. The Gloger organ of the St. Marien monastery church in neighboring Osterholz from 1752 was also based on an 8 ′ principle. Gloger's reconstructed disposition for Worpswede is as follows:
I main work C–
Quintadena
16 ′
Principal
8th'
Gedact
8th'
Octave
4 ′
flute
4 ′
Octave
2 ′
Sesquialtera II
Mixture IV
Scharff III
Trumpet
8th'
Pedal C–
Sub bass
16 ′
Principal
8th'
Octave
4 ′
Dulcian (?)
16 ′
Trumpet
8th'
Reconstruction by Tappe in 1831
In 1830/1831 the organ builder Peter Tappe carried out an extension after the gallery had been lowered for this purpose. Tappe added an upper work with five voices and probably replaced the dulcian in the pedal with a trombone by making longer bells. The play area was renewed and the game table was set up free-standing so that the organist had a view of the altar area. A disadvantage of the upper works was that when the church was heated, the mood differed from the other works. The disposition with 20 registers is handed down to Heinrich Renken in 1833:
I main work C–
Quintadena
16 ′
Principal
8th'
Gedact
8th'
Octave
4 ′
flute
4 ′
Octave
2 ′
Sesquialtera II
Mixture IV
Scharff III
Trumpet
8th'
II upper structure C–
Double flute
8th'
flute
4 ′
Fugaris
4 ′
Gemshorn
2 ′
bassoon
8th'
Pedal C–
Sub bass
16 ′
Principal
8th'
Octave
4 ′
trombone
16 ′
Trumpet
8th'
New building by Peternell in 1900
The organ, which was expanded in 1831, was prone to failure due to its complicated action . When the disturbances and the functional restrictions increased more and more, the community bought a new organ. In 1900 the Peternell brothers created a new organ with a pneumatic action and 26 stops. The organ reflected the late romantic style of its time and accordingly had many fundamental voices, which enabled dynamic differentiation. This was additionally supported by a step sill.
New building by Führer in 1959
The Peternell organ also became increasingly unplayable over the decades, so that it was replaced in 1959 by a new one by Alfred Führer . In terms of sound and construction, the new instrument was characterized by the reintroduced work principle , the use of mechanical sliding chests and many high registers. 20 registers were distributed over the main work and breast work (seven parts each) as well as the side pedal work (6 parts). Due to the breastwork, however, no main work based on a principal 8 'was possible. In addition to the sound deficits, technical defects and material fatigue occurred in the post-war instrument, so that the organ auditor at the time, Winfried Dahlke , brought the possibility of a new building into play in 2002.
New building by Ahrend 2012
Prospect pipes with protective paint in the Ahrend workshop (January 2012)
View of the manual: in front the cylindrical dulcian, behind the conical trumpet
After the decision to build a new organ, planning began in 2004. A working group supported the financing of the organ project. 300 concerts, donations and sponsorships for individual organ pipes financed more than half of the € 540,000 required. Former Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt also took on a sponsorship. The European Union and the Protestant regional church each funded the project with € 100,000, the sale of the Führer organ brought in € 30,000.
The concept of the Ahrend organ is based on Gloger's organ from 1762, but expands it (like Tappe in 1831) by a second manual, albeit in a different design than Tappe. As with Gloger, Tappe and Peternell, the rear pedal mechanism has found its place behind the housing of the manual mechanism. In contrast to Gloger's instruments, the sub-bass is made of wood. A characteristic of the organ is the use of a double charging as in the Gloger organ in Neuhaus (Oste) (1745): The two manual works are after the "pushed through" system on a single wind loading after the construction Glogers gespundet is.
As with comparable organs by Arp Schnitger of the same size, the prospectus has five axes: a polygonal, elevated central tower and two pointed side towers each enclose a two-story flat field. In the flat fields only the pipes in the upper fields are ringing. Contrary to Schnitger, there is no third octave arrangement of the pipes in the flat fields. In addition, the profiled transom strips only reach up to the pilaster strips . The friezes in the profiles are narrower and the consoles under the belt rim have a different shape. The upper and lower cornices are richly profiled in Worpswede. The pipe fields are closed at the top and bottom by tendrils, which also form the lateral blind wings and are decorated in some places with gold leaf.
Instead of the softwood that Gloger had used to save costs, Ahrend used oak wood for the wood-transparent housing and most of the components. The manual keys are covered with snakewood and bone. The inlays are made of rosewood, bone and ebony. The disposition and the lengths of the pipes are based on the traditional information about the Worpswede instrument and other Gloger organs and were adapted to the spatial conditions on site.
