Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2025
Restoration
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=801760
I/P/10
Austria, Styria
Dreifaltigkeitskirche
Remarkable relic from the history of organ building
The beautifully situated village of Trofaiach in Austria is home to one of the oldest organs of Steiermark in Austria. According to existing inscriptions, the instrument was built in 1595 by organ builder Hanns Khanhuber and was extensively rebuilt in 1829 by Mathias Krainz when it was moved to its current location. The case, the free-standing console and the action were renewed or rebuilt. Further repairs were carried out over the course of history, the last by the Krenn company in 1973. Despite an intensive search, the archives are very poor.
There is no doubt that the organ in the Dreifaltigkeitskirche is a remarkable relic from the history of organ building, unusual simply because of the surviving windchests and roller boards from the 17th century and a pipe collection dating from the late 16th century to the 20th century.
The entire instrument had to be restored: The manual keyboard was reconstructed with suitable proportions and coverings, and a wind system was installed in its original place. As there were no longer any clear traces of the earlier system, we connected two blower-operated wedge bellows to the existing wind trunk, suitable for this type of instrument. The stop list was preserved as is.
A special feature of the instrument that must be mentioned is the clearly recognizable mean-tone temperament after the restoration of the front pipes. Obviously, this was retained when the organ was rebuilt in the 19th century - much to our delight, as the special charm of the old pipes could thus be clearly emphasized.
We were delighted to be involved in researching the traces of this gem and to be able to revive an exciting contemporary witness - both musically and technically.