Werner Renkewitz

Werner Emanuel Renkewitz (born November 10, 1911 in Zurich ; † August 3, 1978 in Tübingen ) was a German " organ maker " and organ researcher in East Prussia and Württemberg .

Life

Early years in Bartenstein

Werner Emanuel Renkewitz's father was a pastor, his mother died early. In 1928 the family went to Bartenstein in East Prussia. There Werner Renkewitz did an apprenticeship with the organ builder Eduard Wittek in Elbing , then with Karl Kemper in Lübeck . Since the early 1930s he worked in its branch in Bartenstein. Werner Renkewitz has dedicated himself to researching the history of organ building in East and West Prussia since his apprenticeship.

In Rimini

He became a soldier in World War II and was taken prisoner by the British in 1945 in Rimini , Italy. There, with six helpers, he built a tin choir gel with a total of 502 pipes from tin cans, orange boxes, packing wire and other materials , which aroused much admiration. After his release in 1947, Renkewitz initially stayed in Italy and worked there as an organ builder.

In Württemberg

In 1952 he came to Nehren near Tübingen, where he set up an organ building workshop. He built and restored organs in the area. Renkewitz was considered an original . He built a Silbermann star in each of his organs , as his namesake Georg Renkewitz was a student of Gottfried Silbermann . The Orgelwerner was a passionate motorcyclist and founded the Yellow Scarf in 1958 as a forerunner of the Federal Association of Motorcyclists . He was in demand as an organ expert and devoted himself to further studies on the history of organ building.

Publications

Werner Renkewitz has been researching the history of organ building in East and West Prussia since 1928 . In 1941 and 1942 he evaluated organ files in the State Archives in Königsberg . After the war he continued his research. The records are of great importance because he himself got to know many organs that are lost today, as well as the documents. Jan Janca continued his research after his death and published it with Hermann Fischer in three volumes.

• History of organ building in East and West Prussia from 1333 to 1945.
  • Volume 1. With Jan Janca. Weidlich, Tübingen 1984. ISBN 3-8035-1250-6
  • Volume II, Part 1: Mosengel, Caspari, Casparini . With Jan Janca, Hermann Fischer. Pape Verlag, Berlin 2008. ISBN 978-3-921140-80-2 .
  • Volume II, Part 2: From Johann Preuss to E. Kemper & Sohn, Lübeck, Bartenstein. With Jan Janca, Hermann Fischer. Siebenquart, Cologne 2015.

He published a novel under a pseudonym:

• Daniel Brustwerckle: Summarium seyner experiences as an organ maker. Edition Merseburger, Berlin 1964.

He also published some articles on organ research, including a.

• with Jan Janca: Andreas Hildebrandt , an 18th century organ builder from Danzig. In: Music of the East. Volume 9. 1983. pp. 123-145.

Organs (selection)

Most of the new organs have been preserved; lost organs are in italics.

year	place	building	image	Manuals	register	Remarks
1945	Rimini	POW camp		I / P	12	" Tin choir gel from Rimini ", made from tin cans, canisters and similar material, 502 pipes, dismantled in 1947, disappeared
1953	Nehren	Ev. Vitus Church		II / P	12	with baroque upper case, repaired by Richard Rentsch in 1974
1955-1957	Ofter things	museum				originally restored as a Rückpositiv in Mauritiuskirche, 2010/11
1960	Kirchentellinsfurt	Ev. Martinskirche				previous Baroque organ to Tiefenfurt
1968	Wannweil	Ev. Johanneskirche		II / P	25th	largest organ from Renkewitz

literature

• Fritz Seredsus: Traces of Werner Renkewitz. In: Ars Organi . Volume 59, 2011. p. 237.
• Jan Janca: Builder of the "Blechorgel" of Rimini dies. In: Musica sacra . 99th year. 1979. p. 28.

Web links

• Jürgen Jonas: From Rimini to Nehren. Protestant parish Nehren, 2008.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ A moving story. Rimini organ
2. ↑ Our Organ Evangelical Church Community Nehren, 2008
3. ↑ 50 years of the Renkewitz organ in Wannweil Christ the King Congregation Wannweil, 2008