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The history of North German organ building leading up to Arp Schnitger reads like a roll of honour, and it doesn’t quite finish with him, since his son Franz Caspar continued in exactly the same manner, building the organ in Alkmaar, for example. The line from Jacob Scherer, Berendt Hus, picking up Esaias Compenius and Gottfried Fritsche on the way, makes one wish for a time capsule so one could listen to the organs (say) of Hamburg and the surrounding region as they develop and grow. There was that wonderful way that departments could be simply added to those already there so the instruments grow organically over the years.
We can already, of course, make a variety of journeys in East Friesland and other parts of North Germany. There are numerous historic instruments there of all periods, with several large organs by Arp Schnitger, such as those in Norden; St. Jacobi, Hamburg; Cappel; Neuenfelde; Lüdingworth; Stade; and Steinkirchen. One can easily cheat and go across to Groningen (The Netherlands) and play any of the five Schnitger organs there, and marvel at the restoration of the Martinikerk, which at one time was unplayable and apparently beyond repair.
The sound of these instruments is unique. It is a bright and clear sound, with a different kind of brilliance to (say) a Silbermann organ. If the latter is indeed “silver” in terms of sound, then Schnitger’s organs are more like bronze. There is no “loud” or “soft”, but an immense variety of colours. I love the way that, in Norden, he has slightly angled the organ so the sound is directed out of the Choir and towards the Nave. Also in Norden, there’s that extraordinary pedal department jutting out towards the listener.
In playing Buxtehude, particularly, one is conscious of the varying “consort registrations”, where one plays the fugal sections of his praeludia on consorts of recorders, or of crumhorns, or of trumpets. These are sounds I wonder if you hear anywhere else. Schnitger, as we all know, used the pipes that were already present in an organ he was asked to rebuild. One would love to know to what extent he either left them alone or altered them.
It is very often the flutes that Schnitger built new, and these are certainly admirable, and some of his Hohlflöten are (apparently) very wide-scaled indeed! In our zeal for historical awareness, we are apt to forget what ears a person such as Schnitger must have had. We have mercifully moved on from the sometimes over-powered treble sounds of the 20th Century, and discovered some more singing tones in modern instruments. We as organists need to appreciate the rich, full-throated sounds of some of Schnitger’s flutes.
With best wishes to you all,
Roger.
We can already, of course, make a variety of journeys in East Friesland and other parts of North Germany. There are numerous historic instruments there of all periods, with several large organs by Arp Schnitger, such as those in Norden; St. Jacobi, Hamburg; Cappel; Neuenfelde; Lüdingworth; Stade; and Steinkirchen. One can easily cheat and go across to Groningen (The Netherlands) and play any of the five Schnitger organs there, and marvel at the restoration of the Martinikerk, which at one time was unplayable and apparently beyond repair.
The sound of these instruments is unique. It is a bright and clear sound, with a different kind of brilliance to (say) a Silbermann organ. If the latter is indeed “silver” in terms of sound, then Schnitger’s organs are more like bronze. There is no “loud” or “soft”, but an immense variety of colours. I love the way that, in Norden, he has slightly angled the organ so the sound is directed out of the Choir and towards the Nave. Also in Norden, there’s that extraordinary pedal department jutting out towards the listener.
In playing Buxtehude, particularly, one is conscious of the varying “consort registrations”, where one plays the fugal sections of his praeludia on consorts of recorders, or of crumhorns, or of trumpets. These are sounds I wonder if you hear anywhere else. Schnitger, as we all know, used the pipes that were already present in an organ he was asked to rebuild. One would love to know to what extent he either left them alone or altered them.
It is very often the flutes that Schnitger built new, and these are certainly admirable, and some of his Hohlflöten are (apparently) very wide-scaled indeed! In our zeal for historical awareness, we are apt to forget what ears a person such as Schnitger must have had. We have mercifully moved on from the sometimes over-powered treble sounds of the 20th Century, and discovered some more singing tones in modern instruments. We as organists need to appreciate the rich, full-throated sounds of some of Schnitger’s flutes.
With best wishes to you all,
Roger.