Nunc Dimittis
Irene Greulich, kantor and organist of St. Wenzel’s Church, Naumburg, Germany, from 1971 until her retirement in 2008, died in Naumburg on August 28, 2017. After the fall of the Wall and the reunification of Germany, she both promoted and oversaw the complete restoration of the Hildebrandt organ in that church, the organ that J. S. Bach may well have helped to design, examined upon its completion, and on which he played the dedicatory recital. Without her enthusiastic and tireless engagement, the restoration of the Hildebrandt organ might never have come to fruition. Though her first love was the music of Olivier Messiaen, she reformed her technique and became a zealous promoter of Bach’s organ compositions, as well as for the organ that is among the most important instruments for understanding the performance of that music. She graciously welcomed organists from countries throughout the world who were making pilgrimages to hear and play that organ. The family has requested that all donations in her honor be given to the Leipzig Bach Archive. For Americans, this may be accomplished by sending a check payable to “American Friends of the Leipzig Bach Archive” and mailed to AFLBA, 11A Mt. Auburn St., Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, attention Mark Knoll. In the memo line, donors should write “Gift in memory of Irene Greulich.” All gifts are fully tax deductible.
