Organ landscape between the Elbe and Weser

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The organ landscape between the Elbe and Weser denotes the organs in the Elbe-Weser triangle , i.e. in the former duchies of Bremen and Verden . The term organ landscape alone refers to the historically determined regional characteristics of the organs. Around 80 historic organs from before 1900 have been completely or partially preserved between the lower reaches of the Weser and Elbe since the 15th century and make this area one of the most important organ landscapes. Almost all of the original instruments have been restored since the 1970s so that they can be heard in their original sound.

History of organ building between the Elbe and Weser

Until the 17th century

Hus Schnitger organ in Stade, St. Cosmae

The first organ in the Elbe-Weser area is documented for the year 1322, when Berthold built an organ for St. Wilhadi in Stade . The earliest remaining traces can be found in the organ in Altenbruch , where Johannes Coci made an instrument from 1497–1501 that was rebuilt in 1577 by Matthias Mahn. Eight registers date from this early period, although it cannot be said with any certainty which of these two organ builders the individual registers are to be assigned to. The plant was later expanded and rebuilt several times (1647–1649 by Hans Christoph Fritzsche , 1698–1700 by Matthias Dropa and 1727–1730 by Johann Hinrich Klapmeyer ). Hans Scherer the Elder built an organ in Stade (St. Nicolai) in 1590, which was later extensively modified. In 1835 it was transferred to Himmelpforten , some registers from Scherer being preserved, while the Rückpositiv case in Kirchlinteln has been preserved. In addition to the remains of his organs in Osterbruch and Otterndorf , Antonius Wilde's work in Lüdingworth from the years 1597–98 has been preserved. It was expanded from 1682 to 1683 by Arp Schnitger , who took over a large part of the registers from Wilde. Hans Riege rebuilt the Wilde organ in Otterndorf in 1662, of which some Wilde and Riege registers were retained despite two modifications. Schnitger's teacher and relative Berendt Hus was mainly active in Stade. While his work in St. Wilhadi (III / P / 44) burned in 1724, the organ in St. Cosmae (1668–1688), on which Schnitger had also contributed, was almost completely preserved (III / P / 42).

Arp Schnitger

Schnitger organ in Bülkau

Of particular importance are the eight organs in the Elbe-Weser region by Arp Schnitger, the leading organ builder in Northern Europe. Altogether 23 of his new buildings and larger organ conversions have been documented between the Elbe and Weser. Schnitger, with whom baroque organ building in northern Germany reached its peak, has significantly shaped the organ culture between the Elbe and Weser rivers. In addition to the aforementioned organs in Stade, Schnitger built an organ in 1680 for the St. Johannes monastery church in Hamburg, which was transferred to Cappel in 1816 and is considered the best-preserved Schnitger organ . While only the brochures remain of Schnitger's organs in Bülkau (1677–1679), Jork (1678–1679), Oederquart (1678–82) and Estebrügge (1702), the instruments in Steinkirchen (1685–87), Hollern (1688 –1690) and Grasberg (1693–94, originally for the Hamburg orphanage) and Dedesdorf (1697–98) are well preserved. At least some Schnitger registers can be found in the organs in Mittelkirchen (1688), possibly also in Borstel (1677), Freiburg / Elbe (1677) and Beverstedt (1709).

Schnitger school in the 18th century

Gloger organ in Otterndorf
Bielfeldt organ in Stade, St. Wilhadi

In the 18th century, Schnitger's numerous students carried out numerous conversions and considerable new organs in the area between the Elbe and Weser. The Schnitger pupil Matthias Dropa rebuilt the organ in Altenbruch from 1698–1700, of which four stops still bear witness today. His student, in turn, was Erasmus Bielfeldt , who may have also learned directly from Schnitger. Bielfeldt set up his workshop in Stade from 1730. From here he built an organ in Bremervörde (1733), of which the prospectus still remains. Significant and largely preserved works by Bielfeldt can be found in Scharmbeck ( St. Willehadi , 1731–34 / 45) and Stade (St. Wilhadi, 1731–1735) and have been expertly restored. Bielfeldt's pupil Dietrich Christoph Gloger († 1773) created considerable organ works in Otterndorf (1741/1742), Neuhaus (Oste) (1744/1745) and Cadenberge (1758–1763). Jacob Albrecht (1715–1759), who had learned organ building from the Schnitger journeyman Lambert Daniel Kastens , worked on the organ in Mittelkirchen and in Cadenberge, but did not complete either project. The housing of the pedal towers in Bremervörde (1746) and the prospectus in Osten (Oste) (1756) are still preserved from Albrecht . Johann Matthias Schreiber (1716–1771), who was a journeyman with Albrecht and Gloger, completed the renovation of the extension in Mittelkirchen (1750–1753). The organ prospectus in Dorum (1765–1770) comes from him . His work on the organ in Loxstedt (1767–1771) was completed by Johann Georg Wilhelm Wilhelmy (1781–1786) and Johann Wolfgang Witzmann (1789). From Schnitger's student Christian Vater only the prospectus remained in the Zeven monastery . Georg Wilhelm Wilhelmy settled in Stade in 1781 and was entirely committed to the style of his role model Schnitger. Of his organs, only brochures in Belum (1786), Gnarrenburg (1792) and Selsingen (1796–1798) can be admired. His son Johann Georg Wilhelm Wilhelmy continued the workshop in Stade from 1781 to 1858. The organs from Wilhelmy in Kehdingbruch (1816–1818), Oerel (1831) and Steinau (1839) have been preserved. Like his father, he was also in the Schnitger tradition.

19th century

Röver-Kemper organ in Lamstedt

Ernst Wilhelm Meyer repaired Schnitger's organ in Buxtehude in 1844 and his son Eduard Meyer built a new organ (II / P / 16) in Intschede in 1850 . The only organ almost completely preserved by Christian Bethmann is today in Posthausen (1832/1833, II / P / 18). It was originally built for Hameln , but was acquired by Posthausen in 1881. In contrast to Wilhelmy, Philipp Furtwängler strived for a progressive architectural style and modern organ sound. Largely preserved organ works by him can be found in Geversdorf (1843), Buxtehude ( St. Petri , 1858/1859), Twielenfleth (1861) and Brockel (1869), while in Krautsand (1849) and Blender (1852) major changes were made later. In Verden Cathedral built Johann Friedrich Schulze in 1850 a new organ, obtained from the still of the prospectus. P. Furtwängler & Hammer created a new organ here in 1916 and the organ in Wittlohe (1894) also comes from them. Johann Hinrich Röver worked from Stade from 1863. He has built new buildings in Ahausen (1863), Kirchwistedt (1863), Mulsum (Kutenholz) (1870), Oberndorf (Oste) (1879) and Bevern (1880). His sons (Carl Johann) Heinrich and (Friedrich Wilhelm) Ernst Röver still have an organ in Lilienthal (St. Marien, 1883). The sons then went their separate ways: Ernst Röver took over the company from Adolf Reubke in 1886 and built pneumatic plants in Nordleda (1889–1892) and Lamstedt (1907). Carl Johann Heinrich Röver (1851–1929) continued the family business until 1926 and created the organs in Neuenwalde (1887), Horst (1892) and Drochtersen (1895). The Peternell brothers built organs in Wremen (1865), in Osten (Oste) (1890, behind the historical prospectus) and in Mulsum (Kutenholz) (1895).

20th and 21st centuries

Ahrend organ in the Zionskirche in Worpswede (2012)

The 20th century is characterized by a checkered history and conflicting intentions. On the one hand, historical instruments have lost their substance due to renovations and new constructions. On the other hand, some old organs have been restored or reconstructed. At the beginning of the 20th century, the organ movement received impulses from the rich inventory of historical organs in northwest Germany. This includes the work of the organ builder Jürgen Ahrend Orgelbau from Leer-Loga , whose restorations and new constructions from 1954 onwards attracted worldwide attention and in organ building often brought about a return to the traditional craftsmanship principles and the classic sound ideals of organ building. The Ahrend organ of the Worpsweder Zionskirche from 2012 is based on the previous instrument by Dietrich Christoph Gloger (1762). The preservation and restoration of historic organs have the company Rudolf von Beckerath Orgelbau ( Hamburg ), Alfred leader (Wilhelmshaven), Martin Haspelmath ( Walsrode ), Gebr. Hillebrand ( Altwarmbüchen ), Rudolf Janke ( Bovenden ) and Paul Ott rendered outstanding , but they also built new organs, often behind historical prospectuses. A stylistic addition to the organ landscape is provided by the new organ by Gerald Woehl in Cuxhaven (St. Petri, 1993, III / P / 49), which enables the presentation of symphonic organ music in an appropriate manner, and the organ by Klais in Rotenburg (Stadtkirche, 1983, II / P / 36), which is especially designed for French-Romantic music.

Opening up to the public

Essential impulses for the promotion of the organ landscape between the Elbe and Weser come from the work of the Stade Organ Academy under the artistic direction of Martin Böcker . The academy works closely with the Organeum in Weener and the Bremen University of the Arts . As an organ center, the Organ Academy organizes concerts, guided tours, master classes, advanced training courses and tourist excursions. Supported by NOMINE - North German Organ Music Culture in Lower Saxony and Europe e. V. organological publications for research into the north German organ culture are launched.

See also

literature

  • 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 .
  • Gustav Fock: Hamburg's share in organ building in the Low German cultural area . In: Journal of the Association for Hamburg History . No. 38 , 1939, pp. 289–373 ( uni-hamburg.de - see the English, revised version, Hamburg's Role , 1995).
  • Peter Golon, Karl-Wilhelm Kröncke: Historical organs in the district of Stade . Schaumburg, Stade 1983, ISBN 3-87697-009-1 .
  • Walter Kaufmann : The organs of the old Duchy of Oldenburg . Stalling, Oldenburg 1962.
  • Konrad Küster, Hans Tegtmeyer (ed.): God alone, honor - the wealth of organs in the old country . [Landschaftsverband Stade], [Stade] 2007, ISBN 978-3-931879-31-0 (catalog for the exhibition from June 7th to August 26th, 2007).
  • Ibo Ortgies : The practice of organ tuning in northern Germany in the 17th and 18th centuries and its relationship to contemporary music practice . Göteborgs universitet, Göteborg 2007 ( gbv.de [PDF; 5.2 MB ] First edition: 2004).
  • Günter Seggermann, Wolfgang Weidenbach: Monument organs between the Elbe and Weser . Merseburger, Kassel 1986, ISBN 3-87537-193-3 .
  • Harald Vogel , Günter Lade, Nicola Borger-Keweloh: Organs in Lower Saxony . Hauschild, Bremen 1997, ISBN 3-931785-50-5 .

Discography

  • Organ landscapes: A musical journey to 17 organs between the Elbe and Weser . 2011, NOMINE e. V., LC 08973 (organs in Borstel, Buxtehude, Cappel, Cuxhaven, Fintel, Harsefeld, Intschede, Kehdingbruch, Lilienthal, Lüdingworth, Mittelkirchen, Osten, Osterholz-Scharmbeck, Rotenburg / Wümme, Stade / Cosmae, Stade / Wilhade, Verden)
  • Arp Schnitger in Lower Saxony. 2nd edition 2014. Music production Dabringhaus and Grimm, 1831-2. 2 CDs. (All twelve Schnitger organs in Lower Saxony, presented by an international team of young organists under the artistic direction of Harald Vogel).
  • Organ landscape between the Elbe and Weser . 1999, Classico, CR 990901, CD (organs in Steinkirchen, Stade / St. Wilhadi, Verden, Cuxhaven).
  • Discography of the Schnitger organs striving for completeness .
  • Shop of the Stade Organ Academy .

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