Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2005
Relocation
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=114070
II/P/24
Switzerland, Grisons
Kath. Pfarrkirche St. Peter und Paul
Witness to an era makes a journey
The transfer of this 1931 instrument, with a stoplist by Karl Matthaei and built by Kuhn (opus 664), from the First Church of Christ, Scientist, Winterthur to the Catholic Church of Obersaxen was a venture we were very keen to undertake. Firstly we had the sheer size of the instrument to contend with, but more challenging was the unique experience of dismantling and reconstructing this pneumatically controlled membrane chest organ with its technically refined systems. We transported it to its new home with the greatest care in order to preserve the quality of the instrument down to the finest detail.
This organ was one of the last to be fitted with a pneumatic action before this method of construction was succeeded by the age of electric, and later mechanical, organs. It was, therefore, built in the heyday of pneumatic organs and has been preserved in excellent condition: this renders it a historically valuable witness to an era of construction at the height of its technical development. Its tonal qualities are also convincing today.
Before its planned removal from the church in Winterthur it was intended that this special instrument should be preserved and rebuilt somewhere else. With great enthusiasm and commitment the Winterthur Organ Friends took this task upon themselves and searched for a new home for the instrument. Obersaxen materialised as a lucky stroke for both organ and local community: architecturally speaking the instrument fitted perfectly in the church's interior and the acoustics enabled the sound of the organ to unfold considerably better than before. Besides its historical value, the organ is, naturally, ideal for liturgical use.
