Stiehr and Mockers (organ builders)

The Stiehr and Mockers families were important organ builders in Alsace ( France ). Their workshop existed in Seltz for four generations from around 1780 to 1926 . More than 250 new organs of the family are occupied.

history

The founder of the organ builder family Michael Stiehr (1750-1829) came from Kürnach near Würzburg and settled in Seltz in 1777. His first marriage was to Elisabeth Lang († 1824). From this marriage went as a third child

Joseph Stiehr (1792–1867), whose sons also became organ builders:
- Marc Stiehr (1826 – after 1878) emigrated to Chile;
- Léon Stiehr (1840–1891) stayed in the family workshop in Seltz;
- Edouard Stiehr (1842–1879) stayed in the family workshop in Seltz;
- Louis Joseph Stiehr (1853–1936) worked at Cavaillé-Coll , later at Blési in Nancy, then at Jacquot-Jeanpierre in Rambervilliers, and finally sold pianos.

Xavery Mockers (1780–1861) worked for Michael Stiehr from 1804 and married his eldest daughter, Maria Juliana Stiehr (1788–1852) in 1807. Two of her sons also became organ builders:
- François Joseph Mockers (1815-1833)
- Felix Mockers (1818–1881), whose two sons in turn continued the workshop:
  - Joseph Mockers (1849-1883);
  - Louis Mockers (1859-1926). With him the organ building ended in 1926.

Ferdinand Stiehr (1803–1872) was the third child from Michael's marriage to Juliana von Hatten. Two of his children also became organ builders:
- Louis Stiehr (1835-1856)
- Théodore Stiehr (1848–1925) worked as an organ builder until 1896.
Xavier Stiehr (1806–1873) was the fourth child from Michael's marriage to Juliana von Hatten. Followed him
- Auguste Stiehr (1837-1887).

The family business worked together until around 1860. Ferdinand and Xavier then separated from their father's business as the Stiehr and Stiehr Frères brothers . This second workshop was continued by Auguste and Théodore Stiehr until 1896. The parent company Stiehr-Mockers existed under Léon Stiehr and finally under Louis Mockers in the fourth generation until 1926.

Their sphere of activity was almost exclusively in Lower Alsace . In the Upper Rhine 15 instruments were as delivered, few instruments in the Pfalz, only to Lorraine, not in the rest of France , not for swimming , not in the Saarland .

Architectural style

Michael Stiehr took over the Alsatian tradition from Johann Andreas Silbermann , with two-manual organs with main work , Rückpositiv and pedal . In larger organs there is an echo with half the keyboard . He built hanging action , the distance between the main and positive case is about 1.20 m. There is only a manual slide coupler on couplers, but no pedal coupler.

The register fund corresponds to tradition: In the main work there is a principal choir in 8 ', 4' and 2 ' positions as well as a mixture . A cymbal is no longer built. There are also Bourdon 8 ′, Flute 4 ′, Nazard, Terz, Cornet from c ¹ and trumpet - sometimes with bass and treble division - occasionally Voix humaine. The Rückpositiv is also marked with a Nazard and a third and also has a cromhorn (Cromorne). Gamba 8 ′ and 4 ′, Salicional 8 ′ and 4 ′ and occasionally flûte traversière 8 ′ are added to the new registers compared to the Silbermann tradition. The 4 'flutes are built as a reed flute, pointed flute or night horn. The rear pedal mechanism often only has 13 to 18 tones, but is more often equipped with Bombarde 16 ′ than with Silbermann. At first there is hardly any open 16 'register. Usually there are subbass 16 ′, flute (octave bass) 8 ′ and trumpet 8 ′.

After 1830 the thirds and the mixture in the Rückpositiv disappear. More and more often, the Krummhorn is supplemented or completely replaced by Basson-Hautbois. Gemshorn (Cor de Chamois) 8 ′ and Flûte pointue 4 ′ are new additions. A Clairon 4 ′ is back in fashion. The division into bass and treble is no longer necessary. The pedal work is supplemented by violoncello 8 'and has 25 keys in larger organs.

From 1840 open hollow flutes (Flûte majeure) 8 ′ made of wood appeared, the Flûte traversière then moved into the Rückpositiv. Occasionally the Rückpositiv is designed as an upper work. In the pedal, violonbass 16 'is sometimes also available.

Stiehr's first swell plant was built in Bischoffsheim in 1848 - just ten years after Aristide Cavaillé-Coll . The Salicional of the side manual is now called Jeu céleste , but it is not floating. The bombarde is now called the ophicléide , and the pedal trumpet is called the trombone . Principal 8 'appears more and more often in the positive.

After Barr , the largest organ from Stiehr with three manuals and 43 registers was delivered in 1852. She receives two manual couplers as trains, but still no pedal coupler. During this time, resounding tongues are only being built on a trial basis; it is better to hold onto the Voix humaine. Introductory steps for forte and piano occur occasionally.

The first pedal coupler was built around 1860. But this will not become the standard. Most organs now have an upper work or swell work. Its blinds cannot be adjusted continuously, but are either fully opened or fully closed using a foot hook.

Even after 1870, the tradition was stuck to: slider chests, whenever possible Rückpositiv with 2 ′ and in the main work Mixtur, Cornet from c ¹ and trumpet, 18 notes in the pedal, no pedal coupler, and a built-in play cabinet with hanging action. In 1878 the last organ with Rückpositiv was delivered, in 1883 there was the first free-standing console in Zilling . Only after 1890 did Cornet and 2 ′ disappear. The cone chest was never introduced, pneumatics were completely dispensed with: the organs remained mechanical.

The last organ was delivered in 1897. Louis Mockers kept himself afloat for almost 30 years with repairs and maintenance and also ran agriculture.

Works by the Stiehr and Mockers families (selection)

The list of works by Michael Stiehr see here .

In the fifth column, the Roman number indicates the number of manuals , a capital "P" indicates an independent pedal and the Arabic number in the penultimate column indicates the number of sounding registers . The last column lists special features and additional web links on the left.

year	place	building	Manuals	register	Remarks
1835	Willgottheim	St-Maurice	I / P	16	On the side, almost completely preserved, under monument protection.
1835	Dettwiller	St-Jacques	II / P	24	With Sifflet 1 'in the main work, almost completely preserved, under monument protection.
1835	Dinsheim-sur-Bruche	Sts-Simon-et-Jude	II / P	25th	Reconstructed by Koenig after a fire.
1837	Seltz	St-Etienne	III / P	39	not received
1837	Nordheim	St-Paul	II / P	22nd	Receive.
1841	Hochfelden	Sts-Pierre-et-Paul	II / P	26th	Fully preserved, under monument protection.
1842	Candelabra	Protestant Church	II / P	32	First neo-Gothic case. Restored in 2020 by Yves Koenig, preserved.
1843	Romanswiller	Église protestante	II / P	21st	Received changed.
1845	Wings	St-Barthélémy	II / P	27	Preserved changed, under monument protection.
1847	Langensoultzbach	Église protestante	II / P	27	Preserved, under monument protection.
1848	Hoerdt	Église protestante	II / P	31	Very well preserved, under monument protection.
1848	Bischoffsheim	Ste-Aurélie	III / P	37	Restored by Koenig, under monument protection.
1849	Soufflenheim	St-Michel	II / P	31	Greatly changed. Today's organ by Gaston Kern is based on Stiehr's style.
1850	Kirchheim	Ste-Trinité	II / P	21st	Restored by Guerrier in 2006.
1850	Neuwiller-lès-Saverne	St-Adelphe	II / P	26th	Restored in 1985 by Gaston Kern , a listed building.
1852	Barr	Église protestante	III / P	43	Preserved, under monument protection.
1852	Orschwiller	St-Maurice	II / P	24	Preserved, under monument protection.
1853	Riquewihr	Ste-Marguerite prot.	III / P	35	In a housing by Christian Langes (1783), restored by Muhleisen , under monument protection.
1853	Riedisheim	St-Afre	II / P	27	Preserved slightly changed, under monument protection.
1857	Gunstett	St-Michel	II / P	25th	Preserved little changed.
1857	Modern	Église protestante	II / P	28	Preserved little changed.
1853	Helfrantzkirch	St-Barthélémy	II / P	28	Very well preserved, restored by Alfred Kern , under monument protection.
1859	Wipe	St-Michel	II / P	30th	In 1873 a swell by Théodore Jaquot was added, otherwise well preserved, listed as a historical monument.
1860	Rosheim	St-Etienne	III / P	42	Rebuilt by Rinckenbach in 1926, a listed building.
1861	Schillersdorf	Église protestante	II / P	28	Received changed.
1863	Waldolwisheim	St-Pancrace	II / P	23	In the case of Andreas Silbermann from Rosheim , preserved modified.
1865	Urmatt	Ste-Croix	II / P	23	With upper work, preserved.
1865	Grendelbruch	Sts-Philippe-et-Jacques	II / P	27	With swell, preserved.
1866	La Robertsau	Église protestante	II / P	26th	With swell, preserved little changed, under monument protection.
1866	Illkirch-Grafenstaden	St symphories	II / P	33	With Schwellwerk, 1975 extended by a positive return from Gaston Kern , otherwise preserved.
1867	Beblenheim	Église protestante	II / P	20th	With positive inside, restored by Antoine Bois.
1867	Bischwiller	Église protestante	III / P	35	Reconstruction and extension of the organ by Andreas Silbermann , restored by Alfred Kern , under monument protection.
1869	Ottersthal	Ste-Marie-Auxiliatrice	II / P	24	Almost unchanged.
1869	Heiligenberg	St. Vincent	II / P	25th	With Oberwerk and Voix humaine, replaced by a new building in 1906.
1870	Mollkirch	St-Joseph	II / P	21st	With swell, restored by Muhleisen .
1870	Riedseltz	St-Jacques-majeur	II / P	20th	Preserved little changed, under monument protection.
1871	Emergency stop	St-Michel	II / P	24	Almost unchanged.
1872	Matzenheim	St-Sigismond	II / P	22nd	With swell, preserved.
1874	Logelbach	Bienheureuse Vierge Marie	II / P	19th	With swell, preserved.
1876	Hersbach	Imaculée Conception	II / P	18th	With swell, preserved almost unchanged, under monument protection.
1876	Wickersheim-Wilshausen	Eglise protestante	II / P	19th	With swell, preserved.
1877	Lampertheim	Eglise protestante	II / P	25th	Preserved little changed.
1877	People's home	St-Barthélémy	II / P	24	With Rückpositiv, restored by Alfred Kern , under monument protection.
1878	Uhlwiller	Sts-Pierre-et-Paul	II / P	26th	The last organ with Rückpositiv, preserved almost unchanged.
1878	Munchhausen	St-Pantaléon	II / P	26th	With swell, restored by Koenig.
1882	Muhlbach-sur-Bruche	Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption	II / P	19th	Without 2 'register, preserved unchanged.
1881	Orschwihr	St-Nicolas	II / P	26th	Preserved unchanged, under monument protection.
1886	Barembach	St-Georges	II / P	25th	Replaced by a new building in 1902.
1894	Schweighouse-sur-Moder	St-Jacques-Majeur	II / P	16	With a free-standing gaming table, little changed.
1897	Westhouse	St-Matthieu	II / P	21st	With free-standing gaming table. This last organ from Stiehr remained unchanged except for the prospect pipes.

literature

Pie Meyer-Siat: Stiehr-Mockers. Facteurs d'orgues. Haguenau 1972.

Web links

decouverte.orgue.free.fr: Organ building families Stiehr and Mockers (French)

Individual evidence

↑ See: Pie Meyer-Siat: Historical organs in Alsace. Munich 1983. p. 26.
See: http://decouverte.orgue.free.fr/stiehr.htm , accessed on April 22, 2020

↑ To Beblenheim , Bretten , Colmar (St-Matthieu), Colmar-Logelbach, Didenheim , Guewenheim , Helfrantzkirch , Orbey , Orschwihr , Riedisheim , Riquewihr , Schlierbach , Stetten , Willer and Zillisheim

↑ To Ingenheim (1779), Neuburg am Rhein (1786), Rheinzabern (1789) and Kandel (1842).
See: Bernhard H. Bonkhoff: Historical organs in the Palatinate. Munich 1984.
See: Bernhard H. Bonkhoff: Monument organs in the Palatinate. Speyer 1990.