Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2013

New organ

Windchests
slider chests
Key action
mechanical
Stop action
electrical
Inauguration
20.04.2013
Expert
P. Stefan U. Kling
Voicing
Thierry Pécaut


www.orgelbau.ch/ope=114520

Augsburg

II/P/18

Germany, Bavaria
Kath. Stadtpfarrkirche St. Moritz, Chororgel

© pictures Orgelbau Kuhn AG, Männedorf

Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2013

New organ

Windchests
slider chests
Key action
mechanical
Stop action
electrical
Inauguration
20.04.2013
Expert
P. Stefan U. Kling
Voicing
Thierry Pécaut

Redesign - Clarity - Concentration

The Catholic church of St. Moritz in Augsburg has an eventful past. It was built as a Romanesque basilica in 1019, and after a devastating fire in the 15th century it was completely rebuilt in the Gothic style. The church was redesigned in the 18th century and transformed into a splendid baroque church interior. A night of bombing in February 1944 destroyed St. Moritz almost completely, leaving only the external walls.

Following the reconstruction by Domenikus Böhm, the building underwent countless changes over the decades, changes which severely prejudice the overall conceptual statement. The parish therefore decided to renovate and redesign the church and in 2008 it instructed the English architect, John Pawson, to undertake this challenging task. John Pawson has been eminently successful in his use of clarity and concentration, thereby revealing the essentials of the interior.

One component of this new design is the installation of a new chancel organ that complements the sound of the principal organ and is used in particular to accompany liturgy and the choir. The new organ is completely integrated into the overall design of the church and is hardly noticeable. It is located above the new choir stalls in the arcades of a wall recess, and is acoustically well placed to meet the varied, musical tasks it faces. The console is subtly integrated into the new choir stalls.

Although the chancel organ is not a copy of any particular historical instrument, the tonal concept is modeled on ideals of chancel organs of the French late Romantic period. Despite its modest number of stops, this type of organ possesses great richness of tone and is especially suitable for accompanying the choir, and also for interpreting the symphonic literature of the 19th and 20th centuries, which itself bears a strong French influence.

Translation: RS 2013