Kuhn Organ Builders Ltd, 2013
Restoration
www.orgelbau.ch/ope=801600
I/P/10
Austria, Upper Austria
Röm.-kath. Pfarrkirche
140 year old Carl Reppe organ
The condition of the organ, which was built by Carl Reppe in 1874, rendered it practically unplayable. In addition to various kinds of damage to the pipe work, with corresponding effects on the sound, this was primarily attributable to severe damage to the key action. In the bass range the valves hardly opened at 12 mm key movement, because there was so much «give» on the rollers and squares.
During the 140 year history of the organ, woodworm damage and above all repairs of the most inadequate nature caused - objectively speaking - a sorry overall appearance. But it was also noted that many of Reppe's works were not equal to the state of the art of their time. Under these circumstances the organ indicated a serious conflict between maintenance and function. The Attersee organ is unquestionably one of the very few instruments by Carl Reppe that have survived, and, moreover, as far as its technical status is concerned, this has been preserved in all the components. On the other hand, there were some slight changes as regards sound.
Consequently, the offers made by organ builders for restoration included proposals that, of course, differed widely. With regard to technical aspects they ranged up to constructing a completely new console to be fitted into the case, new actions, and extensive alterations to the old windchests.
We put more value on preserving the substance of the organ as an historic monument, especially because it is deemed to be an authentic work by Reppe. Our efforts were therefore aimed also at improving the old components by means of deliberate (reversible) measures, in addition to carefully repairing all the elements. The specification remained unchanged, that is, in its own status of construction.
Even if the Reppe organ at Attersee is a simple organ, from our point of view this restoration deserves to be considered an exemplary object of responsible restoration work. Here the possibilities are well documented of the gulf between maintaining substance and encroaching on the historical substance in order to achieve good playability. We are convinced that this solution both fulfils the demands of the protection of a monument and will provide the parish with a melodious instrument that is good to play for a long time to come.
Translation: RS 2014
