Available now for Hauptwerk 2.2!
|
View original stop list
Current Disposition
|
View more photographs of
the organ.
Click the photo for a short 1.14 MB video clip.
|
Brief History:
The Gottfried Silbermann organ of St. Marienkirche is
what we like to call the "little gem"! Upon completion of its larger 'sister' in
St. George, the contract was written up
between Freiherr von Friesen and Silbermann on November 12, 1721 to build a new
organ with a single manual for St. Marien. The original specification called for
9 stops (omitting the Subbass 16 and the Tertia 1 3/5) and Tremulant.
Unfortunately no records exist regarding the addition of these two stops by
Silbermann.
The St. Marien organ has not suffered from
severe changes throughout the years. Documented works include: a number of
repairs between 1732 and 1760, mainly concerning the bellows; 1833/43 a
comprehensive overhaul proved necessary, carried out by the organ builder Urban
Kreutzbach in Borna. He installed a pedal coupler, removed the tremulant and
tuned the organ to equal temperament. Fortunately the parish waived the
suggested installation of a Bordun 16' to replace the Tertia and Sufflet stops.
The original bellows were replaced with an electric blower in 1935. In 1942
considerable damages of the church building became obvious which lead to the
temporary removal of the organ.
For the Bach fest in 1950 the organ was put up in the old townhall in Leipzig
and thereafter lent as an exhibit for the Berlin Bach exhibition. It took 10
years (1960) to see the organ returned to St. Marien, its original location.
The organ of the St. Marienkirche attracted
many distinguished musicians to come to Rötha. During his stay in nearby
Leipzig, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy frequently played on and was inspired by
the instrument. Organists are delighted by the pleasing reaction of the organ
tracker and friends of the organ as well as specialists admire its sound
(especially the famous Principal 8) which is supported by the acoustic
properties of the church.
The recordings use long 8 -10 second samples
which includes up to 3 or 4 seconds of natural church reverb. Each pipe was
recorded from all 11 stops and looped perfectly. Keyboard, pedal,stop and blower noises
are also included which the user may turn off if so desired. The keyboard range
is C,D-C3. The current tuning is Chorton A=465 which is reproduced through Hauptwerk.
The organ set was not "digitally tuned" so the realism is even more convincing.
Special thanks to the parish in Rötha and also
to
Dieter Thomsen
for his help in translating the above text from German.
MP3 Demos
|
Hauptwerk Console
and Requirements |
Read User Reviews!
The 1722 Gottfried Silbermann Organ