Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2014
New organ in historical style
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=114590
II/P/18
Germany, Baden-Wurttemberg
Jesuitenkirche, Orgel im Hauptschiff
Second organ for the Jesuit Church
Following construction of the great principal organ in the Heidelberg Jesuit Church in 2009, we were entrusted with the task of building the new chancel organ also.
We were thrilled by the terms of reference. Since the principal organ with its modern design already has a broad sound spectrum, the new chancel organ was to be conceived as a complementary contrast, with a clearly baroque orientation in the manner of the organs that were built around the same time as the Jesuit Church.
The 18th century workshop book of the organ building dynasty of the Wieglebs, who were located in the Electoral Palatinate, provided the ideal starting point for this undertaking. There had already been one organ by the Wiegleb dynasty in the Jesuit Church. The baroque organ of the Church of the Holy Ghost on the market square, on which Mozart had played on 25 July 1763, was relocated to the Jesuit Church in 1809.
None of the historical Wiegleb organs survives as a complete instrument, so that there was no possibility of copying an existing organ. With the help of the Wiegleb family's workshop book, and with the knowledge we gained from various study tours visiting historical organs, we were able to take on the creation of a new, historicizing organ. The goal was not to make a museum piece, but to reinterpret models that have been handed down whilst abiding by historical facts.
Our study tours led us not just to Ansbach, but also to Trebel in Wendland, where an organ (1777) by Georg Stein, who came from Thuringia, has been preserved in its original state. The Wiegleb family also has its roots in Thuringia. There are striking parallels in the style of organ building, for example in the scaling of the pipes. The reed stops which served as a model for the Trombone 16' in the pedal and the Trumpet 8' in the great organ, are to be found in Trebel. To learn something about the method of voicing in the 18th century, we also visited the Baumeister organ (1773) in the monastery church in Maihingen, which possesses a tonal scheme that has hardly changed up to the present day. The source for scaling the pipes was the Wiegleb workshop book and pipe measurements from Bad Windsheim, Gollachostheim, Ansbach and Trebel.
The design of the case follows the sweeping lines of the Wiegleb organ in Ansbach. It was also influenced by stylistic elements of the Heidelberg Jesuit Church. The traditionally built case encloses both manuals in its self-supporting structure of solid wood. The pedal organ and the wind system are installed in a simply designed subsidiary case behind the main case. The wind system consists of two wedge bellows supplying the organ with a steady wind pressure. For the wind supply there is a choice between electric blower and the traditional pumping pedal.
Translation: RS 2014
