Orgelbau Th. Kuhn AG, 1977
Restoration
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=800430
I/4
Switzerland, Zurich
Landgut "Zur Schipf"
«Here you've got to dance!»
Today's vineyard «zur Schipf», for centuries in the possession of Zurich aristocratic families, is made up of three buildings, partly adjoined to each other. It is hardly visible from the outside what treasures are to be found within. In the upper building, above the arches of the cellar, is a large hall which dates from 1725/30 which, complete with all its valuable stucco work and other furnishings remains completely unchanged to this day. On his visit in 1797 Johann Wolfgang Goethe declared «Here you've got to dance!» and thereby proceeded to waltz across the room. Whether this took place with musical accompaniment is not known. There would, indeed, have been a splendid organ to serve the purpose.
In 1732 the well-known organ builder Johann Konrad Speisegger from Schaffhausen constructed a house organ which today stands unchanged in the same place. This instrument incorporates an older Positiv from Jakob Messmer from Rheineck, Canton St. Gallen, which must have been built sometime between 1694 and 1707. Originally this instrument had a 2 ' facade. For the commission by the nobleman Hans Conrad Escher, however, Speisegger included certain special features.
The case was new and larger than the original, being given a 4 ' façade. The two largest pipes, the central pipes of the side towers, have artistically protruding ogee mouths. The light blue finish on the case panelling is marbled. The richly decorative carving is gold plated. There are even gold plated «flames» between the feet of the pipes.
On a base at the height of the intermediate sections of the facade lies hidden another unique piece of Speisegger's work: a «barrel organ» with six pieces in total, each registered differently with a Gedackt 8 ', a Regal 8 ' and a compound Diskant-Cornett 8 ' (incorporating 5 ranks). But this is not enough. The two putti on the towers are cleverly combined with the barrel organ and, according to the piece being played, move their baton, trumpet and mouth in time to the music. Using stopknobs, the figures can also be moved independently of the barrel organ.
Our restoration of 1977 was carried out with great care. The four-stop Positiv can be played without difficulty. Careful attention needed to be given to the barrel organ, however. As the wooden roller was slightly warped and no longer ran smoothly, the reliability and precision of the individual nails and wire bridging of the roller was no longer a hundred percent. However, we decided against a major overhaul. However, we decided against a radical working over of these parts so as not to wipe out any traces of the organ's original substance. The finish on the organ was restored by experts in 1984/85.
Friedrich Jakob, 2006
Translation: SJR
Related literature
Hans von Meyenburg / Friedrich Jakob: Schipf-Chronik, Heft Nr. 9, Zurich 1985 (private printing as a limited edition, 40 copies)
Andres Briner / Friedrich Jakob: Das Musikbild und die Hausorgel im Landgut «Zur Schipf» in Herrliberg-Zurich, Zurich 1961 (New Year's Paper of the General Music Society of Zurich on the Year 1961).