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The University of Michigan Historic Tour 49

December 4, 2003
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Francine Maté is the organist/choirmaster and the director of the Bach Festival at Grace Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. She is also a music copyright examiner in the U.S. Copyright Office in the Library of Congress. Dr. Maté received both her M.M. and D.M.A. in organ performance from The University of Michigan as a student of Marilyn Mason.

On July 10, 2003, I began one of the most interesting trips of my life, The University of Michigan's 49th Historic Tour led by Marilyn Mason. This was my first trip to Germany, and was less than two days after my Bach organ recital which concluded the Grace Church, Georgetown, Bach Festival. Bach's music in my heart and fingers, off I went to play, examine and hear some of the organs on which Johann Sebastian Bach played and performed.

The trip across the Atlantic was my fourth, the first being in 1982, and the last in 1996. Technology and terrorism made for differences in this trip from the other three trips. On the technology side, computer/television monitors located throughout the aircraft mapped our progress across the Atlantic. An on-time arrival in Frankfurt on Friday morning allowed me to team up with others coming from other cities, including Marilyn Mason, and we had a chance to catch up before departing on an Airbus to Berlin.

I was able to see the Berlin skyline on this clear and beautiful day. We gathered our bags, and shortly our trip tour guide, Franz, and our bus driver, Rheinhart, met us and ferried us off to the bus which would be our transport for our two weeks in Germany. Our hotel in Berlin was located only about two blocks from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. This church was heavily bombed in World War II, and, like Coventry Cathedral in England, has been rebuilt on the adjacent ground with a modern church. The bombed out older church was left basically as it was after the bombing.

Naumburg

We left Berlin on Saturday morning to proceed to Naumburg for five nights. En route, we spent the morning and afternoon in Wittenburg. Although we did not play or hear the organ at the Schlosskirche in Wittenburg, we learned much of Luther's history from a devoted tour guide. Even though Bach would have probably been a highly acclaimed composer and musician if he were only to be a court musician, the Lutheran Reformation most certainly set the stage for Bach's career.

The Zacharias Hildebrandt organ in the Wenzelskirche in Naumburg has one of the most beautiful organ cases that we saw on the trip as well as a remarkable sound. One of Bach's sons-in-law was the organist here, and in 1746 Bach traveled from Leipzig to Naumburg to examine the final installation of the instrument. We were fortunate not only to play this beautiful three-manual instrument, but also hear three organ recitals and attend a lecture about the organ given by Mr. Verner from the Eule Organ Company. Mr. Verner had recently completed the restoration of the instrument to its original state, and is currently restoring the organ in the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig.

Marilyn Mason performed one organ recital, and Irene Greulich, the organist at the Wenzelskirche, performed two additional recitals. Dr. Mason's recital included pieces from every period in Bach's life and ended with the Toccata in C, BWV 564.

This beautiful tracker instrument was changed to electro-pneumatic action in 1933. The restoration by Mr. Verner and the Eule Organ Company included returning the organ to its original mechanical action. There was some damage from bombs in 1944 during World War II, and therefore, some pipes had to be replaced. Many of the older pipes were taken to metallurgy laboratories for chemical analysis to match the new metal to the original metal. There were seven bellows on the original Naumburg instrument, and all could be worked by one person. The person pumping the bellows read the musical score of the work being played in order to know how much wind was needed.

The Hildebrandt organ, as all the organs we played in Germany, is pitched up one step. Pedalboards and keyboards on each of the organs we played were each unique. Unlike the American AGO pedalboard, there is no uniformity in these German Baroque pedalboards except for the fact that they are all flat. The pedalboard of the organ at the Wenzelskirche for example is quite large, and middle C on the manuals did not line up with the pedals as I'm used to. I was so excited to play my first Bach organ, but these adjustments combined with hearing the music up one step threw me for a loop! I had a concern before the trip that the benches would be too high for me, since I'm 5¢1≤ tall. They were all workable for me, thank goodness.

Eisenach

On Bastille Day, July 14, we headed off to Eisenach, Bach's birthplace and a city Martin Luther lived in as a young child. We visited the Georgenkirche where Bach was baptized. The same baptismal font used to baptize Bach is still in the front of the church. Marilyn Mason pointed out to us that we would see three baptismal fonts on this trip: Bach's, Handel's and Luther's. Although Bach had his first organ lessons here, the organ in the Georgenkirche is not the same one Bach played.

Our next stop was Wartburg Castle which is high up on a mountain in Eisenach. Our bus took us most of the way up, but we hiked the remainder on this cool and sunny day. The views from the top of the mountain and Wartburg Castle were spectacular. The German countryside was beautiful. Living close to Northern Virginia, I found the part of Germany where we traveled, as well as the view from Wartburg Castle into the valley below, to be very similar to Virginia. There were many farms, green everywhere and rolling hills. There were also many unusual windmills that we could see here as well as all over the countryside. Franz told us that the blades sometimes simply take off and whirl until they hit something! The inside of Wartburg Castle is extremely ornate, and seeing the room where Martin Luther lived and translated the New Testament of the Bible was breathtaking.

Waltershausen

On July 15 we started our day out in the city of Waltershausen at the Stadtkirche which has a newly restored three-manual Trost organ. The sound of the organ is magnificent and powerful, and the organ case is extremely ornate and beautiful. The organist, Theophil Heinke, met us there and assisted with stop pulling as we played, in addition to giving us a demonstration. This instrument is the largest Baroque organ in Thuringia. The keys were somewhat difficult to play, but the pedalboard was user friendly.

Arnstadt

We then proceeded to the Bachkirche in Arnstadt. The organ is not the instrument Bach played, but the organ loft is the one in which Bach and Maria Barbara were supposedly caught kissing before they were married! There are seven historic stops from Bach's time on this instrument. The town square just outside the church has a modern statue of the young Bach.

Altenburg

Our next stop was the city of Altenburg. We visited the Altenburg castle and the chapel on the castle grounds. There is a Trost organ in the chapel and it is virtually in the same condition as it was when Bach played a recital there in 1739. The two-manual organ was one of my favorites on our trip. The sound is glorious, and the fact that Bach played this same instrument as it now is made the event memorable. And, last but not least, the keydesk and pedalboard felt like the organ at my church at home built by A. David Moore! Some of the metal pipes were removed in World War II, but later the organ was restored to its original state. In addition to playing this wonderful organ, we saw a fascinating group of statues above the altar in front of the chapel portraying Roman soldiers viewing the risen Christ.

On July 17, we departed Naumburg, and the entire staff at the hotel were on hand to wave goodbye to our bus. We proceeded to Eisleben where Martin Luther was born and where he died. Luther preached four sermons at St. Andrew's Church in Eisleben just before he died. There were two funeral services for him, one at this church and then another in Wittenburg where he was buried under the pulpit in the Schlosskirche.

Halle

In Halle we visited the Handel House and the Marktkirche. Samuel Scheidt was organist at the Marktkirche from 1628 to 1630, and Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow from 1684 to 1713. In the Marktkirche we saw the baptismal font of Handel, yet another touching sight. We know that Handel studied organ with Zachow and played the instrument here. The Handel House in Halle has a quite extensive collection of scores, instruments and paintings. Bach was offered a position at the Marktkirche, but he declined because the salary was not sufficient.

Leipzig

After visiting Halle, we made our way to Leipzig, Bach's home from 1723 until his death in 1750. One of our first excursions was to visit the Thomaskirche where Bach was organist and cantor. We placed flowers on his grave in the Thomaskirche.

Attending the 9:30 service on July 20 at the Thomaskirche was a most touching experience. Although the organs are not the ones Bach played, we do know that Bach's organ music sounded in this very space. Bach is buried in the front of the church, and there are always flowers on his grave. The flowers that our group placed on his grave on Friday were very lovingly placed in a vase by the time we returned for church on Sunday morning. The Bachchor of Stuttgart was the choir for the day, and Ullrich Böhme was the organist. The choir sang many movements of Bach motets, and the postlude was the Fugue in g minor, BWV 578. Each hymn was introduced by a chorale prelude just as would have been done by Bach. Everyone sat and listened to the postlude and then left in silence.

Rötha

Next, we found ourselves in the tiny little town of Rötha which is just outside of Leipzig. There are two wonderful Silbermann organs in Rötha: a stunning two-manual in St. George's Church, and a splendid little one-manual in St. Mary's Church. The Marilyn Mason Organ at The University of Michigan, built by Fisk, is very similar to the Silbermann at St. George's, and Charles Fisk did extensive study of the Silbermann organs in Germany before building that organ. Having now played them both, I can affirm that both instruments are works of art.

I was surprised that after a lifetime of thinking the only wonderful organs were those having four or five manuals, I absolutely loved the one-manual Silbermann in St. Mary's Church! Bill Gudger did a wonderful job of stop pulling for me as I played the "St. Anne" Prelude. Susan Broughton, the organist at the two churches in Rötha, was very helpful to us during our stay in that lovely town.

Störmthal

We left Rötha, and traveled to the village of Störmthal which is very close to both Rötha and Leipzig. The organ in the Dorfkirche in Störmthal is another delightful one-manual, and is the only Hildebrandt that is still in its original condition. The organ was probably designed by Gottfried Silbermann. The façade pipes were removed during World War I and were replaced by tin façade pipes during a renovation in 1934. The organ was installed in 1723, and Bach examined and accepted the organ. He performed the dedication recital on November 2, 1723, in which he directed his Cantata No. 194.

Pomssen

We heard and played the oldest organ in Saxony in the Wehrkirche, located in the little town of Pomssen. We were treated to a short recital by Professor Burger from Leipzig which included a piece by the Spanish Baroque composer Francisco Correa. The Wehrkirche was first a Romanesque church. The late Renaissance and early Baroque saw Italian influences, and one painting in the church comes from Italy. The first organ was built in the early 17th century, but the builder is not known. Bach came here and conducted his Cantata No. 157 which was commissioned by this church. The lovely one-manual organ has 15 stops. The Wehrkirche was one of the few churches we visited that had pew boxes. I did not play this instrument because Professor Burger told us that there are bats living in the organ loft!

Berlin

Our final organ to visit was the Amalia organ in Berlin. Beate Kruppke is the organist there. She was so very gracious on this warm, dry day to have bottled water and juices for us to drink on our arrival in the afternoon. She played a short program for us which included a set of variations by Georg Böhm. C.P.E. Bach wrote his six keyboard sonatas for this very organ.

One of our many side trips was a bus/walking tour of Berlin. I had not realized before how large the city is. Many tour books suggest that even avid walkers often resort to taking the bus or hailing a cab. Some "cabs" were bicycles with seats in the back for their riders! Berlin has many museums, and one could spend days just going to museums. The former Berlin Wall was breathtaking and the Brandenburg Gate spectacular. Napoleon "took" the statue on the top of the Brandenburg Gate, but it is now back to its original state. There are now modern statues across the street of cannons protecting the Brandenburg Gate.

We had a wonderful farewell dinner on our last night together in Berlin. Marilyn Mason had told us earlier in the trip that she wanted us each on that last night to tell something significant about what the trip meant to us. Each person had such insightful thoughts, and I enjoyed all of my discussions and experiences with all the people on the trip. My thanks to Marilyn Mason for making this superb trip possible! The German people were so wonderful to us all, and thanks to Franz and Rheinhart for their care of us.

Photos are by the author unless indicated otherwise.Francine Maté

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