If one follows in the footsteps of J. S. Bach, one must begin at the beginning of Bach�s life; in Eisenach. We think of Bach�s birthplace as a place secured for the ages. Not so. It seems that Bach is only believed to have been born in the familiar yellow Baroque building which houses a museum and furnishings from the era. No one is quite sure that this was indeed Bach's birthplace. Evidence that Bach had lived in Eisenach more than three hundred years ago is apparent when seeing the many bronze testimonials to the Master.
It is always thrilling to think that you are treading the very cobbles where the Bach family had walked in March 1685 to take their son, Johann Sebastian to be baptized in the Georgkirche. Herr Patzdach is now organist who presides over the1982 Alexander Schuke (Potsdam) instrument.The tonal fabric is reminiscent of the well-ballanced sounds of the Baroque period.
Dornheim is a quaint village with little claim to fame other than the fact that J.S. Bach married his first wife, Maria Barbara in the Blasienkirche. It is a tiny church with a white plastered interior and a single gallery to house the 1985 Schoenfeld organ. At present there is no full-time organist in this church. The sound was tonally very satisfying, as Bob recorded the chorale, 'Wer nur den lieben Gott' of Bach.
The organ possesses more sharp tonal qualities than that of Gottfried Silbermann, almost approaching the North German sounds. But it was not overbalanced. Each individual rank spoke warmly and clearly. The Viola da Gamba illustrated the pipe organ builder�s adherence to excellence. Bach, himself probably heard different sounds on the 17th of October 1707, the day he was married to the wife who would bear him eight living children. Our only regret was that we were two hundred and eighty years too late for the wedding
Arnstadt, 700 years old, having first been mentioned in the records in1330, is one of the oldest cities in Germany. The Bonifautiuskirche, whose organist is Herr Gottfred Preller, had had twenty-three stops and two manuals with pedals. This church burned down in 1580 and stood in ruins for 100 years. In 168O, it was rebuilt, and became Bach�s next professional home from 1704-1707, when he served as organist in the 'Bach Church'. The Wender organ was then installed in 1703, along with a gallery. Steinmeyer rebuilt the instrument in the late nineteenth century and retained the original facade, as well as seven of the Silbermann stops. These seven functioning stops make an excellent accompaniment for solo vocal compositions, especially those of Bach. The 1703 Wender console, with 23 stops, may presently be seen in the Bach Museum in the town, near Bonifautius. In this same museum are Bach�s seating arrangements for his choirs. Choirs needed to be placed, even in those days. It is paradoxical that the 19th century organ building practices of rollschwellers (crescendo pedals), orchestral voices, and other playing aids such as pistons are still dwarfed by the refined and sensitive sounds of Silbermann, and his pupil Hildebrandt. Franz Liszt played the organ twice. Each year, the instrument has to undergo at east 30-50 repair jobs. Hans-Joachim Schuke rebuilt this organ in 1994 as a mechanical tracker. Bob played Pachelbel chorale variation here, using the rich 8� Principal, and 4" Rohrflute. It was truly a beautiful sound. To play on just a single stop and to hear the individual voices is the best test of an organ. The fact that electricity has been added to make playing the organs today easier does not seem to impair the classic sounds of even the older instruments.
Bach did not play on the Liebfrauenkirche, on the other side of the town in Arnstadt, but the klang was so exquisite, that it bears mentioning here. It is a 1979 Potsdam Schuke. (After World War II the two sons of Schuke, the renowned nineteenth/ twentieth century organ builder went their separate ways. One son, Alexander, continued to work for the East German State running what had been his family�s business in Potsdam, while the other son, Karl, moved to West Berlin to build his own factory in Schonau. It was Karl Schuke who was responsible for bringing the Schuke sound to the United States, with four installations in Augusta GA, Birmingham AL, New Brunswick NJ, and Plattsburg, NY. Karl Schuke organs may also be heard and seen in other parts of the world, such as Jerusalem, Iceland, Japan and Israel. It was with Karl Schuke in his orgelbauwerkstatt in West Berlin that Bob studied organ design and building, while on a Fulbright Grant in 1961/62 We were saddened to hear that Karl Schuke died in May 1987.)
Ponitz, a small dorf in the area, has a Silbermann organ.The flutes on this instrument are most outstanding. The organ can still be operated by Calkant (bellows) and one notices the ease of playing when the wind is operated by human hands (or feet) as the case may be. The organ is also able to be played by use of an electric blower. The sounds which emerge tonally resplendant from that instrument were like silver tones to the ear, true to the builder�s name. One can hear such clarity and richness of tonal color using so few stops. Frau Heidrun Fiedler is the organist of the Kirche zum Ponitz. She is indeed fortunate to have at her fingertips the MOST original Silbermann in existence today. There is no evidence that J.S. Bach ever played here, but because of the astounding Silbermann organ still in use there, Ponitz is a must. The church contained one of the few remaining organs which is in its original state for the past one hundred and fifty years. At one point the roof of the church was in such bad repair that it was in danger of falling in and destroying the organ. They raised the roof one and a fourth inches during the restoration. Imagine that! They thought so much of the beautiful old instrument, that they raised the roof!
At the Altenburg Castle there is a truly beautiful 18th century instrument, which Bach did play. The action of the console is excellent. One must really articulate on the manuals, and it is best to separate pedal voices as well. Bob played the Pachelbel Toccata in C Minor, using a small plenum on the Hauptwerk, adding reeds to the pedal which gave depth to the florid manual parts. There is, in the castle, not only a glorious sounding 1739 Trost organ, but a very unusual museum, as well.
From 1707 to 1708 Bach was employed in the Divi-Blasiuskirche in Muhlhausen, a small town not far from Eisenach. Presently Herr Diete Stammler is the organist. The joy of hearing an organ possessed of such a majestic sound, with its contrasted choruses (Principals, Flutes and Mutations, string stops pedal reeds), would provide calm to any weary traveler. It was here that Bob played the Bach 'Toccata and Fugue in d minor' on the 1708 Wender.
Most of the organs of this period used flat pedalboards, as opposed to the modern contoured pedalboards. In fact, a feature of the Silbermann organs is the flat pedal boards as well as the omission of the C sharps. Playing on flat pedalboards, especially when using texturally full sounds tends to be awkward for the performer. It is necessary for one to adjust the distance and the feel of the intervals to suit the physical capabilities of the player.
In the Naumberg Wenzelkirche, the organist, Frau Irene Graulich played the 'C Major Prelude and Fugue' and 'Ich ruf zu dir' of J. S. Bach, and the Widor 'Toccata' as an organ demonstration on the 18th century Hildebrandt. The organ, was built in 1746 by Zacharias Hildebrandt, who had been a student of Silbermann. The ensemble is excellent. Hildebrandt was more interested in color than Silbermann. An Unda Maris stop was added in 1746. Some of the other characteristics of the organ are: organ tone remains static; the Hohl Flute was used with the Unda Maris. Apparently J. S. Bach had influence on the stops used in the Hildebrandt organ. In 1933 the electric console was first built. Today seventy-five percent of the pipe work is original. This church was one of the examples of how the Church can remain a chronicle of culture, encompassing religious, political, music, and sociological history from the middle ages, as well as art, (with its rare paintings by Cranach and Rubens). In fact, the old ideologies of Christianity and the new socialismus stood in close proximity within the walls of the churches in East Germany. In almost every church we found posters, placards and Socialist propaganda was placed directly under a 16th century portrait of Martin Luther.
In the church in Stormthal, a farming village of 550 inhabitants, there is a charming one manual Hildebrandt. The village was famous because of the instrument.There is an interesting story about this church. It seems that in 1690 the Patron of the town, Von Fullen took an interest in the then 390 year old building, and made many improvements to the ediface. In 1723, his son built the present church and had Hildebrandt build and install the organ. J.S. Bach tested and inaugurated the instrument, and for this service Bach composed his Cantata 194. The story is that the church choir found the work too difficult to perform. Nevertheless, from this time on, Bach and Hildebrandt became fast friends. This instrument is the most original of the Hildebrandts still extant. Here Eloise sang and Bob played the Pachelbel, 'Werde munter' on Principal 8'; Gedackt 8 ; Rohrflute 4'; Principal 8', Oktav 4'; Gedackt 8',Principal 2'.The organ has 15 stops, each beautiful in itself. This organ, in poor repair since 1934, was restored to the original tracker action by 1990.
It might be well to speak of the ideas of one of the greatest twentieth-century proponents of Bach and the Baroque organ sound.Albert Schweitzer believed, as did Silbermann, that Bach�s organ works, such as the 'a minor Prelude and Fugue', need not be played with so many pitch levels, but with clear, principal and 4' sounds. One does not need to couple manuals or pedal. He also stated that a well balanced organ ensemble need not be overloaded with so many loud mixtures. Silbermann utilized the clear, rich and warm sounds of his pipeorgan builder�s art.Schweitzer further believed that in the Baroque tradition, the organ is not an orchestral imitation.
The small village of Rotha, in Saxony, south of Leipzig, is twice blessed. There are two historic Silbermann instruments in this village. One church, St. Georgkirche, contains a marvelous example of Silbermann�s craftsmanship. Again, the single stops of the organ, especially the Principal 8' had a rich, full sound. Silbermann was the royal organ builder in 1718, and so he was contracted to build the organ with his student, Hildebrandt. Even more than two hundred and fifty years later the instrument�s rich, full, virile sounds filled the church�s high vaulted ceilings, making the listener tingle with excitement. When one plays on single stops, such as the Rohrflute 8', Gedackt 8', Rohrflute 4', or Principal 4', it is evident that the builder was able to make the sound playable as individual stops, or in careful combination with other stops. The organist in both churches is Frau Maria Schodel who most graciously played the Walther chorale variation, 'Jesu, meine Freude' for us, illustrating the diversity of sounds of the beautiful organ. Bob played the Pachelbel chorale variation, 'Werde munter' on this instrument. The other church in Rotha, St. Mary's, also contained a Silbermann with one manual and pedal (12 stops), upon which Bob played Pachelbel�s Toccata. In St George�s Church there is a 12th Century pulpit and a painted altarpiece from the Dutch Renaissance.
In Leipzig at the Thomaskirche there are two organs. We heard both the 1966 Schuke and the 1889 Sauer organs, although we never did get a chance to play. This is the church where J. S. Bach held the post of Cantor from 1723 until his death, in 1750. We were fortunate to have been able to hear the1966 Schuke organ accompanying the choir and a massed brass choir in a worship service. Hundreds of young instrumentalists from all over East Germany came to join sounds with each other in the place where the great master soundsman himself had worked more than two hundred years ago. You cannot begin to imagine the klang, as all the horns began playing in the acoustically live environment. We, as part of the congregation, learned a canon, which was performed as a part of the service. The acoustics of this church certainly added to the beauty of this inspiring worship service. We also heard the organist, Frau Almuth Reuter, in recital playing works by Alain, Mendelssohn, and Max Reger. The 1889 Sauer organ resounded magnificently in the spacious knave of the historic church. The most impressive sight in the Thomaskirche was the third interment place for the great Johann Sebastian Bach. In a crypt, under the chancel floor lay the remains of the Father of Protestant church music. Bach�s bones had been exhumed twice before and reburied in two other resting places.
Freiberg gives an opportunity to hear the glorious Silbermann sound. In the St. Jakobi Kirche there is a 1718 Silbermann organ. This organ was not the original organ. It was built for and moved from a smaller church. We did not play on this organ. The organist from the Jakobikirche, Herr Assmann shared the organ disposition with Bob after he showed us the beautiful 1718 instrument. The church was only built in the 19th Century.
In the Freiberg Dom, there is a Silbermann organ from 1714. The rich, warm sounds were again present, as the Pachelbel 'Werde munter' once more was played. It reminded us of Saxony's gift to the world of organ building. Dietrich Wagler, the organist, told us about the many interested persons who come 'banging on the door' to gain entry so they can see and hear and play the organ in that most beautiful edifice. The sculpture and paintings in this church were breathtaking. One transcept housed the pewter sarcophagi of the many patrons and patronesses of the parish. At the axial point of the cruciform church was another mausoleum-type monument, with splendid marble friezes on all four sides. These depicted the roles played by those interred there in the history of the town. In the other transcept of the Dom there was a magnificent doorway, which dated from 1000 AD. This had been called 'Die Goldene Tur' (the golden door). Surrounding the doorway were at least a dozen stone byzantinian arches which were carved with figures important to the history of Freiberg. Almost a thousand years ago they had been painted with gold leaf. As with most every other historic building in East Germany, the scaffolds of the current renovations were in profusion.
In Dresden, there are some 5,000 pipes in the Hofkirche organ. There were many changes, including some nicking. The organ was removed to a monastery during World War II in 1944. After the war, the case was restored, and the nicking was removed. The Principal tone is again beautiful, rich, and warm.. Bob played 'Werde munter' amid the hammering of the construction workers. Playing on the instrument produced a litho anvil chorus. The court church in Dresden was also under a renovation. The church fathers are building a room under the present church. So with hammers pounding and the stone dust flying, we tried out the last organ that Silbermann ever built. In fact, he died the year before its completion, leaving it to Hildebrandt , by then a master builder himself, to finish his work.
Reinhartsgrimma is one of the five tiny dorfs so small, that they do not exist on our map of East Germany. Yet, in this, the site of a 1731 Silbermann, (the last organ we played) we discovered the ultimate in testimonials to the shining beacon of Baroque sound. It seems that at the end of the nineteenth century the church congregation objected to the Silbermann sound, saying that it hurt their ears. So they employed a Dresden organ builder, to do something about it. Thank goodness the builder knew what he was about. He installed a salicional on the organ, and did not use the Silbermann wind chest. Therefore, today, the church and its present organist, Frau Regine Hepner, can be grateful for not so small favors. The Pastor of the Church told how his congregation had worked 15,000 hours to restore the beautiful church structure. The sparkling sound of the Silbermann left no doubt in our minds that the legacy of this craftsman lives on today.