Orgelbau Th. Kuhn AG, 1960
Restoration
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=800150
II/P/22
Austria, Upper Austria
Stiftskirche
The large organ of the collegiate church at Schlägl was built by the capable organ builder Andreas Putz from Passau in 1634. It is the best preserved piece of this master of whom we know that he built inter alia the great organ in Lienz and important pieces in Innichen and Brixen. The Schlägl organ, which is now 326 years old, is the oldest organ in Upper Austria. Together with the Festorgel of Klosterneuburg (1555/1642) and the Hofkirchenorgel of Innsbruck (1561) it belongs to the most famous organs in Austria from the heyday of organ building in the alpine countries during the 16th and 17th centuries.
The Schlägl organ was damaged by a conflagration in 1702 and was renovated by organ builder Johann Christoph Egedacher in 1708. On this occasion it was already modified a little and tuned to choir pitch. In 1853 Josef Breinbauer made some drastic alterations. Subsequently a pneumatic division was added by organ builder Lachmayr from Linz in 1904 corresponding to the romantic taste of this period. The specifications were also modified.
During the new restoration, following the principle of preserving what the past bequeathed to us, the modifications and additions of later periods were reversed or removed. The original shape of 1634, clearly distinguishable, was reinstated. These reinstatements affect especially the original composition of the important compound stops Mixtures and Zimbel as well as the reconstruction of the lost reed stops. The non original actions and console replaced by Breinbauer were not very functional and were worn out. They were replaced by modern actions and a modern console making it possible because of the sensitive speech to use to full capacity the high tonal standards of the pipes voiced on open foot. Still possessing the old slider chests of Andreas Putz, great organ and pedal organ have therefore a short octave and dispose of a 45- and 19-note compass respectively. Whereas the windchest of the positive, which was made by Egedacher, was completely wormeaten and had to be replaced. Thus it was possible to enlarge the positive in the lower octave by four semitones and to dispose it with a 49-note compass.
The richly ornate organ case by Georg Obermayr from Passau was restored to its original state by the conservator Josef Watzinger from Salzburg. The special characteristic of this organ consists in its two façades: As the instrument is completely located at the balustrade with a considerable distance to the rear end of the church, it disposes not only of the front formed by the main Principals but also of a façade in the back, composed of the pipes from the pedal stop Octave 8 '.
E.K.
Source: inauguration brochure 1960
Translation 2008: RS