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For Bach—A Very Special Organ: St. Catherine’s Church, Hamburg

May 24, 2005
J. S. Bach

For over two centuries, St. Catherine’s, one of the five principal churches of Hamburg built in 1250, had an organ historically associated with Scheidemann, Reincken and J. S. Bach. Until its destruction in 1943 during World War II, it was among the foremost instruments in northern Europe. Christoph Wolff in his Bach biography states, “The organ of St. Catherine’s was the most famous and most beautiful large instrument in north Germany.”1 Now, more than 60 years later, it is about to be reconstructed with some of the original surviving pipework dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.

St. Catherine’s distinctive organ played a significant role in Johann Sebastian Bach’s life. He probably became acquainted with the organ and its legendary organist-composer, Johann Adam Reincken (1623-1722), for the first time in 1701 during a visit to Hamburg. From Easter 1700 to 1702 Bach attended St. Michael’s School in nearby Lüneburg, and it was probably Georg Böhm, organist at St. Nicholas in Lüneberg, who introduced Bach to Reincken. Reincken was an engaging personality known as an avid collector of manuscripts, and apparently there was an immediate chemistry that brought him and Bach together a number of times. It is through Reincken that Johann Sebastian also probably became acquainted with Buxtehude.

Reincken’s most famous work for organ, “the enormous Fantasia on An Wasserflüssen Babylon, provides a compendium of most of the styles, techniques, and figurations available to a German composer of the mid to late 17th century.”2 Both Bach’s arrangements of Reincken’s works, as well as his own compositions during this period, demonstrate the degree of influence that the Hamburg master organist had upon Bach as a young composer.

In 1720 Bach visited Hamburg again, this time to explore professional opportunities, including the position as organist of St. Jacob and the music directorship of the five principal churches. During his stay Bach gave a highly celebrated organ concert at St. Catherine’s, which was “prearranged, advertised, and apparently attended by such prominent people as Erdmann Neumeister, the cantata librettist and senior minister at St. Jacobi, and Johann Mattheson, music director of the Hamburg Cathedral,”3 as the Obituary4 describes in detail:

During this time, about the year 1722 [sic], he made a journey to Hamburg and was heard for more than two hours on the fine organ of St. Catherine’s before the Magistrate and many other distinguished persons of the city, to their general astonishment. The aged organist of this church, Johann Adam Reincken, who at that time was nearly a hundred years old, listened to him with particular pleasure. Bach, at the request of those present, performed extempore the chorale “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” at great length (for almost half an hour) and in different ways, just as the better organists of Hamburg in the past used to do at the Saturday vespers. 

Particularly on this, Reincken made Bach the following compliment: “I thought that this art was dead, but I see that in you it still lives.” This verdict of Reincken’s was the more unexpected since he himself had set the same chorale, many years before, in the manner described above.5 Our Bach knew this and was also aware that he (Reincken) had always been somewhat envious of him.

Bach’s early biographers linked this occasion to the composition of the Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542, because of its recognizable association with a Dutch folk song as one of its themes and therefore an allusion to Reincken’s Dutch heritage. Indeed particularly in Hamburg this piece became quite famous and now is revered as one of Bach’s greatest compositions for organ.

While St. Catherine’s organ is important today for our understanding of Johann Sebastian Bach’s music because of his contact with Reincken, it is even more significant that Bach’s admiration of this instrument was unusually well documented. One example appears in Adlung’s Musica Mechanica Organoedi of 1768, in which Bach’s student, Agricola, writes:

In many old organs in Germany, for example in that of St. Catherine’s in Hamburg, among others, but also in many new fine organs in France, the number of reed stops (Rohrwerke) is quite large. The greatest organ expert and performer in Germany and perhaps in Europe, the late Kapellmeister Bach, was a great admirer of such organs: if anyone knew what and how to play upon them, it was he.

The organ of St. Catherine’s Church in Hamburg contains no less than 16 reed stops. J. S. Bach, the late Kapellmeister of Leipzig, having once played for two straight hours on what he called a magnificent work of art, could not find high enough praise for its beauty and variety of sonority. It is also well known that the famous former organist at this church, Mr. Johann Adam Reincken, always personally maintained it in perfect tune. In the great organs in France there are also many reed stops.

The late Kapellmeister Bach of Leipzig reported that the response on the 32-foot Principal and the Posaune pedal stop was uniformly good and quite audible down to the lowest C. He also said that this principal was the only one of its size he had ever heard of such a high quality.

The significance of these comments by Bach should not be underestimated. Frankly, Bach never made comparable detailed statements about any other instrument he admired, and therefore it is reasonable to conclude that this organ at St. Catherine’s, which Bach had known since his mid-teens, played a major influence in forming his own ideas of sonority. Examples of Bach’s registrations repeatedly refer to the stoplist of the St. Catherine’s organ, and its abundance of the 32’, 16’ and 8’ pitches was without a doubt instrumental in forming his conception of “gravitas” (in the sense of solemnity).

The instrument’s significance in music history, however, is based not only on Bach’s high opinion of it. Above all, Heinrich Scheidemann, Reincken’s teacher and predecessor as organist at St. Catherine’s, is now recognized as having played a key role in the development of North German organ style. He studied with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck from 1611 to 1614, with his expenses paid for by St. Catherine’s, and drew on his teacher’s formal vocabulary, developing an artistic style so distinctive that it formed the groundwork for the school that musicologists now identify as the “North German Baroque Organ” style, which is inextricably connected to the outstanding instruments of this period. Scheidemann succeeded his father David as organist at St. Catherine’s and served the church from 1629 until his death in 1663.

The great master organbuilders of this era, such as Hans Scherer the Elder, Gottfried Fritzsche and Friedrich Stellwagen (who also renovated St. Mary’s in Lübeck),6 all played a prominent part in the history of the St. Catherine’s organ. Across the span of generations, each master made his contributions to the special character of this instrument. Unlike the organs of Arp Schnitger (1648-1719), which were built with completely new pipework, the core ensemble of the St. Catherine’s organ underwent ongoing renovation and expansion, while retaining the best contributions of the past and yet always forming a compelling unified instrument.

Clearly the loss of this legacy instrument in World War II was a tragedy of historical and international significance. Shortly after the war experts began to contemplate its reconstruction, well aware of the priceless treasure entrusted to their care. In fact, there were efforts to store the pipework and to document the organ before its loss, and immediately after the organ’s destruction work began to preserve its memory with drawings and by collecting surviving documents. Although the loss occurred early in the war, the removal of the pipes to a safe storage site was only partial. However, fortunately there are 520 of the original pipes--including some of the old reeds, from about 20 stops that survived the inferno--that will form the basis of realizing a reconstruction. In addition, there are numerous photographs, detailed illustrations with the exact dimensions of the façade pipes, sketches of the console dimensions and the windchest system, as well as Mattheson’s stoplist from 1720. The documentation of the pipework should be completed this June.

Combining this information with more recent knowledge gained about historic organ construction, there is a reliable basis for an accurate reconstruction of the original organ, for which the Flentrop company is currently formulating plans. The project is a joint effort by the parish of St. Catherine’s and the Hamburg School of Music and Theatre.

To generate the necessary 2,000,000 euros (approx. $2.6 million U.S.) for the reconstruction, a foundation has been created, featuring such prominent board members as the former Hamburg Mayor Klaus von Dohnanyi (brother of the conductor Christoph von Dohnanyi), Michael Otto, Christoph Wolff, Bernard Foccroulle and Ton Koopman. Corporate sponsors such as Der Spiegel magazine, Commerzbank, the Zeit Foundation and the North German Broadcasting Company are also supporting the project. It also benefits from close contacts with highly recognized experts and organists, including Harald Vogel, Edgar Krapp, Wolfgang Zerer and Pieter van Dijk.

The Johann Sebastian Foundation (Stiftung Johann Sebastian) has a strong fundraising program in place. One can “Adopt a Pipe” for 1,000 euros ($1,300, see next paragraph), while those giving 10,000 euros ($13,000) or more will be mentioned by name on a bronze plaque in the narthex of the church. Smaller donations will also contribute significantly to financing this project. Further activities will include gala and benefit concerts, excursions and organ pipe sales, as well as merchandising of CDs, watches, etc.

Many hours of work are required from the initial inspection of each pipe to its final reintegration into the new organ. To make this possible, the Johann Sebastian Foundation is offering each of the 520 historic pipes in an “Adopt a Pipe” plan. By pledging 1,000 euros an individual assumes financial responsibility for one organ pipe up to 400 years old. Each donor can register to choose his or her pipe/pipes on a first-come, first-serve basis--and will receive a chart with the pipe’s dimensions, pitch, register, age and builder’s name. The donor will have the opportunity to exercise an option to be registered, and as such will receive an adoption certificate with his or her name.

The foundation is a charitable organization, and receipts will be sent automatically. U.S. citizens should note that according to the IRS code donations to foreign charities are not tax-deductible. For further details, go to <www.stiftung-johann-sebastian.de&gt; “An Organ for Bach in St. Catherine,” which provides complete information in both German and English.

Stiftung Johann Sebastian

c/o Andreas Fischer

Katharinenkirchhof 1

20457 Hamburg, Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)40 32 61 86

Fax: +49 (0)40 30 37 47 59

E-mail:

<[email protected]>

Wire transfers: bank account number 6174718

Commerzbank Hamburg, sorting code: 200 400 00

(Please indicate your mailing address in order to receive a receipt by mail.)

Note: this article is a revision and expansion of the English version of the Foundation’s news release.

Hauptwerk [11 stops]

16’          Principal

16’          Quintadena

16’          Bordun

8’             Oktave

8’             Spitzflöte

8’             Flauto traverso

4’             Octave

2’             Oktave

                   Rauschpfeife III

                   Mixtur VI, VII-IX

16’          Trompete

Rückpositiv [13 stops]

8’             Principal

8’             Gedackt

8’             Quintadena

4’             Octave

4’             Kleinhohlflöte

4’             Blockflöte (or 2’)

11/3’      Quintflöte

1’             Sifflöt

                   Scharf  VIII

                   Sesquialtera II

8’             Regal

8’             Baarpfeif

4’             Schalmey

Oberwerk [11 stops]

8’             Prinzipal

8’             Hohlflöte

8’             Viola di gamba*

4’             Flöte

22/3’      Nasat

2’             Waldflöte

2’             Gemshorn

                   Scharf VI

8’             Trompete

8’             Zincke

4’             Trompete

Brustwerk [8 stops]

8’             Principal

8’             Gedackt*

4’             Quintadena

2’             Waldpfeife

                   Scharf III-VII

4’             Octave

16’          Dulcian

8’             Oboe d’amore

Pedal [17 stops]

32’          Principal

16’          Principal

16’          Subbaß

8’             Octave

8’             Gedackt

4’             Octave

4’             Nachthorn

                   Rauschpfeife II

                   Mixtur IV

                   Cimbel III

32’          Groß-Posaune

16’          Posaune

16’          Dulcian

8’             Trompete

8’             Krummhorn

4’             Schalmey

2’             Cornet-Baß

 

Other articles of interest:

Clavierübung III of J. S. Bach: Theology in Notes and Numbers1, Part 1

BWV 1128: A recently discovered Bach organ work

St. Catherine's Church, Hamburg

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