The Organs of J.S. Bach - A Handbook (PDFDrive)

christoph wolff & markus zepf
the organs of
a h a n db o o k
translated by lynn edwards butler
the organs of J.S.Bach
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Wolff_Text.indd 1 2/23/12 3:03 PM

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christoph wolff & markus zepf

a handbook
translation by
lynn edwards butler
introduction by
christoph wolff
published in cooperation with

the american bach society
university of illinois press

urbana, chicago, and springfield
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Originally published as Die Orgeln
J. S. Bachs: Ein Handbuch
Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig
© Evangelische Verlagsanstalt,
Leipzig /Bach-Archive Leipzig, 2006.
Second edition, 2008.
This publication is sponsored by the American

Bach Society and produced under the guidance
of its Editorial Board. For information about the
American Bach Society, please see its web site at
www.americanbachsociety.org.
Frontispiece: Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s Church:

Hildebrandt organ (photograph, 2006)
© 2012 by the Board of Trustees

of the University of Illinois
All rights reserved
Manufactured in the United States of America
1 2 3 4 5 c p 5 4 3 2 1
∞ This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Wolff, Christoph.
[Orgeln J. S. Bachs. English]
The organs of J. S. Bach : a handbook /
Christoph Wolff and Markus Zepf;
translation by Lynn Edwards Butler;
introduction by Christoph Wolff. — Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Published in cooperation with the
American Bach Society.
Includes index.
isbn 978-0-252-03684-2 (hard cover : alk. paper)
isbn 978-0-252-07845-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Organ (Musical instrument)—Germany—History—
18th century. 2. Bach, Johann Sebastian, 1685–1750.
I. Zepf, Markus, 1972– II. Title.
s ml576.3.w6613 2012
n 786.5'1943—dc23 2011039540
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contents
Foreword ix
Preface to the English Edition xi
Bach—Organist, Composer, Organ Expert:
An Introductory Sketch xv
Timeline of Organ-Related Dates in Bach’s Life xxi
Maps xxvi
part one The Organs of J. S. Bach

Preliminary Remarks 1
section a Organs with a Proven Connection to Bach 5

Altenburg 5
Ammern 8
Arnstadt 8
Berka (Bad Berka) 13
Dörna 14
Dresden 15
Eisenach 19
Erfurt 22
Gera 23
Görlitz 26
Gotha 27
Halle (Saale) 30 s
Hamburg 33 n
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Hohnstein 39
Kassel 39
Köthen 40
Langewiesen 45
Leipzig 46
Lübeck 58
Lüneburg 62
Mühlhausen 68
Naumburg 74
Ohrdruf 78
Potsdam 80
Sangerhausen 83
Stöntzsch 86
Störmthal 88
Taubach 90
Weimar 91
Weißenfels 95
Weißensee 98
Zschortau 98
section b Reference Organs from Bach’s World 101

Berlin 101
Buttstädt 102
Erfurt 105
Frankfurt (Oder) 107
Freiberg 108
Gotha 113
Gräfenroda 114
Lahm (Itzgrund) 116
Liebertwolkwitz 117
Lübeck 119
Merseburg 121
Potsdam 124
Rötha 125
Waltershausen 128
section c Overview
An Inventory of the Organs and Their Parts,
Including Their State of Preservation 133
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part two Organ Tests and Examinations 137
section a Johann Sebastian Bach’s Organ Reports 139
1. St. Blasius’s Church, Mühlhausen, 1708 141
2. St. Ursula’s Church, Taubach, 1711 142
3. Market Church of Our Lady, Halle, 1716 143
4. St. Augustine’s Church, Erfurt, 1716 145
5. St. Paul’s Church, Leipzig, 1717 145
6. St. Nicholas’s Church, Zschortau, 1746 147
7. St. Wenceslas’s Church, Naumburg, 1746 148
section b Instructions for Examining Organs 149
part three Organ Builders 155

section a Organ Builders with a Personal Connection to Bach 157
section b Organ Builders from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth

Centuries Associated with Bach’s Organs 165
section c Other Organ Builders and Organ-Building Firms 174
Sources and Literature Cited 179

Abbreviations 179
Archival Sources 180
Reference List 180
Photograph Credits 193
Translator’s Note 195
Index 197
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[blank page viii]
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foreword
It is with pride and delight that the American Bach Society, in conjunction with the
University of Illinois Press, issues this English translation of Die Orgeln J. S. Bachs: Ein
Handbuch by Christoph Wolff and Markus Zepf. For some time now the society has wanted
to expand its printing ventures beyond its well-established hardcover series Bach Perspec-
tives. The present volume, which addresses one of the most important aspects of Bach’s
musical life in a comprehensive yet accessible manner, offers a perfect opportunity to
place a German publication of great interest before a new, English-speaking audience.
In compiling their new handbook, Wolff and Zepf have been able to set the record
straight on many aspects of the organs under consideration, with regard to both their
historical evolution and their present state. The opening of Thuringia and Saxony through
the fall of the Socialist government, the reunification of Germany in 1990, and the recent
enlightened restorations of many surviving instruments have resulted in a wealth of new
information on the churches, organs, and organ makers of Bach’s world. In a number
of instances, the degree of preservation—and loss—of buildings and instruments can be
addressed in a forthright way for the first time since World War II. Wolff and Zepf have
been able to document what’s old and what’s new. They have also drawn on the flood of
new research that has taken place as many once-inaccessible archives have opened their
doors to outside scholars.
One cannot imagine a better constellation of scholar-performers for the present
project. Christoph Wolff, preeminent Bach expert and author of the monumental biog-
raphy Johann Sebastian Bach: The Learned Musician, and Markus Zepf, organ specialist
and diligent researcher, form a formidable team of authors. Lynn Edwards Butler, organ
scholar and former longtime director of the Westfield Center, is a skilled translator with
a broad knowledge of historical organ practices and terminology. All three are experi-
enced organists, familiar with early instruments through performance and examination. s
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Indeed, they have played most of the extant organs described here and are familiar with
their features firsthand.
Favorable for this undertaking, too, is the long-standing connection between the
American Bach Society and the University of Illinois Press, publisher of Bach Perspectives.
The opportunity to work with the seasoned and supportive UIP team of Willis Regier,
director, and Laurie Matheson, senior acquisitions editor, allowed the project to move
forward in a smooth and fruitful way.
It is the hope of the American Bach Society that The Organs of J. S. Bach will serve as
a useful reference book for organists, Bach scholars and devotees, and general music
enthusiasts. Containing a great deal of information in a portable form, it is envisioned not
only as a vade mecum for the personal library, but as a travel companion for the suitcase, as
well—a guidebook whose stop lists and color photographs, especially, whet one’s appetite
to observe, hear, and play the extant instruments described therein.
Bach was first and foremost an organist. He won youthful fame through his virtuoso
performances and extensive knowledge of organ building. The earliest extant examples
of his handwriting are tablature copies of organ music by Buxtehude and Reinken, and
his final years show him publishing and revising organ chorales. From the beginning to
the end of his life, he was engaged with organ music and the examination, inauguration,
and design of new instruments. May the present survey, set forth in English for the first
time, serve as a friendly and informative guide to the instrument whose playing, as Quantz
put it, “was brought to its greatest perfection” by Johann Sebastian Bach.
George B. Stauffer
General Editor, American Bach Society
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preface to the english edition
It is almost sixty years since the appearance of Werner David’s excellent book Johann Se-
bastian Bach’s Orgeln (Berlin, 1951). Out of print since the 1960s and not available in many
music libraries, David’s study was the first to offer a conveniently referenced overview of
the instruments that were important to the organist and organ expert Johann Sebastian
Bach. In the decades since then, however, the state of our knowledge has changed consid-
erably. Not only have additional instruments been identified with which Bach had direct
or indirect contact, but also very detailed information regarding the organs themselves is
now available. For these reasons, a reworking of the material presented in such exemplary
fashion by David has long been overdue, especially since no study has replaced it. Finally,
and not least, the numerous tours now being undertaken to historical Bach organs in what
used to be a region largely cut off by the Iron Curtain of the Cold War period make the
need for such an updated, expanded, and reliable guide all the more obvious.
Like David’s book in its time, the present handbook attempts to present the current
state of knowledge. To this end, additional new materials have been gathered, assessed,
and organized into a comprehensive handbook. The format has been expanded to include
not only the instruments played by Bach, presented alphabetically by location with appro-
priate biographical and organological material, but also the so-called reference organs.
The latter, whose selection is limited to instruments from Bach’s narrowest circle, have
a significance that should not be underestimated, both with respect to rounding out the
theme of the book and to generally broadening our understanding of Bach’s organ world.
Like David, we have included Bach’s examination reports and testimonials, since only
these afford a concrete look at what was, for Bach, an essential activity as organ expert and
examiner. In addition, emphasis has been placed on the contributions and significance of
individual organ builders, especially those with whom Bach had close contact—an aspect
not treated by David. s
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I first made plans to write this book in the 1960s in connection with my organ study at
the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. I was first encouraged by discussions with Michael
Schneider, my organ teacher and fatherly friend. Since then my understanding of his-
torical organs has been significantly enlarged by, above all, Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini,
Gustav Leonhardt, Ton Koopman, the late Ewald Kooiman, Harald Vogel, the late Charles
Fisk, and John Brombaugh—although this list represents only a small number of my
organist and organologist friends. As it turns out, the old plan for a handbook of Bach’s
organs could be realized only after various crucial requirements were met.
Especially important have been the recent proper restoration of the most important
instruments, access to the central German organs that has been possible only since the
demise of the communist-run German Democratic Republic in 1989–90, and, finally,
the realization that a handbook of historical Bach organs should be a task for the Bach-
Archive Leipzig, whose directorship I assumed in 2001. The crucial turning point came,
though, when I was able to win over my former doctoral student Markus Zepf, a colleague
just as interested in, and knowledgeable and enthusiastic about, the project as I. Without
him this project would again have come to nothing. His preparation of the basic mate-
rial—especially of the organological information in Part I and the information regarding
the organ builders in Part III—is an essential and central contribution.
In a spirit of friendly cooperation, three colleagues and friends carefully read major
portions of the German original manuscript for this book: Winfried Schrammek, former
director of the Museum of Musical Instruments, University of Leipzig, unmatched in his
knowledge of the historical central German organ landscape; Jean-Claude Zehnder, who
taught for decades at the Schola Cantorum in Basel and who, as organist, was entrusted
with all of the still-existing organs that are described here; and Kristian Wegscheider,
master organ builder and restorer in Dresden, whose substantial experience in the field
of original instruments is difficult to surpass. All three provided valuable, construc-
tive criticism, and their knowledge and suggestions were included in the final version.
It must be expressly stated, however, that any errors that may remain are entirely the
responsibility of the authors.
A special thank-you is due as well to my colleagues at the Bach-Archive Leipzig. Michael
Maul undertook considerable archival research and completed the list of organists from
Bach’s time. Marion Söhnel’s editorial assistance was of benefit to this book, and Miriam
Wolf diplomatically coordinated the people involved and the necessary planning of the
work. Not to be overlooked is the Evangelische Verlagsanstalt Leipzig, represented by
Annegret Grimm, who—especially with the extensive undertaking of acquiring all the pho-
tographic materials—demonstrated active support for the “Edition Bach-Archiv Leipzig.”
Considerable interest in an American edition arose soon after the book was published
in 2006, but it took several years for the plan to come to fruition. From the very begin-
s ning, however, I had envisioned as translator Lynn Edwards Butler. Our collaboration had
n begun in the mid-1970s when she was one of the two founding directors of the Westfield
jp xii Preface

Center. It culminated in a most memorable American organ tour through Thuringia and
Saxony, organized by Lynn’s Westfield Center and covering much of the ground surveyed
in this book. The tour took place in the early fall of 1989, the very time at which a political
change seemed imminent, even though its direction was still unknown. A few months
later, the German Democratic Republic was gone and the unparalleled riches of the central
German organ landscape became freely accessible. I am most grateful to Lynn not only
for her expert translation, but also for the many improvements to the updated original
text of the second German edition of 2008—emendations based on her own organological
knowledge and experience.
The American edition includes additional pictorial material and provides new color
photographs for most of the historical instruments still in existence. It also presents a
slightly revised “Introductory Sketch” with a brief new section on Bach and the liturgical
use of the organ.
I wish to express my gratitude to George B. Stauffer, distinguished Bach scholar and
general editor for the American Bach Society. Lynn’s involvement and George’s editorial
oversight clearly made this a better book. Deep-felt thanks are also due to the American
Bach Society and Mary Jewett Greer, its current president, for providing support without
which this publication would not have been possible. Finally, I have to say that I am
pleased and proud to be surrounded in this project by Markus Zepf, Lynn Butler, George
Stauffer, and Mary Greer—a truly remarkable and congenial team of enthusiastic scholars
and friends.
Christoph Wolff
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bach—organist,
composer, organ expert
An Introductory Sketch
It was hardly by chance that the obituary drafted only a few months after Johann Sebastian
Bach’s death and later published in volume 4 of Musikalische Bibliothek (Leipzig, 1754) re-
ferred in its title to the “World-Famous Organist . . . Court Composer, and Music Director”
(NBR, no. 306; BDOK III, no. 666). The author and publisher of the obituary no doubt took
into account the fact that the extent of Bach’s fame and special renown as organ virtuoso
was much greater during his lifetime than his limited recognition generally. And it was
no exaggeration to use the term “world-famous.” After all, in March 1750—before Bach’s
death—Padre Giovanni Battista Martini of Bologna had written in a letter: “I consider it
to be superfluous to describe the singular merit of Sig. Bach, for he is thoroughly known
and admired not only in Germany but throughout our Italy” (NBR, no. 385; BDOK II, no.
600). This sounds like an exaggeration, and probably is. However, it cannot be forgotten
that Padre Martini owned a number of Bach manuscripts and prints, including a copy of
Clavier-Übung III (Leipzig, 1739), one of Bach’s most important organ works.
Bach’s historical position as organist was recognized soon after his death. The Prus-
sian court musician Johann Joachim Quantz, discussing the development of the art of
organ playing in his Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen (Berlin, 1752),
referred to such figures as Froberger, Reinken, Buxtehude, Pachelbel, and Bruhns, noting
at the conclusion: “Finally the admirable Johann Sebastian Bach brought it to its greatest
perfection in recent times” (NBR, no. 350; BDOK III, no. 651). In Quantz’s view, the “art
of organ playing” included both performance and composition. As a flute virtuoso and
composer for his instrument, Quantz understood only too well that one’s technical skill
on an instrument affected one’s compositional concepts, and vice versa. This was also true
for Bach. From childhood onward, his instrumental orientation and vocal background s
complemented each other, just as his keyboard skills were supplemented by his string n
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experience and augmented by a compositional focus that eventually included the widest
possible spectrum of musical instruments and human voices. All of this was supported
by a deep knowledge and keen awareness of technological and physiological details and
balanced by intellectual discipline and temperamental sensitivity.
The foundation for Bach’s systematic approach to his musical undertakings was firmly
established before he started his career. Nevertheless, the years in Arnstadt and Mühl-
hausen and the early years in Weimar, when easily managed duties coexisted with con-
siderable personal freedom and economic security, offered this gifted, highly motivated,
industrious, and ambitious musician ideal opportunities for extensive practicing, reflec-
tion, and composition. Above all, by a stroke of luck he had access in Arnstadt (where he
held his first position) to a brand-new and perfectly functioning instrument constructed
by one of the best and most advanced organ builders of his time. The instrument boasted
a modern well-tempered tuning that offered no limits to his harmonic experiments and
that did not require—as church organs then did of most organists—that he constantly
repair it. For four critical years of his artistic life, from 1703 to 1707, he had an ideal—one
might even say a more than perfect—performance laboratory at his disposal in which he
could strengthen and expand his virtuosity and, as a composer, build and develop his
harmonic fantasy and tonal ideas. In addition, Bach enjoyed early on the encouragement,
recognition, and support of respected and influential older colleagues, among them in
particular the organists Georg Böhm, Johann Adam Reinken, and Johann Effler, and the
organ builder Johann Friedrich Wender.
Already as a young organist, and to no less an extent as a mature player, Bach was inter-
ested in the entire gamut of musical genres, whether chorale-based or not, contrapuntal
or free, written in a few voices or many. By approximately 1714–15, he had investigated
practically all of the various ways in which organ and keyboard music could be composed:
from the various types of organ chorales (such as large-scale fantasias, chorale partitas
or variations, and chorale fugues) to the wide spectrum of genres common to both the
organ and harpsichord (such as canzona, passacaglia, toccata, prelude, fantasia, fugue,
sonata, and concerto). Added to this was his never-ending interest in the compositional
technique of others, from the earliest to the very latest repertoire. Bach’s library eventu-
ally contained collections as old as Elias Nicolaus Ammerbach’s Orgel oder Instrument
Tabulatur (Leipzig, 1571), of which he owned no less than three copies, and Frescobaldi’s
Fiori musicali (Rome, 1635), of which he prepared a handwritten copy in 1714, as well as
works of German, French, and Italian masters of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth
centuries. He also assembled compositions not only of his contemporaries, but also of
the generation of his students—all of which allowed him to grapple with the most diverse
technical and stylistic challenges.
By no later than 1710, when he was twenty-five years old, Bach had mastered all the
s technical demands of organ and harpsichord playing. What remained was to set standards
n for the future. As a thoroughly conventional work written before 1710 reveals, moreover,
jp xvi organist, composer, organ expert

Bach already operated at the very pinnacle of compositional technique. This is seen in
even a glance at the artistic demands of a piece such as the Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV
582, and quite apart from the technical demands that performing such a uniquely large-
scaled work requires. The same can be said of the basically new aesthetic premise of his
small-format compositions, as demonstrated in the motivically compact structure and
formal symmetry of the chorale “Herr Christ, der ein’ge Gottessohn,” BWV 601, also
written before 1710 and later included in the Orgel-Büchlein. In both works, the inclusion
of obbligato pedal parts demonstrates Bach’s independent development of the pedal
far beyond Buxtehude’s basic approach. Bach also took new paths in organ playing and
composition in other equally exemplary works, such as the large preludes and fugues of
the Leipzig period, the trio sonatas, or the chorale repertoire of Clavier-Übung III. Over
and over again, he explored new territory, in both performing technique and composition.
The organist and organ composer Bach maintained these innovative tendencies in his
art right until the end of his life, as can be seen in the Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel
hoch,” written in the late 1740s.
The repertory of Bach’s organ works genuinely reflects the important role of the church
instrument in the Lutheran worship service. The “Order of the Divine Service in Leipzig”
that Bach entered in the score of Cantata BWV 61 for the First Sunday in Advent 1723 (NBR,
no. 113) indicates three “preluding” functions of the organ within the service: playing
preludes (1) at the beginning of the service, (2) for the chorales sung by the congregation,
and (3) for the cantata. Chorale-based preludes served the purpose of introducing the
melody of the hymn to the congregation, free preludes could be played at the opening
of the service (and by implication at its conclusion), and the prelude for the cantata was
supposed to provide cover for tuning the instruments and to establish the pitch for the
ensemble performance.
Not mentioned in Bach’s note is the organ’s accompanimental function. While in
Thuringian towns like Eisenach, Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, or Weimar the organ traditionally
accompanied hymns, congregational singing in Leipzig and throughout Saxony remained
unaccompanied until the later eighteenth century. On the other hand, the participation
of the large, west-end organ in the continuo group of the cantata orchestra, although
self-evident, is worth stressing. Bach’s assigning the organ an obbligato function for
a series of cantatas in 1726–27 (e.g., BWV 49, 146, 169, 188), and thereby featuring the
instrument within the orchestra in an unprecedented and particularly prominent way,
undoubtedly grew out of this continuo practice.
It is important to understand that service playing by professional organists, the
“Figural-Organisten,” was always done ex tempore. Only the less accomplished or ama-
teur players, the “Choral-Organisten,” who often worked under the supervision of the
main town organist, would ordinarily have read from music. Bach himself would have
improvised any kind of free or chorale-based prelude. (For a reference to Bach accom- s
panying the congregation, see the Altenburg entry.) Therefore, the majority of Bach’s n
An Introductory Sketch xvii jp

extant organ works were written for his activities as a recitalist, which involved a great
variety of preludes, toccatas, fantasias, and fugues, as well as a broad spectrum of organ
chorales. The smaller, shorter, more functional, and technically less demanding pieces
within the repertory appear to have been written for pedagogical reasons or for the use
of “chorale organists” unable to improvise.
Organ and organ music, the critical area of experimentation for the young Bach, re-
mained an absolutely essential point of orientation also for the middle-aged and older
Bach. A special attribute in pieces like the Brandenburg concertos or the Weimar and
Leipzig vocal works with their instrumental dimensions, is that over and over again, in
comparison to similar compositions by his contemporaries, they allow Bach’s identity
as organist to be recognized. Even in his compositions for orchestra and vocal ensemble,
Bach understood how to “register,” often with the goal of creating new tonal experiences.
This can be seen quite clearly in the scoring of four violins in the cantata “Gleichwie der
Regen und Schnee,” BWV 18, the use of four different instruments (recorder, oboe, viols
d’amore, and viol da gamba) in the cantata “Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn,” BWV 152, the
scoring of two viols d’amore with lute in “Betrachte, meine Seel” in the St. John Passion,
or the use of corno da caccia with two fagottos in “Quoniam” in the B-Minor Mass.
Bach’s interest throughout his entire life was not just in the sound, and sound com-
binations, of individual instruments, but also in the building and development of new
musical instruments of all kinds. His name is connected with the improvement and sale
of fortepianos built in the Silbermann style, with the lute-harpsichord of his Jena rela-
tive Johann Nicolaus Bach, with the oboe da caccia and bassono grosso of the Leipzig
instrument maker Johann Heinrich Eichentopf, and with the violoncello piccolo of the
Leipzig court lute maker Johann Christian Hoffmann (who named Bach executor of his
will). This hands-on, experimental side of the musical fraternity was not merely enjoyable
for Bach—he must have found himself entirely in his métier. From his earliest school
days, his primary interest had been the organ. The Ohrdruf organ-building workshop
of Georg Christoph Stertzing may have provided Bach’s first insights into the practical
side of organ building, for during the time that he was a student in the Ohrdruf Lyceum,
Stertzing was making preparations for building the organ for Eisenach’s St. George’s
Church. At that time it was Thuringia’s largest instrument, an organ whose disposition
was devised by Bach’s relative Johann Christoph Bach. Bach remained in contact with
the elder Stertzing; in 1716, only a few months before Stertzing’s death, he examined the
instrument Stertzing had started in Erfurt’s St. Augustine’s Church.
Bach’s vast practical experience with the organ, his intense and wide-ranging self-
education, his innate curiosity, and his active contact with skilled and experienced organ
builders made him an organ expert of the first rank. His undisputed competence was
recognized at an early point, and he exploited it all his life, both to his own advantage
s and to the advantage of others. That Bach was involved time and again, even into his later
n years, with proposals for a wide range of organs, rebuilds, and repairs is an aspect of his
jp xviii organist, composer, organ expert

professional life that should not be underestimated. His experience is highly unusual in
the history of music and has clear implications for understanding important connections
in his musical art.
At his first organ examination in 1703 at the New Church in Arnstadt, when Bach found
himself at the age of eighteen judging the work of Johann Friedrich Wender, a master or-
gan builder some thirty years his senior, the result was not generational conflict but rather
a lasting relationship based on reciprocal respect. This close relationship then extended
to Wender’s son, whom Bach advised as late as 1735 in Mühlhausen. Well-established
acquaintance with a large variety of instruments in Thuringia and north Germany, and
also, no doubt, the reading of the writings of Andreas Werckmeister, formed the founda-
tion for Bach’s expertise. His technical knowledge was probably augmented through his
close relationship with Wender, who enticed Bach from Arnstadt to Mühlhausen and at
the same time dissuaded Bach’s distant cousin Johann Gottfried Walther from competing
for the position (Wolff 2000, 102). A similar ongoing and productive relationship can be
seen later in Bach’s dealings with the young Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs in Weimar or with
Zacharias Hildebrandt in Leipzig.
Bach’s written examination reports impressively demonstrate thoroughness, a deep
understanding of the material, and comprehensive knowledge of the construction and
use of the organ. Not even the smallest detail escaped his attention. The Mühlhausen
renovation project, for which Bach’s report has survived, demonstrates in particular how
highly Bach valued the organization, specific character, and balancing of an organ’s stops.
He paid special attention to the gravity of the instrument, which ideally would be provided
by a new “Untersatz,” a 32' register. But he also had the idea of strengthening the gravity
further by enlarging the resonators and replacing the shallots of the existing Posaune 16'.
He also recommended replacing the existing Gemshorn with a “Viol di Gamba 8', which
will blend admirably with the present Salicional 4' in the Rückpositiv.” He specified a
wide variety of materials for the pipes, demanding “good 14-worthy [87.5%] tin” for the
three “Principalia” in the facade of the “new little Brustpositiv.” In addition, he requested
that a “Stillgedackt 8', which is perfect for accompanying concerted vocal music,” be built
from “good wood” because then it would sound “better than a metal Gedackt.”
In his report on the Hildebrandt organ in the St. Wenceslas’s Church in Naumburg,
which he and Gottfried Silbermann examined in 1746, Bach wrote that in a proper examina-
tion “every part specified and promised by the contract—namely, keyboards, bellows, wind
chests, wind lines, pedal and keyboard actions along with their various parts, registers, and
stops, both open and stopped, as well as reeds” needs to be inspected to see that everything
is “really there.” In the same report he remarked that the examiners have inspected whether
“each and every part has been made with appropriate care” and whether “the pipes have
been properly built from the materials promised.” He recommended, however, that the
organ builder “go through the entire instrument once more, stop by stop, in order to achieve s
more evenness in the voicing as well as in the key and stop actions.” n
An Introductory Sketch xix jp

The Scheibe organ in the University Church in Leipzig had similar problems, and
Bach recommended taking appropriate precautions against the “occasional wind surges”
and correcting the “uneven voicing” so that the “lowest pipes in the Posaunenbass 16'
and Trompetenbass 8' do not speak so roughly and with such a rattle, but with a pure
and firm tone.” In addition, higher standards were to be met so that the organ’s playing
action is “somewhat lighter” and “the keyfall . . . not so deep.” The report on the Scheibe
organ also shows that Bach was in a position to delve into basic construction problems.
He criticized the case of the organ and the fact that “it is difficult to reach each part,” but
showed sympathy for the organ builder, who “was not granted the additional space he had
desired in order to arrange the layout more capaciously.” He also recommended that “as
far as the window rises up behind it, the organ should be protected from further threats
of weather damage by means of a small wall or a strong piece of sheet iron placed inside
the window.”
“Despite all of this knowledge of the organ,” the obituary notes, “he never enjoyed the
good fortune, as he used to point out frequently with regret, of having a really large and
really beautiful organ at his constant disposal. This fact has robbed us of many beautiful
and unknown inventions in organ playing that he would otherwise have written down and
displayed in the form in which he had them in his head” (NBR, no. 306; BDOK III, no.
666). The instruments Bach had at his disposal in Arnstadt, Mühlhausen, and Weimar
were comparatively medium-sized organs. It is therefore understandable that the organ-
ist position available in 1720 at St. Jacobi in Hamburg must have been tempting to Bach,
even if there was an even better organ at Hamburg’s St. Catherine’s Church. In Leipzig,
Bach certainly would have had unhindered access to the large Scheibe organ (III/48) in
the St. Paul’s Church. But it is also true that it was not actually his instrument. If it had
been, he most certainly would have written more organ works during the Leipzig years.
On the other hand, the number of organ compositions by Bach that has been transmitted
is astonishingly high. Beyond this, there remains the fact that Bach’s organ compositions
were never conceived entirely for a specific instrument. Rather, from the beginning the
composer took for granted that his works would be played on various organs. It is thus all
the more instructive from the point of view of modern interpreters, listeners, and organ
enthusiasts that the spectrum of historical organs in Bach’s world be considered in its
full breadth, diversity, and beauty.
s
n
jp xx organist, composer, organ expert

timeline of organ-related
dates in bach’s life
March 21, 1685 Is born in Eisenach as eighth and youngest child of Johann
Ambrosius and Maria Elisabeth Bach
1685–95 Grows up in Eisenach; attends German and Latin schools; as-
sociates with city organist Johann Christoph Bach
1696–1700 Attends Lyceum in Ohrdruf and is tutored by his eldest brother,
Johann Christoph Bach, who had studied with Johann Pachel-
bel; makes copies (not surviving) of works of Pachelbel and
Froberger, among others; before 1700, prepares tablature copy
of Buxtehude’s large chorale fantasy “Nun freut euch, lieben
Christen g’mein,” BuxWV 210 (fragment survives); writes his
first organ compositions (“Neumeister Collection”) and makes
his first contacts with organ builder Georg Christoph Stertzing,
who at the time had his workshop in Ohrdruf
March 1700 – Studies with Georg Böhm in Lüneburg and is choral scholar at
ca. Easter 1702 St. Michael’s School; makes visits to Johann Adam Reinken in
Hamburg
1700 (dated) Prepares autograph tablature copy of Reinken’s organ chorale
“An Wasserflüssen Babylon”
Fall 1702 Successfully applies for the town organist post in Sangerhausen
(successor to Gottfried Christoph Gräffenhayn); because of in-
terference by the duke in Weißenfels, the post is given to another
applicant
December 1702– Serves as lackey and musician at the private chapel of Duke
June 1703 Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar. Position obtained by mediation of
the Weimar court organist, Johann Effler, a Bach-family friend; s
probable that primary activity was serving as Effler’s assistant n
jp

July 1703 Examines and dedicates the Wender organ at the New Church
in Arnstadt
Organist at the New Church in Arnstadt

August 9, 1703 Accepts appointment as organist at the New Church in Arnstadt
November 1705– Takes four-month-long study trip to Dieterich Buxtehude in
February 1706 Lübeck; he presumably heard and participated in performances
in December 1705 of Buxtehude’s oratorios Castrum doloris,
BuxWV 134, and Templum honoris, BuxWV 135
ca. 1705–06 Pens autograph of Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 535a
November 28, 1706 Examines the Albrecht/Erhardt organ in Langewiesen
1706–08 Tests the Wender organ in Ammern (?)
April 24, 1707 Auditions for the organist position (successor to Johann Georg
(Easter Sunday) Ahle) in the free imperial city of Mühlhausen, probably with a
performance of the cantata “Christ lag in Todesbanden,” BWV 4
City Organist in Mühlhausen

July 1, 1707 Begins as city organist at St. Blasius’s Church in Mühlhausen;
ancillary position at the Bridge Church (Brückenkirche)
February 1708 Presents plan for renovating and enlarging the organ at St.
Blasius’s
June 1708 Is offered position of court organist in Weimar (successor to the
retiring Johann Effler)
Court Organist in Weimar

July 1708 Begins as court organist and chamber musician at ducal court in
Weimar
ca. 1709–12 Makes his own copy of Nicolas de Grigny’s Premier livre d’orgue
(1701)
October 26, 1711 Examines and dedicates the Trebs organ in Taubach
1712–14 Oversees the rebuilding by Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs of the castle
church organ
November– Auditions for the position of organist and music director of the
December, 1713 Church of Our Lady in Halle (successor to Friedrich Wilhelm
Zachow)
ca. 1713 Autograph of Orgel-Büchlein, BWV 599–644 (majority of entries)
1714 Copies Girolamo Frescobaldi’s Fiori musicali (1635)
February 1714 Rejects the position in Halle
s March 2, 1714 Is appointed concertmaster in Weimar, while retaining court
n organist position
jp xxii Timeline

ca. 1714–17 (?) Prepares autograph of arrangement of Vivaldi’s Concerto in D
Minor, BWV 596, and the organ chorale “Nun komm, der Heiden
Heiland,” BWV 660a
April 28 – Examines (with Johann Kuhnau and Christian Friedrich Rolle)
May 2, 1716 the Contius organ at Church of Our Lady, Halle (Saale)
July 31, 1716 Examines the Stertzing/Schröter organ at St. Augustine’s
Church, Erfurt
March 1717 In Gotha, briefly replaces the ailing court kapellmeister and
court church organist, Christian Friedrich Witt; performs a
passion
August 1, 1717 Accepts appointment as court kapellmeister in Köthen; begins
service at the end of December
Fall 1717 Travels to Dresden; wins contest with Louis Marchand by default
Court Kapellmeister in Köthen

after December 2, Begins service in Köthen
1717
December 16–18, Examines the Scheibe organ in St. Paul’s Church, Leipzig
1717
November 1720 Applies (by invitation) and successfully auditions for the posi-
tion of organist (successor to Heinrich Friese) at St. Jacobi,
Hamburg, with concerts at St. Jacobi and at St. Catherine’s
(Reinken is a member of the audition committee), probably
including a performance of the cantata “Ich hatte viel Beküm-
mernis,” BWV 21; return trip on November 23
before December 19, Withdraws from the Hamburg candidacy
1720
July – beginning of Visits Gera, probably in connection with the building of the
August 1721 Finke organs in the Castle Chapel and St. Salvator’s Church
April 19, 1723 Accepts position of cantor at the St. Thomas School and music
director in Leipzig (successor to Johann Kuhnau)
Thomascantor and Music Director in Leipzig

May 30, 1723 Begins work in Leipzig
November 2, 1723 Examines and dedicates the Hildebrandt organ in Störmthal with
performance of the cantata “Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest,”
BWV 194
ca. 1723–24 Autograph of Fantasia in C Major, BWV 573
May 30 – June 6, Examines and dedicates the Finke organ in St. John’s Church, s
1725 Gera; tests the organ in St. Salvator’s Church n
Timeline xxiii jp

September 19–20, Presents two recitals on the Silbermann organ at St. Sophia’s
1725 Church, Dresden, partially along with the court chapel musicians
1726–28 Is advisor for the new organ at St. Jacob’s Church,
Sangerhausen (?)
1727–31 Pens autograph (fair copy) of the Prelude and Fugue in B Minor,
BWV 544, and partial autograph of the Prelude and Fugue in E
Minor, BWV 548
Between 1729 Probably visits the Casparini organ in Görlitz
and 1741
December 1729 Examines candidates for the position of organist at St. Nicho-
las’s, Leipzig; Bach student Johann Schneider is successful
September 14, 1731 Presents recital on the Silbermann organ at St. Sophia’s,
Dresden
November 12, 1731 Examines the Schmieder organ in Stöntzsch; a further, final
examination takes place on February 4, 1732
September 21–28, Examines and dedicates the Stertzing/Becker organ at St.
1732 Martin’s Church, Kassel; recital with Anna Magdalena Bach,
performs Toccata in D Minor, BWV 538
ca. 1733 Prepares fair copy of the trio sonatas, BWV 525–530; autograph
of the Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541
June 23, 1733 After an audition the previous day at which he may have per-
formed BWV 541, son Wilhelm Friedemann is chosen as organist
of St. Sophia’s Church, Dresden
June 1735 Travels to Mühlhausen; advises Wender regarding new organ
for St. Mary’s Church; successful audition by his son Johann
Gottfried Bernhard for the post of organist there
June 22, 1735 On the return trip from Mühlhausen, tests the organ in
Weißensee
December 1, 1736 Performs two-hour dedication concert of the new Silbermann
organ in Our Lady’s Church, Dresden
January 14, 1737 Son Johann Gottfried Bernhard is chosen as city organist in
Sangerhausen
December 1737 Examines the Schäfer organ in Weißensee (?)
1739–42, 1746–47 Revises the “Great Eighteen Chorales,” BWV 651–68 (partial
autograph manuscript)
before September 7, Plays the new Trost organ in the court church in Altenburg
1739
St. Michael’s Fair, Publishes Clavier-Übung III
s 1739
n ca. 1742 Drafts disposition for a new Trebs organ in Berka
jp xxiv Timeline

before December 13, Examines (with Zacharias Hildebrandt) Scheibe’s organ for
1743 St. John’s Church, Leipzig
1743–46 Planning and building of the Hildebrandt organ for St. Wences-
las’s Church, Naumburg
April 16, 1746 Son Wilhelm Friedemann becomes organist and music director
of the Market Church in Halle
August 7, 1746 Examines the Scheibe organ in Zschortau
September 24–28, Examines (with Gottfried Silbermann) the Hildebrandt organ in
1746 St. Wenceslas’s Church, Naumburg
May 1747 While on a visit to the Prussian court, plays the Wagner organs in
Potsdam churches
November (?) 1747 Examines the renovated organ at St. Thomas’s, Leipzig
1747 Publishes the Canonic Variations on “Vom Himmel hoch,” BWV 769
1747–48 Publishes Sechs Choräle von verschiedener Art (“Schübler cho-
rales”), BWV 645–50; autograph (only a fragment survives) of
Fugue in C Minor, BWV 562/2
January 12, 1748 Writes letter of recommendation for organ builder Heinrich
Andreas Contius
September 1748 Bach’s son-in-law Johann Christoph Altnickol becomes organist
at St. Wenceslas’s in Naumburg
June 1749 Communicates with Heinrich Andreas Contius concerning plans
for a new organ at the Franciscan Church, Frankfurt (Oder)
October 3, 1749 Is recommended by Johann Jacob Donati Jr. as consultant for a
new organ in Hartmannsdorf, near Dresden
June-July 1750 (?) Revises the chorale “Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein,” BWV
668a, under the title “Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich hiermit,” BWV
668
July 28, 1750 Dies in Leipzig, at 8:15 in the evening
s
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Timeline xxv jp

Lübeck
Hamburg
Elb
e
Bremen Lüneburg
BR A N DE N BU R G Od
er
Celle
Berlin
Frankfurt
(Oder)
Hannover Potsdam
el
Brunswick Hav
Bückeburg
We Magdeburg
ser
Zerbst
Köthen
Göttingen
Sangerhausen
Elb
Halle
Sondershausen
e
Kassel Leipzig
Mühlhausen Unstr
ut Weißenfels
S A XON Y
Naumburg Dresden
Zeitz
Eisenach GothaErfurt Weimar
Jena Altenburg
Wechmar Dornheim
Gera
Ohrdruf Arnstadt
Rudolstadt T H U R I NGI A
We
Suhl
r ra
Meiningen Gehren Schleiz

Whit
B OH E M I A
e Els
Coburg Karlsbad
Sa
a
ter
Frankfurt (Main) Lahm

le
Prague
Schweinfurt
Main
= places where Bach lived

= places Bach visited
Vltava
Rhine
Nuremberg = places with Bach-reference organs

= Bach-family places
0 100 km
= reference location
s
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Copenhagen
North Sea Sea
tic
Bal
Danzig
Hamburg Vis
Elb tul
e Od a
Amsterdam Berlin e r
London
Leipzig Görlitz
Cologne
Brussels
Frankfurt
Rh
Prague
ine
Se
ine Paris Vienna
Dan
ube
Munich
✪
Berlin
Elb
S A XON Y-A N H A LT
e
Zschortau
Merseburg Leipzig Liebertwolkwitz Görlitz
Weißensee Störmthal
Dörna Hohnstein
Erfurt Rötha Dresden
Eisenach Buttstädt Altenburg
Weimar Freiberg
Waltershausen Berka Taubach
Bad Hersfeld Chemnitz
T H U R I NGI A Rudolstadt
Langewiesen
S A XON Y
0 100 km
s
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part one
The Organs of J. S. Bach
Preliminary Remarks
Churches. Historical information concerning the churches in which the organs are situ-
ated is meant to provide a basic orientation, since the size, disposition, care, and use of
an organ depends on external conditions such as the architecture of the space and who is
in charge of the organ (e.g., the court or the city). Details of the history of the church are
provided only when they are of importance to the organ itself (e.g., Hamburg/St. Jacobi,
1714, collapse of the vault over the organ; destruction of the building in 1944 [the organ
was in storage]).
Organs. Organ descriptions are specific to their condition at the time the organ
was encountered by Johann Sebastian Bach. Dates of construction of earlier and later
instruments are mentioned only when they have direct relevance to the state in which
the instrument was known to Bach. In cases where the instruments were enlarged and
changed over several centuries, such as Hamburg/St. Catherine’s or Lüneburg/St. John’s,
the essential developmental stages are cited.
Dispositions. Dispositions represent their configuration at the time the organs were
encountered by Bach; each is provided with the date the disposition was recorded, as well
as the size (number of manuals/number of stops) of the organ. The spelling of stop names
follows the historical sources, except that the number of ranks in multiranked stops is
given in Roman numerals next to the name of the register. Manuals are numbered from
bottom to top.
Pitch. Only for recently renovated organs is dependable information available regard-
ing pitch. During Bach’s time, it was highly variable compared to the modern standard
pitch of a1 = 440 Hz at 15˚ C (g ♯1 = 415 Hz, g1 = 391 Hz, b♭1 = 495 Hz). (Note: For the frequen-
cies given in Part I, Sections A and B, if not specifically otherwise noted, pitches are based s
on a room temperature of 15˚ C.) Historical data cited from organ-building contracts is
n
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limited to indications of the use of Kammerton, a pitch standard imported to Germany
from France around 1700 and which during Bach’s time was considered an exception to
the norm. A Kammerton pitch of a1 = 415 Hz (also called Dresden Kammerton), about
one half tone below modern standard pitch, was the most prevalent, but pitches up to a
whole tone lower, a1 = 408–392 Hz (low or French Kammerton), are also documented. In
central and north German church organs of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,
the prevalent pitch was Chorton (also called Cornetton), preferred because of the greater
tonal brilliance it afforded, and predominantly set at a1 = ca. 465 Hz, around a half tone
higher than modern standard pitch. Pitches of up to a whole tone higher (high Chorton)
are also documented, however, such as a1 = 476 Hz (Silbermann, Freiberg/Cathedral)
and a1 = 495 Hz (Schnitger, Hamburg/St. Jacobi).
The existing pitch differences of the time posed problems in performance of concerted
music—that is, when vocal and instrumental ensembles performed church music together.
The most practical solution, and the one preferred by Bach, was to transpose the figured
bass or continuo part assigned to the organ. Organ builders confronted the problem in
various ways. In 1738, Christian Friedrich Wender, for example, provided the organ for
Mühlhausen’s St. Mary’s Church with two Kammerton couplers. Gottfried Silbermann
noted in numerous proposals that organs in low Kammerton required longer pipes, which
resulted in higher costs.
Temperament. Information regarding temperament is given only for restored in-
struments. Each and every organ builder had (and has) his own system of tempering,
and these temperaments are not unequivocally recoverable from surviving pipes. In the
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, organs in Germany were tuned in mean-
tone (where pure thirds were emphasized); starting around 1700, modifications to this
system began to be made in newly built instruments. Irregular (well-tempered) tunings
that allowed performance in all keys, set according to Andreas Werckmeister, Johann
Georg Neidthardt, and other music theorists, were gradually established. In the circle
of the young Johann Sebastian Bach, the organ builders Johann Friedrich Wender and
Georg Christoph Stertzing, as well as the organists Johann Christoph Bach, Johann Effler,
Dieterich Buxtehude, and Johann Kuhnau, were prominent advocates of well-tempered
tunings. During the renovation of Jena’s Collegiate Church organ (built 1690) by Zacha-
rias Thayßner, Johann Nicolaus Bach, organist of Jena University, called temperament
“the most noble [attribute] of an organ.” In his expert’s report of 1704, he demanded
the retuning of the apparently meantone organ to allow for performance in “diatonic–
chromatic–enharmonic” keys—that is, in all keys. The retuning of the organ (II/25) was
accomplished in less than ten days (Maul 2004b, 160–61).
Some organs still tuned in meantone—such as the organ built in 1704 by the Donats
for Leipzig’s New Church—had a “Lieblich Gedackt 8' for concerted music,” a stop that
s was set in a milder temperament than the rest of the organ in order to allow for a greater
n range of harmonic possibilities. Nothing is known about the temperament of the organs
jp 2 part one The Organs of J. S. Bach

in Leipzig’s two principal churches. Because of their Chorton pitch, organ parts for the
cantatas were written at a pitch one tone lower than parts for the other instruments. Ac-
cording to Bach’s original performance materials, a piece in C minor would have been
played by the organist in B ♭ minor, for example, or a piece in E ♭ major would have been
played in D♭ major, a practice the organs had apparently allowed since the time of Kuhnau.
For the use of a pure meantone temperament, as described, for example, by Michael
Praetorius in the second part of his Syntagma musicum (Wolfenbüttel, 1619), it is nec-
essary for the organ to have subsemitones (split sharps) for the pitches e ♭/d ♯ and g ♯/a ♭.
Such subsemitones are rarely to be found in Bach’s world at the turn of the seventeenth
to the eighteenth centuries, however. On the other hand, a short-octave bass (where the
lowest C, D, and E are played by the keys E, F ♯, and G ♯) or the absence of the low C ♯ in an
otherwise complete lowest octave was common into the middle of the eighteenth century,
since compositions mostly did without these pitches.
Missing chromatic keys in the lowest octave are indicated by “CDEFGA–c3” or “CD–c3,”
for example, whereas complete keyboard compasses are indicated as “C–c3.” Any changes
to the manual compasses are indicated—for example, 1714 in Lüneburg/St. Michael’s or
1733 in Lübeck/St. Mary’s.
Wind supply. The wind supply in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century organs was
provided exclusively by wedge bellows that were hand or foot pumped. Historical wind
pressures are given in only rare cases, such as for Altenburg/Court Church or Naumburg/
St. Wenceslas’s. Modern wind pressures for restored or renovated organs are given in
millimeters on the water gauge (mm WC).
References. The literature and archival sources cited form the basis of this study and
do not represent a complete bibliography. In order to provide an easily readable text,
the author/date system is used for citations, which under (a) relate to the churches and
organs, and under (b) relate to Johann Sebastian Bach. There is no discussion of varying
views held by researchers or of contradictory statements in the literature.
Abbreviations:
Bp = Brustpositiv
Bw = Brustwerk
Hw = Hauptwerk
HinW = Hinterwerk
Op = Oberpositiv
Ow = Oberwerk
Ped = Pedal
Pos = Positiv
T = transmission
Uw = Unterwerk
W = Werk (Hauptwerk) s
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part one The Organs of J. S. Bach 3 jp

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section a
Organs with a Proven
Connection to Bach
Altenburg
There is evidence that Johann Sebastian Bach visited Altenburg at the beginning of Sep-
tember 1739, probably for an informal examination of the just-completed court organ,
as well as to play the organ during a church service. According to the court record of
September 7, 1739, “the well-known kapellmeister Bach, of Leipzig, was heard at the
organ, and, in passing, judged that the organ’s construction was very durable, and that
the organ builder had succeeded in giving to each stop its particular nature and proper
sweetness” (BDOK II, no. 453). Bach’s participation in what was a successful examination
and acceptance of the organ on October 26, 1739, in the presence of Gottfried Heinrich
Stölzel, kapellmeister in Gotha, while apparently planned, never materialized.
Regarding Bach’s organ playing during the church service (probably on September 6,
1739, the Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity), an anonymous “ear-witness” later reported:
“Few are in a position to guide a congregation as old Bach could do, who one time on
the large organ in Altenburg played the creedal hymn [“Wir glauben all an einen Gott”
(We all believe in one God)] in D minor, but raised the congregation to E ♭ minor for the
second verse, and on the third verse even went to E minor. But only a Bach could do this
and only the organ in Altenburg. Not all of us are or have that” (BDOK V, no. C1005a).
Organists of the court church included Gottfried Ernst Pestel (1681–1732) and Chris-
tian Lorenz (1732–48). Bach’s student Johann Ludwig Krebs took over the position in
1756 and held it until his death in 1780.
Court Church (St. George’s)/Schlosskirche St. Georg

Gothic hall church, completed 1473. Baroque furnishing of the interior in 1645–49 ac-
cording to designs by Christoph Richter; the two fifteenth-century stone balconies were s
retained.
n
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Organ: Newly built 1733–39 by Tobias Heinrich Gottfried Trost on recommendation
of Duke Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. With assistance from the court sculptor
Johann Jeremias Martini, the instrument was placed on the north balcony of the choir.
Numerous alterations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Eule Orgelbau restored
the organ in 1976 to its 1739 condition.
Disposition 1739/1976 (II/37)

Hauptwerk (I) Oberwerk (II) Pedal
Groß-Quintadena 16' (T) Geigenprincipal 8' Principalbaß 16'
Flaute traverse 16' (T) Lieblich Gedackt 8' Groß-Quintadena 16' (T)
Principal 8' Vugara 8' Flaute traverse 16' (T)
Bordun 8' (T) Quintadena 8' Violonbaß 16'
Spitzflöte 8' Hohlflöte 8' Subbaß 16'
Viol di Gamba 8' Gemshorn 4' Octavenbaß 8'
Rohrflöte 8' Flauto dolce II 4' Bordun 8' (T)
Octava 4' (T) Nasat 3' Octava 4' (T)
Kleingedackt 4' Octave 2' Mixtur VI–IX (T)
Quinte 3' Waldflöte 2' Posaune 32'
Superoctava 2' Superoctava 1' Posaune 16'
Blockflöte 2' Cornet V (from g˚) Trompete 8'
Sesquialtera II Mixtur IV–V
Mixtur VI–IX (T) Vox humana 8'
Trompete 8'
Glockenspiel c1–c3
Particulars: Hw Trompette 8' reconstructed from four surviving Trost pipes.

Accessories: Hw tremulant; Ow tremulant; bellows signal.
Couplers: Manual shove coupler; wind coupler (Hw/Ped).
Compass: C–c3 (manuals); C–c1 (pedal).
Wind pressure (1739): manuals 30˚, pedal 29˚.
Wind pressure (1998): manuals 70 mm WC, pedal 68 mm WC.
Wind supply (1739/1998): four bellows to the manuals; two larger bellows for the
pedal.
Pitch (1998): Chorton (468 Hz at 18.2˚ C).
Temperament (1998): Neidhardt I.
Literature: (a) Dähnert 1983, 19–25; Friedrich 1989; Friedrich 1998; Dehio 2003,
15–17. (b) BDOK II, nos. 453 and 460; BDOK V, no. C1005a; Schulze 1981, 32–42; Wolff
2000, 143, 145, 532; Wolff 2005a, xix.
s
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jp 6 organs with a proven connection to bach

1. Altenburg, Court Church:
Trost organ (photograph, 1985)
2. Altenburg, Court Church:

s
Trost organ (photograph, 1985)
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Ammern
During either his Mühlhausen or Weimar period, Johann Sebastian Bach likely tested
the Wender organ in Ammern, three miles north of Mühlhausen.
Church of St. Vitus/Kirche St. Vitus

Choir-tower church in the cemetery, presumably built around 1270. Hall church with
wooden barrel-vaulted ceiling and two tiers of galleries on three sides; completely reno-
vated at end of eighteenth century.
Organ: 1706–8, new organ (I/13) by Johann Friedrich Wender; disposition altered
during construction (Octav Baß 8' replaced Fagottbaß 8'); exact disposition unknown.
1712, rebuild by Wender. 1859, new organ (II/15) by Johann Friedrich Große. Nothing
from Bach’s time survives.
Archival Source: Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen, Chronik. Fragment 1533–1802, Sign. 61/18,
fol. 91v.
Literature: (a) Hunstock 1997, 85; Haupt 1998, 104; Dehio 2003, 33. (b) Kröhner
1995, 83–91.
Arnstadt
Johann Sebastian Bach was organist of the New Church from August 1703 until June 1707.
Sometime prior to July 13, 1703, Bach, who had just turned eighteen, visited from Weimar
at the order of the consistory of the count of Arnstadt in order to inspect and “play the
new organ in the new church.” Manifestly impressed with his abilities, the consistory
straightaway offered Bach the position of organist at the New Church; the appointment was
made on August 9, 1703. Bach remained there for only four years, after which he moved
to St. Blasius’s Church in Mühlhausen. It can be assumed that he was also familiar with
the organs in the other Arnstadt churches and that from time to time he played them.
His successor at the New Church was his cousin Johann Ernst Bach, who had substituted
for him in 1705–6 during his trip to visit Dieterich Buxtehude in Lübeck. After Johann
Ernst Bach, Johann Wilhelm Völcker was organist from 1728 to 1737.
Along with Erfurt, Arnstadt was a primary workplace of the Bach family of musicians
during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The brothers Heinrich and Christoph
Bach worked in Arnstadt as organists and musicians to the court and city from 1641 and
1654, respectively. Heinrich Bach was city and court organist for decades, and his sons
Johann Christoph and Johann Michael began their musical careers by assisting their
father as organists at the Arnstadt court chapel of Count Schwarzburg in 1663–65 and
1665–73, respectively. Johann Christoph Bach, the older brother of Johann Sebastian,
s
substituted for the ailing Heinrich Bach in Arnstadt in 1688–89. In 1692, Christoph
n
Herthum, Heinrich Bach’s son-in-law and Johann Christoph Bach’s godfather, took over

as city organist, serving both the Upper Church and the court chapel; he held the position
until his death in 1710. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Andreas Börner, who in
1703 (on the same day as Johann Sebastian Bach) was appointed organist of Our Lady’s
Church; earlier, while the Wender organ was under construction, Börner had played for
the church services in the New Church. After the death of his father-in-law, Börner also
took over the duties at the Lower Church.
New Church/Neue Kirche (since 1935, Johann Sebastian Bach Church)

Baroque hall church with barrel vault and two to three tiers of galleries, newly built in
1676–83, replacing St. Boniface’s Church, which had been destroyed by a major city fire
in 1581; remains of the oldest parish church in Arnstadt are integrated into the choir.
Centrally located building with the largest seating capacity of the city’s three churches.
Organ: 1699–1703, organ newly built in the students’ balcony (third gallery) by Johann
Friedrich Wender, financed in part by a bequest from the Arnstadt businessman Johann
Wilhelm Magen; inspection report does not survive. 1709, painting of the organ case; 1710
and 1713, repairs and improvements by Wender. Rebuilds and enlargements in the late
eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. 1913, new organ (III/55) by Steinmeyer Orgelbau
using some stops and the case from Wender’s organ. 1938, organ moved to the first gal-
lery by Wiegand Helfenbein. 1997–99, restoration by Hoffmann Orgelbau and erection
of the Steinmeyer organ in the first gallery; also, reconstruction and placement of the
Wender organ in the third gallery. Wender pipework was reused and his playing action
and key desk reconstructed. The original key desk, restored many times, has been held
since 1864 as part of the Bach memorial located in a museum in the immediate vicinity
of the church, the Haus “Zum Palmbaum” (House of the Palm Tree).

Oberwerk (II) Brustwerk/Positiv (I) Pedal
Principal 8' Stillgedacktes 8' (o) Sub Baß 16'
Viola di Gamba 8' (o) Principal 4' Principal 8'
Quintadehna 8' (o) Spitzflöte 4' Posaunen Bass 16'
Grobgedacktes 8' (o) Nachthorn 4' (o) Cornet Bass 2'
Gemshorn 8' (o) Quinta 3'
Offene Quinta 6' Sesquialtera doppelt [II]
Octava 4' (o) Mixtur III [1'] (o)
Mixtur IV 2' (o)
Cymbel II [1'] (o)
Trompete 8'
Particulars: o = register with at least 50 percent historical material. For Hw Principal

8' and Quinta 6', as well as Bw Principal 4', Quinta 3', and Sesquialtera, just one Wender
s
pipe in each register was preserved. Subbaß 16' was reconstructed after the same stop
n
Ammern • Arnstadt 9 jp

in Horsmar (Wender, 1694); Trompete 8' and Posaunen Bass 16' are modeled on Lahm/
Itzgrund (Herbst, 1728); Cornet Bass 2' is modeled on Abbenrode (Contius, 1708).
Accessories: Ow tremulant; Ow cymbelstern.
Couplers: Bw/Ow, Ow/Ped.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); CD–c1d1 (pedal).
Wind supply (1999): four wedge bellows (manual pumping mechanism and electric
motor).
Wind pressure (1999): 72 mm WC for all divisions.
Pitch (1999): Chorton (465 Hz at 18˚ C), determined from surviving pipework.
Temperament (1999): unequal (well-tempered), determined from the original Gem-
shorn 8'.
Archival Source: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Rudolstadt, Konsistorium Arnstadt, Nr.
1336, fols. 73 and 79–80.
Literature: (a) Wenke 1985, 82–85; Hoffmann 1999, 478–83; Preller 2002, 138–46.
(b) NBR, no. 15, BDOK II, nos. 7–8; Wolff 2000, 77–101; Wollny 2005, 83–94.
3. Arnstadt, New
Church: Wender
organ. The Steinmeyer
organ is on the lower
gallery behind the grill
(photograph, 1999)
s
n

4. Arnstadt, New Church:
Wender organ (photo-
graph, 1999)
5. Arnstadt, New Church:

Original key desk of
the Wender organ in its
condition (natural wood,
detached from the organ)
after the last restoration
s
(photograph, 1999)
n
jp

Upper Church/Oberkirche (also Church of the
Barefoot Friars/Barfüßkirche)
Single-nave hall church with barrel vault, built 1250. Formerly a Franciscan cloister
church, it became the city’s principal church and home of the superintendent after the
city fire of 1581. Side galleries and church pews added during the sixteenth century and
in 1715–16 are partially preserved.
Organ: 1611, new organ by Ezechiel Greutzscher. On July 16, in the presence of ter-
ritorial lords, the organ was “examined and found to be competently built (tüchtig) by five
organists and an organ builder” (Archiv Arnstadt, 394-02-1). 1666, repairs by Ludwig
Compenius; 1678, rebuild by Christoph Junge. 1708, organ enlarged by Georg Christoph
Stertzing with input from the city organist, Christoph Herthum. Later enlargements and
rebuilds. 1847, new organ (III/45) by Ratzmann Bros.; the organ in the St. Michael’s
Church in Ohrdruf served as model. 1901, rebuild by Wilhelm Sauer (Frankfurt/Oder).
Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Disposition 1708 (II/22)

Ober Werck [II] Rück Positiff [I] Pedal Clavier
Quintaden 16' Grobgedackt 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Quintaden Baß 16'
Grob Gedackt 8' Hohl Flöte 4' Fagott Baß 16'
Stillgedackt 8' Quinta gedackt 3' Cornet Baß 2'
Octav 4' Sexta [13/5'] Flöten Baß [1']
Quinta 3' Super Octav [1']
Mixtur VI Lieblich gedacktes regal 8'
Cimbal III
Brustwerk
Rausch Pfeiffen
Krumbhorn 8'
Accessories: tremulant; cymbelstern.

Couplers: “im Rück Positiff” [Rp/Ow, Rp/Ped].
Compass: CDEFGA–g2a2 (manuals); CDEFGA–c1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four bellows.
Archival Sources: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Rudolstadt, Konsistorium Arnstadt, Die
Orgel in der Oberkirche zu Arnstadt, 1610–1713, fol. 31r/v (disposition of 1708 transmitted by
Christoph Herthum). Stadt- und Kreisarchiv Arnstadt, Bestand 394-05-2; 394-02-1.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 197–98; Haupt 1998, 76; Dehio 2003, 52–53. (b) See New
Church.
s
n

Our Lady’s Church/Liebfrauenkirche (Lower Church/Unterkirche,
also Morning Church/Frühkirche)
Three-aisled, late Roman–early Gothic basilica built 1180–1330; burial place of the counts
of Schwarzburg. Along with Naumburg Cathedral, the most important medieval church
building in Thuringia.
Organ: 1624, new organ by Ezechiel Greutzscher, inspected by Johann Krause (Sonders-
hausen); 1704, repairs by Johann Christian Stertzing. 1979, new organ (II/27) placed on
the southern crossing pier by Schuke Orgelbau (Potsdam). Nothing from Bach’s time
survives.
Archival Source: Stadt- und Kreisarchiv Arnstadt, Bestand Nr. 394-02-1, Organist
u. Orgelb. Georg Raabe.
Literature: (a) Haupt 1998, 76; Dehio 2003, 49–51. (b) BDOK II, no. 11.
Court Chapel/Schlosskapelle
1700, dedication of the renovated court chapel in Neideck Castle, which served in 1684–
1716 as the princely residence and had been modernized in 1694–95; all that remains from
the Renaissance castle (built 1553–60 by Gerhardt van der Meer) is the tower. Nothing
is known about the organ.
Literature: (a) Dehio 2003, 54–55.
Berka (Bad Berka)

Johann Sebastian Bach’s “disposition for the organ [II/28] in Berga” has been transmit-
ted (BDOK II, no. 515). However, the instrument actually built by Heinrich Nicolaus
and Christian Wilhelm Trebs was reduced to thirteen stops by Bach’s student Johann
Caspar Vogler, court organist in Weimar. The larger, twenty-eight to thirty-stop organ
was apparently never built. Bach may well have been acquainted with the Berka church;
that he participated in the inspection of the organ on completion of the first phase is not
as likely. Johann Caspar Ludwig was organist ca. 1750.
St. Mary’s Church/Marienkirche

Baroque hall church with two tiers of galleries, built 1739–43 according to plans of ar-
chitect Johann Adolf Richter, replacing a medieval church that had been torn down.
Organ: 1742–43, new organ (thirteen stops) by Heinrich Nicolaus and Christian
Wilhelm Trebs as well as Johann Christian Immanuel Schweinefleisch; probably the
disposition was drastically reduced to save costs. Extensive revisions in the nineteenth
and twentieth centuries. 1988, removal of organ. 1989, new organ (II/26) by Gerhard
Böhm in modified original case.
s
n
Arnstadt • Berka (Bad Berka) 13 jp

Proposed disposition 1741–42 (II/28)
“Disposition of the organ in Berga, drawn up by Mr. Sebastian Bach of Leipzig and built
by organ maker Trebs” (manuscript, ca. 1742)
Hauptwerk (I) Brustwerk (II) Pedal
Quintadena 16' Quintadena 8' Suppaß 16'
Principal 8' Gedackt 8' Principal 8'
Flöte 8' Principal 4' Hohlflöte 4'
Gedackt 8' Nachthorn 4' Posaun Baß 16'
Gemshorn 8' Quinte 22/3' Trompete 8'
Oktave 4' Oktave 2' Cornett 4'
Gedackt 4' Waldflöte 2'
Quinta 22/3' Tritonus [Terz 13/5']
Naßat 22/3' Cimpel III
Oktave 2'
Seßquialter II
Mixtur V
Trompete 8'
Couplers: Bw/Hw, Hw/Ped.

Wind supply: three bellows.
Disposition ca. 1750 (II/14)

“A nice organ with 30 registers, but not all of them have attained perfection . . . the ones
that work are the following”:
Unter Manual Ober Manual Pedal
Quintadena 16' Gedackt 8' Sub-Baß 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Flöten-Baß 8'
Octava 4' Nachthorn 4' Posaunen Baß 16'
Octava 2' Oktava 2'
Mixtur IV Sesquialter II
Cymbel III
Archival Sources: Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Go. S. 123, fol. 33 (disposition, ca. 1742);
Hauptstaatsarchiv Weimar, F 171 (Gottfried Albin de Wette), fol. 159. Information from
Stadtarchiv Bad Berka, 2005 (disposition, ca. 1750).
Literature: (a) Lehfeldt 1893, 98–99; Löffler 1931, 140–43; Rubardt 1961, 495–503,
esp. 499; Haupt 1998, 95; Häfner 2006, 291–93. (b) BDOK II, no. 515.
Dörna
St. George’s Reformed Church/Ev. Kirche St. Georg; see Mühlhausen, former “Brücken-
s
hof” Church/Brückenhofkirche
n

Dresden
There were several visits to Dresden by Thomascantor Bach in connection with concert
appearances as organist: 1725 and 1731 in St. Sophia’s Church, 1736 in Our Lady’s Church.
On two consecutive days, September 19 and 20, 1725, “the Capell-Director from Leipzig,
Mr. Bach,” concertized on the Silbermann organ in St. Sophia’s. “Very well received by the
local virtuosos at the court and in the city . . . in the presence of the same, he performed
for over an hour on the new organ in St. Sophia’s Church preludes and various concertos,
with intervening soft instrumental music (doucen Instrumental-Music) in all keys” (NBR,
no. 118, BDOK II, no. 193). According to this report, then, Bach appears to have played,
among other things, organ concertos with string accompaniment (probably including
the early version of BWV 1053) and demonstrated the capabilities of the organ and its
temperament by playing in all keys.
On September 14, 1731, at three o’clock in the afternoon, he gave another concert
“in the presence of all the court musicians and virtuosos,” an event that was marked by
a laudatory poem to Bach published in the Dresden newspapers (NBR, no. 307, BDOK
II, no. 294). According to a report of the same event from a Hamburg newspaper, “the
famous virtuoso and organist, Bach, obligingly performed” not just once, “but on various
occasions” (BDOK II, no. 294a). Bach’s 1731 visit to Dresden coincided with the first ap-
pearance of Dresden’s new court kapellmeister, Johann Adolph Hasse, and the premiere
of his opera Cleofide on September 13.
In late November/early December 1736, Bach spent time in the residential city in
connection with his successful appointment on November 19 as “Electoral Saxon and
Royal Polish Court Composer.” On December 1, “from 2 until 4 o’clock in the afternoon,”
he was heard “with particular admiration on the new organ in Our Lady’s Church in the
presence of the Russian Ambassador, Baron von Kayserlingk, and many persons of rank,
as well as a large company of other persons and artists” (NBR, no. 191, BDOK II, no. 389).
The Silbermann organ had been completed and examined only a few days before.
After the conversion to Catholicism of the Saxon elector August I, St. Sophia’s func-
tioned as the Protestant court church in which Lutheran church services were held. Chris-
tian Petzold was court organist and organist of St. Sophia’s until 1733. He was succeeded
by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, who remained in the position until 1746. The first organist
of Our Lady’s Church was Johann Heinrich Gräbner, who held the position until his death
in 1739, and was succeeded by his son, the Bach student Christian Heinrich Gräbner, who
had already begun substituting for his father in 1733. The Bach student Gottfried August
Homilius was organist of Our Lady’s from 1742 to 1755.
St. Sophia’s Church/Sophienkirche

Two-aisled Gothic hall church from the fourteenth century; after profanation in 1541, s
the church was newly dedicated as “Sophienkirche” by the countess and widow Sophia in n
Berka (Bad Berka) • Dörna • Dresden 15 jp

1602. Church and organ destroyed in World War II; only portions of the interior decora-
tion are preserved.
Organ: 1718–20, new organ (II/30) by Gottfried Silbermann; case design attributed
to George Bähr. Changes by Johann Gottfried Hildebrandt in 1733, including laying a
“better-sounding temperament.” 1816, equal temperament applied by Johann Andreas
Uthe. 1874–75, organ renovated and moved by Carl Eduard Jehmlich to the west end; a
fifth bellows was added. Destroyed 1945.

Bordun 16' Quintadena 16' Principal-Bass 16'
Principal 8' Principal 8' Sub-Bass 16'
Spitz-Flöte 8' Grobgedackt 8' Posaune 16'
Rohr-Flöte 8' Quintadena 8' Trommete 8'
Octav 4' Octava 4'
Spitz-Flöte 4' Rohr-Flöte 4'
Quinta 3' Nasat 3'
Oktav 2' Oktav 2'
Tertia 13/5' Quinta 1½'
Cornet V, from c1 Sifflet 1'
Mixtur IV 2' Mixtur III
Cymbel III 1' Vox humana 8'
Trompete 8', divided Unda maris 8' (from ao)
Clarinen 4'
Particulars: Ow Unda maris 8' was added in 1747 by Johann George Silbermann and
David Schubert (who worked for the Silbermann shop) at the recommendation of the
court organist of the time, Johann Christoph Richter.
Accessories: tremulant (Hw); Schwebung (Ow tremulant).
Couplers: shove coupler, Ow/Hw; wind coupler, Hw/Ped (Bassventil: coupler using
an extra pallet box).
Compass: CD–d3 (manuals); CD–c1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four bellows (two to manuals, two to pedal).
Pitch: Dresden Kammerton (a1 = ca. 415 Hz).
Temperament: apparently modified meantone.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 212; Dähnert 1980, 86–87; Dehio 1996a, 133–34; Greß
2001, 141–43. (b) NBR, nos. 118, 191, 193, and 307, BDOK II, nos. 193, 294, 294a, and
389; Wolff 2000, 318, 365, 369, 371, 497.
Church of Our Lady/Frauenkirche
s
Baroque square-shaped central-plan church, constructed according to plans drawn up
n
by George Bähr, the city’s master architect, to replace a medieval church. 1726, laying of

6. Dresden, St. Sophia’s
Church: Silbermann organ
(photograph, 1930)
7. Dresden, St. Sophia’s

Church: Design drawing
for the organ case,
attributed to George Bähr
(colored pen-and-ink
s
drawing, ca. 1718)
n
jp

the foundation stone; 1734, dedication of partially constructed building; 1738, comple-
tion of the sandstone dome; 1743, completion of the entire building. Church and organ
destroyed in World War II; 1998–2005, “archeological reconstruction” of the church
according to Bähr’s corrected plans.
Organ: 1732–36, new organ by Gottfried Silbermann. Examination on November 22,
1736, by concertmaster Johann Georg Pisendel; Theodor Christlieb Reinhold, cantor
of Holy Cross Church; and Johann Heinrich and Christian Heinrich Gräbner; dedica-
tion on November 25. Rebuild and enlargement by Johannes Jahn (Dresden) in 1912;
destroyed 1945. 2003–5, modern organ (IV/67) built by Daniel Kern and placed behind
a reconstruction of the original facade. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Disposition 1736 (III/43)

Hauptwerk (II) Brustwerk (I) Obewerk (III) Pedal
Principal 16' Getackts 8' Quinta dena 16' Groß Untersatz 32'
Octav Principal 8' Principal 4' Principal 8' Principal Pass 16'
Violdigamba 8' Rohr Flöte 4' Getackts 8' Octaven Pass 8'
Rohr Flöte 8' Nasat 3' Quinta dena 8' Octaven Pass 4'
Octava 4' Octava 2' Octava 4' Mixtur VI
Spitz Flöte 4' Gemshorn 2' Rohrflöte 4' Posaune 16'
Quinta 3' Quinta 11/3' Nasat 3' Trompeten Pass 8'
Octava 2' Sufflett 1' Octava 2' Clarin Pass 4'
Tertia 13/5' Mixtur III Sesquialtera 4/5',
13/5' from c1
Mixtur IV 2' Chalmeaux 8', Mixtur IV
from g o
Cymbel III 1' Vox humana 8'
Cornett V, from c1
Fagott 16'
Trompette 8'
Accessories: tremulant (Hw); Schwebung (tremulant to Ow); tremulant (Bw).

Couplers: shove couplers, Ow/Hw and Bw/Hw; wind coupler, Hw/Ped (Bassventil:
coupler using an extra pallet box).
Compass: CD–d3 (manuals); CD–c1 (pedal).
Wind supply: six bellows.
Pitch: Dresden Kammerton (a1 = ca. 415 Hz).
Temperament: well-tempered.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 212; Löffler 1925, 96; Dähnert 1980, 68–71; Müller 1982,
158–73; Greß 1994; Greß 2001, 153–56. (b) NBR, nos. 190–91, BDOK II, nos. 388–89;
see St. Sophia’s Church.
s
n

8. Dresden, Our Lady’s
Church: Silbermann organ
(photograph, ca. 1930)
Eisenach
Johann Sebastian Bach was baptized in St. George’s Church in Eisenach on March 23,
1685. His father, the town music director and court musician Johann Ambrosius Bach,
was, according to his employment contract of 1671, required to be in attendance in the
Eisenach churches on “all Sundays and feast days, before and after the sermon at the early
and afternoon church services, as directed by the cantor.” Ambrosius’s cousin, Johann
Christoph Bach, was city and court organist in Eisenach from 1665 to 1703.
Johann Sebastian Bach knew the Eisenach organs from his childhood there; in later
visits to his birthplace (among others, in 1732 in connection with a trip to Kassel), he got
to know the Stertzing organ (completed 1707), which at the time was Thuringia’s largest
instrument (it serves as the model for the modern “Bach-organ” in Leipzig’s St. Thomas’s
Church). Johann Christoph Bach’s successor as organist of St. George’s was his nephew
Johann Bernard, who held the position until his death in 1749. He was succeeded by his
son Johann Ernst, who had studied with his uncle Johann Sebastian in Leipzig. s
n
Dresden • Eisenach 19 jp

St. George’s Church/Georgenkirche
Three-aisled medieval hall church, badly damaged in 1525 during the Peasants’ War.
New nave with two tiers of surrounding galleries built 1560–61; third gallery added
1672. Eisenach’s city church; also the court’s church during residencies of the dukes of
Saxe-Eisenach.
Organ: 1696–1707, new organ (IV/58) by Georg Christoph Stertzing according to the
disposition developed over time by Johann Christoph Bach. (The earlier instrument was
built 1576 by Georg Schauenberg using an organ from the former Franciscan church.)
1719, completion of the richly carved facade. 1725, repairs and enlargement (addition
of pedal Posaune 32' on its own wind chest, among other things) by Johann Friedrich
Wender. 1840, new organ by Holland (Schmiedefeld); 1982, new organ (III/60) by Schuke
Orgelbau (Potsdam) using the original case; otherwise nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Disposition 1707 (IV/58)

Oberwerk Brustwerk Oberseitenwerk Unterseitenwerk Pedal
(III) (IV) (II) (I)
Bordun 16' Grob Gedackt 8' Quintathön 16' Barem 16' Großer
Untersatz 32'
Principal 8' Klein Gedackt 4' Großoktav 8' Still Gedackt 8' Principal 16'
Violdigamba 8' Principal 2' Gemshorn 8' Quintathön 8' Subbaß 16'
Rohrflöte 8' Super Gems- Gedackt 8' Principal 4' Violon 16'
hörnlein 2'
+ Quinta 1½'
Quinta 6' Quint-Sexta II Principal 4' Nachthorn 4' II Octav 8'
Oktav 4' Sifflöte 1' Flute douce II 4' Spitzflöt 4' Gedackt 8'
Flöte 4' Hohlflöth 4' Spitzquint 3' Super Octav 4'
Nassat 3' Hohlquint 3' Octav 2' Flöte 4'
Superoctav 2' Octav 2' Schweitzerflöth 2' Bauernflöte 1'
Sesquialtera III Blockflöte 2' Rauschquinte 1½' Mixtur VI 4'
Cymbel III Sesquialtera III 2' Super Octävlein 1' Posaun Baß 16'
Mixtur VI 2' Scharf IV Cymbel VI Trompete 8'
Trompete 8' Vox humana 8' Regal 8' Cornet 2'
Glockenspiel 2'
Particulars: Ow Sesquialtera III consists of 4', 22/3', 13/5'; Brustwerk Quint-Sexta con-
sists of 11/3', 4/5'.
Accessories: cut-off valves for Ow, Oberseitenwerk, and Unterseitenwerk; tremulants
in Oberseitenwerk, Unterseitenwerk and Pedal; two cymbelstern (stars and bells operable
separately).
Couplers: Oberseitenwerk/Unterseitenwerk, Ow/Ped.
Compass: C–e3 (manuals), C–e1 (pedal).
s
n

9. Eisenach, St. George’s Church:
Holland organ in historical case
s
n
10. Eisenach, St. George’s Church: Organ disposition in the hand of Johann Christoph Bach
(left page); signature of Georg Christoph Stertzing (right page), 1698 jp

Wind supply: twelve bellows (Untersatz 32' and Octav 16' on separate chest with wind
supplied by two bellows).
Archival Source: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Weimar, Bestand Eisenacher Archiv:
Konsistorialsachen no. 246, Die nöthige Reparatur und Veränderung der Orgel in der Kirche
zu S. Georgen, 1696–1724.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 214; Lehfeldt 1915, 217–18; Wolfheim 1915, 230; Oef-
ner 1996; Sterzik 1998, 38–47; Butler 2004, 42–60; Böhme 2005, 63–69; Butler 2008,
229–69. (b) BDOK II, no. 1; Nentwig 2004; Wolff 2000, 17–31 and elsewhere.
Erfurt
From his youth onward, Johann Sebastian Bach was well acquainted with the city of
Erfurt, hometown of his parents and the place where numerous members of the Bach
family worked as musicians. Bach’s older sister, Marie Salome Wiegand, lived in Erfurt
from 1700 until her death in 1728. Johann Christoph, Bach’s older brother, studied there
between 1685 and 1688 with Johann Pachelbel, organist at the Prediger Church, and his
initial post was that of organist of Erfurt’s St. Thomas’s Church. Pachelbel’s predeces-
sor in Erfurt was Johann Effler, who was later Bach’s predecessor as court organist in
Weimar and who, during his Erfurt time, regularly played with Johann Ambrosius Bach.
The organists of St. Augustine’s Church were Paul Effler (son of Johann) from 1666 to
1716 (from 1713 he was assisted by the Erfurt cathedral organist Georg Erasmus Leubing),
Sebald Mockwitz from 1716 to 1721, and Johann Christoph Wackernagel from 1722 to 1748.
In 1716, Johann Sebastian Bach, court organist and director of music in Weimar, and
the Arnstadt organ builder Johann Anton Weise examined the new organ in St. Augus-
tine’s Church. According to their report dated July 31, 1716, Schröter’s first instrument
had “turned out so well” that “it is not to be doubted in respect to such further work as
he shall undertake, that he will likewise complete it industriously and untiringly” (NBR,
no. 62, BDOK 1, no. 86). Bach had been acquainted with organ builder Stertzing since
his time in Ohrdruf.
St. Augustine’s Church/Augustinerkirche

Gothic hall church, built in the fourteenth century as an Augustine Eremite monastery
church; became Protestant in 1525, but the monastery (where Martin Luther was a monk)
remained in possession of the Augustine order until 1556. Major changes in the sev-
enteenth to nineteenth centuries. 1849, used by the Erfurt Union Parliament; interior
destroyed. 1854, dedication of the reconstructed neo-Gothic church.
Organ: 1716, new organ begun by Georg Christoph Stertzing was completed by Johann
Georg Schröter. Rebuild in 1753, removal of the organ in 1850. 1939, new organ (opus
s 2555, III/49) by E. F. Walcker & Cie. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
n For Bach’s organ report, see Part II.A.

Hauptwerk (I) Mittelclavier (II) Oberpositiv (III) Pedal
Quintatön 16' Bordun 16' Quintatön 8' Principal 16'
Principal 8' Principal 8' Flötentraversière 8' Subbaß 16'
Gemshorn 8' Gedackt 8' Gedackt 8' Violone 16'
Gedackt 8' Rohrflöte 8' Principal 4' Oktave 8'
Flötentraversière 8' Hohlflöte 4' Gedackt 4' Posaune 16'
Violdigamba 8' Spitzflöte 4' Oktave 2' Trompete 8'
Oktave 4' Nasat 3' Flageolet 1' Cornet 4'
Oktave 2' Waldflöte 2' Scharpp IV
Sesquialtera II Sifflöte 1' Sesquialtera II
Mixtur VI Quinta 1½'
Cymbel III Vox humana 8'
Trompete 8'
Accessories: tremulant; cymbelstern with bells at various pitches; glockenspiel g–c3;

two cut-off valves.
Coupler: pedal coupler.
Compass: C–e3 (manuals), C–e1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 218; Haetge 1931, 65–74; Haupt 1998, 100; Sterzik 1998,
38–47. (b) NBR, no. 62, BDOK 1, no. 86; Wolff 2000, 30–31, 143, 483, 527.
Gera
From both Köthen and Leipzig, Johann Sebastian Bach made various trips to Schleiz and
Gera, residences of the counts of Reuß. On a return trip in 1721 from a guest appearance
in Schleiz, the secondary residence of the Reuß counts, Bach may have inspected the
new organ in the court chapel at Osterstein Castle, as well as the organ-in-progress at
St. Salvator’s Church. Thus he may have influenced the decision also to award the large
contract for the organ in St. John’s Church to the organ builder Finke.
Bach spent time in Gera from May 30 until June 6, 1725, probably in connection with
another guest performance at Osterstein Castle, residence of Heinrich XVIII, count of
Reuß-Gera. He was accompanied by two others (probably Anna Magdalena Bach and the
barely fifteen-year-old Wilhelm Friedemann) and was paid a handsome honorarium in
the amount of 30 talers for approving the organs in the churches of St. John’s and St.
Salvator’s. Bach dedicated the large organ at St. John’s on June 3, the First Sunday after
Trinity. The lavish expenditures for his lodging and food (including wine, spirits, coffee,
tea, sugar, and tobacco) indicate preferential treatment of a prominent guest.
City and court organists were Emanuel Kegel, 1698–1724; Simon Dobenecker (see
BWV Anh. II 85 and 101), 1726–28; Sebald Petzold, 1728–39; and August Heinrich Gehra,
1739–89. Organists of St. Salvator’s were Simon Dobenecker, 1720–26 and Ludwig Hein- s
rich Kegel, son of the St. John’s organist, 1726–78. Christian Ernst Friederici, who had n
Eisenach • Erfurt • Gera 23 jp

apprenticed with Silbermann, founded an organ and keyboard instrument workshop in
Gera in 1737; Friederici assisted Bach with his Clavier-Übung III (1739) project.
St. John’s Church (City Church)/Johanneskirche (Stadtkirche)

The city church, and Gera’s oldest. The medieval building burned completely in 1780;
remains were cleared away in the nineteenth century.
Organ: Built 1721–25 by Johann Georg Finke to replace the instrument built 1646–47
by Ludwig Compenius and examined by Samuel Scheidt. Organ destroyed by the fire of
1780 (as were all relevant materials in the church archives).
Disposition (III/42) according to Adlung (1768)

Hauptmanual Seitenwerk Brustwerk Pedal
Gedackter Gedackt 8' Eng Gedackt 8' (narrow) Principalbaß 16'
Untersatz 16' (T)
Großquintatön 16' (T) Principal 4' Quintatön 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' (T) Nachthorn 4' Wald- or Dolkanflöte Violdigambenbaß 16'
with double mouth 4'
Violdigamba 8' (T) Flöte douce II 4' Nachthorn 4' Bordun 16' (T)
Bordun (wide) 8' Gemshorn 4' Principal 2' Quintatönbaß 16' (T)
Gemshorn 8' Gedackte Quinte 1½' Principalbaß 8'
italienische
Quinte 3'
Gemsquinte 6' Oktave 2' Oktave 1' Oktave 8' (T)
Oktave 4' Sesquialtera 13/5' Mixtur III 1' Violdigamba 8' (T)
Rohrflöte 4' Gemsquinte 1½' Posaunen-
Untersatz 32'
Cylinderquinte 3' Mixtur IV 2' Posaunenbaß 16'
Sesquialtera 13/5' Krummhorn/ Trompetenbaß 8'
Hautbois 8'
Superoctave 2' Cornetbaß 2'
Mixtur VI 2'
Fagott 16'
Trompete 8'
Vox humana II 8'
Particulars: According to Adlung (1768): Hw Fagott 16' resonators of tin-plated sheet

metal. Vox humana II 8' “has 96 pipes. One half, of metal, is a flue; the other half, of
sheet metal, is a reed. Both stand on one channel.” (Cf. Vox humana 8' (Ow) in Trost
organ in Waltershausen.) Gedackt 8' (Seitenwerk) and Principal 8' (Ped) made “from
pear wood, the languids and mouths sheathed with tin.” Flöte douce 4' in the Seitenwerk
“doubled throughout, with 96 pipes: 48 stopped, of metal; and 48 open, of pear wood.”
Pedal Violdigambenbaß 16' “from wood; with each key three pitches are heard [that is,
s
n

the 16' pitch as well as overtones at the octave and the fifth].” Pedal Trompetenbass 8'
resonators “of sheet iron; shallots made of wood from the Wild Service tree, boiled in
linseed-oil; shallot openings covered with parchment; tuning wires adjusted with screws.”
Accessories: tremulant set to a 6/8 measure; two large cymbelsterns, one on either side;
kettledrum; cut-off valve.
Couplers: “to all three manuals”; Hw/Ped.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); pedal includes low C ♯ but compass unclear
Wind supply: five wedge bellows.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 229–30; David 1951, 57. (b) BDOK II, nos. 183 and 183a;
Maul 2004a, 101–19; Wolff 2000, 143, 529; Wolff 2005a, xxi.
St. Salvator’s Church/Salvatorkirche

Baroque hall church built 1717–20 according to plans of the Saxon architect David Schatz;
rebuilt after the 1780 fire and dedicated in 1783.
Organ: Built 1720–22 by Johann Georg Finke; disposition unknown. Organ and all
records destroyed in the city fire of 1780. Since 1905, an Art Nouveau case has held an
organ by Ernst Röver. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Literature: (a) Dehio 2003, 443–44; Haupt 1989, 61. (b) BDOK II, no. 183; Maul
2004a, 101–19.
Castle Chapel/Schlosskapelle
Chapel in the main wing of Osterstein Castle in Gera-Untermhaus, a residential palace
from the sixteenth century, completely remodeled in 1717–35; destroyed in World War II.
Organ: Built 1719–21(?) by Johann Georg Finke under commission of Heinrich XVIII,
count of Reuß-Gera. Contract dated September 19, 1719, is for a one-manual organ with
nine stops; it was enlarged in August 1720 by the addition of a Posaunenbass. New organ
built in nineteenth century by Gebr. Poppe; original facade survived until 1945. Nothing
Disposition 1720 (I/10)

Manual Pedal
Quintathön 8' Gemßhorn 4' Sub Bass 16', wood
Grobgedackt 8', wood Quinta 3' Posaunenbass [16']
Principal 4' Octava 2'
Kleingedackt 4', wood Mixtur III
Particulars: The Quintathön 8' was partially reused from the previous organ.
Pitch: Kammerton.
Literature: (a) Maul 2004a, 105, 108–9.
s
n
Gera 25 jp

Görlitz
Johann Sebastian Bach must have visited the Casparini organ in Görlitz between 1729
and 1741. The exact travel dates are unknown, but in his travel diaries, Johann Andreas
Silbermann, who was shown the Casparini organ by David Nicolai in 1741, noted: “The
old, famous Mr. Bach of Leipzig did not judge this instrument unfairly when, in discussing
it with my cousin [Gottfried Silbermann], he called it a ‘horse organ,’ because one has
to be strong as a horse to play it” (BDOK II, no. 486). Organists of the city church were
Christian Ludwig Boxberg (a former student of the St. Thomas School, Leipzig) from 1702
to 1729 and Bach student David Nicolai from 1730 to 1764.
Church of St. Peter and Paul’s/Peter- und Paulskirche

Five-aisled Gothic hall church, completed 1497. Trusses and interior decoration that
were damaged by fire on March 19, 1691, were restored by 1712.
Organ: Built 1697–1703 by Eugenio and Adam Horatio Casparini, who returned to
Germany from Padua in order to take on the project, bringing with them what they had
learned in Italy. Repairs by David Decker Sr. in 1717; rebuild by David Decker Jr. in 1727.
Various rebuilds up through 1845. 1894, new organ (III/53) by Schlag & Söhne; 1928,
new organ (IV/89) by Orgelbau Sauer; 1995–97, new organ by Mathis Orgelbau using
original Casparini case. Some wood pipes of the Onda maris 8' from Casparini were
reused; otherwise, nothing from Bach’s time survives.

Hauptwerk [I] Oberwerk [II] Brustpositiv [III] Pedal:
Principal 16' Quintatön 16' Gedackt 8' Großer Seitenbass
Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal 4' Großprincipalbaß [32']
Violdigamba 8' Onda maris 8' Oktave 2' Posaune 16'
Rohrflötquinte 6' Oktave 4' Plockflöte 2' Oktavbaß 16'
Superoktave 4' Gedackte Fleute douce 4' Quint Nasat 1½' Gemshornbaß 8'
Gedackt Pommer 4' Spitzfleute 3' Sedecima 1' Großquintbaß 6'
Salicet 4' Sedecima 2' Scharf Mixtur 1' Jubalflöt 4'
Offen Flöte 3' Glöckleinton 2' Hautbois 8' Scharf II
Quinta 3' Super Sedecima 1½' Bauernflöt 2'
Plockflöt 2' Cymbel II Mixtur minor V
Rauschpfeife II 2' Scharf 1' Kleiner Seitenbass
Vigesima nona 1½' Cornetti 8' Tromba 8'
Mixtur III 1' Jungfernregal 4'
Zynk II 3' Jubal 4'
Bombart 16' Cymbel II
Vox humana 8' Hinteroberbaß
Contrabaß 16'
s Jubalflöt open 8'
n Krumhorn 8'

Superoktavbaß 4'
Hinterunterbaß
Bordun 16'
Fagotti 16'
Quintatönbaß 8'
Mixtur major XII
Accessories: Revolving suns with four bells (c–e–g–c); nightingale; Vogelgesang (bird-
song); Tamburo (drum) 16'; cuckoo; tremulant; cut-off valves to all divisions; cut-off
valves to the two angels over the Brustpositiv; bellows signal.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: seven bellows.
Pitch (according to J. A. Silbermann, 1741): Cornetton (Chorton).
Literature: (a) Boxberg 1704; Adlung 1768, 232–33; Dähnert 1980, 130–34; Seeliger
1992, 16–18; Dehio 1996a, 371–75; Lade 1997; Scherer-Hall 1998, 43–48. (b) BDOK II,
nos. 266–67, no. 486; Schaefer 1994, 168–71.
Gotha
Although there are no concrete dates for a visit before 1717, Johann Sebastian Bach must
have been well acquainted from his youth with Gotha, a city located on the road between
Eisenach and Erfurt that was the residence of the dukes of Saxe-Gotha. In March of 1717,
Bach briefly substituted for the ailing Christian Friedrich Witt, who had been court kapell-
meister and organist of the Castle Church in Gotha since 1693. Witt died on April 3, 1717.
On Good Friday, March 26, 1717, Bach conducted a musical passion at the Castle Church.
Castle Church/Schlosskirche
One-aisled Baroque hall church, dedicated 1646 and rebuilt 1695–97; stucco work by
Johann Samuel and Johann Peter Rust. Singers’ gallery added ca. 1800. Court church
until 1918, and at times burial place for the dukes of Saxe-Gotha.
Organ: Newly built in 1692 by Severin Hohlbeck and placed on an eastern gallery above
the pulpit and altar. Changes in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. New organ
by Johann Friedrich Schulze in 1856, using the Hohlbeck case; otherwise, nothing from
Bach’s time survives.
Disposition (II/35) according to Adlung (1768)

Quintatön 16' Quintatön 8' Subbaß 16'
Bordun 16' Lieblichgedackt 8' Oktave 8'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Schweitzerbaß 1'
s
Grobgedackt 8' Kleingedackt 4' Posaunbaß 16'
n
Görlitz • Gotha 27 jp

s 11. Görlitz, Church of St. Peter and Paul’s: Mathis organ in
n historical case of the so-called sun organ (photograph, 1997)
jp

12. Gotha, Castle Church:
Case of the Hohlbeck organ
(photograph, 1926)

Violdigamba 8' Sesquialtera [II] Trompetbaß 8'
Oktave 4' Oktave 2' Cornetbaß 2'
Spielflöte 4' Traverse 2'
Quinte 3' Sedetz 12/3' [!]
Oktave 2' Nasatflöt 1½'
Sexta Mixtur
Blockflöte 1' Dulcianregal 4'
Mixtur Geigenregal 4'
Trompete 8' Dulcianregal 16'
Knopfregal 8'
Singendregal 4'
Particulars: In the Bw, Dulcianregal 16', Knopfregal 8', Singendregal 4' on a separate
chest with its own cut-off valve.
Accessories: tremulant; cut-off valves for Bw and Pedal; Vogelgesang (birdsong);
cymbelstern; bellows signal.
Couplers: Permanent pedal coupler (“Coupler to Manual that cannot be uncoupled”).
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 234; Lehfeldt 1891, 66–67; Ernst 1983, 13; Dehio 2003, s
488. (b) Wolff 2000, 178, 527, and elsewhere. n
Gotha 29 jp

Halle (Saale)
After the death in August 1712 of Friedrich Wilhelm Zachow, organist and music director
of the Market Church, Johann Sebastian Bach was offered the position. He auditioned
successfully in December 1713 but, after a lengthy delay, declined the position in March
1714, whereupon he was promptly appointed concertmaster in Weimar. On July 30, 1714,
the church board named Gottfried Kirchhoff organist of the Market Church; his successor
was Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, who served from 1746 to 1764.
Construction of the Contius organ had begun in 1712, and Bach was able to witness the
instrument’s progress in 1713. It is likely, though, that he was already involved with the
project, since Zachow was unable to see the project through. The completed instrument
was thoroughly examined by Bach, Johann Kuhnau, and Christian Friedrich Rolle on
April 29 and 30, 1716. The detailed report, written by all three examiners and dated May
1, the day of the festive dedication, is preserved (NBR, no. 59, BDOK 1, no. 85). During
the same visit, Bach would have taken the opportunity to acquaint himself with the small
1664 Reichel organ that stands prominently displayed above the altar. Tradition has it
that Zachow taught organ playing to the young Georg Friedrich Händel on this instrument.
Market Church of Our Lady/Marktkirche Unser lieben Frauen

Late-Gothic hall church, built 1529–39 using the old church towers of the Churches of
St. Gertrude’s and St. Mary’s from 1121 and 1141, respectively. Interior decoration from
after 1550.
Large Organ: 1712–16, new organ by Christoph Contius. 1843, rebuild by Johann
Friedrich Schulze; 1897, new organ by Wilhelm Rühlmann. 1984, new organ (III/56) by
Schuke Orgelbau (Potsdam) reusing the original case; otherwise, nothing from Bach’s
time survives.
For Bach’s organ report, see Part II.A.

Hauptwerk (I) Oberwerk (II) Brustwerk (III) Pedal
Principal 16' Bordun 16' Quintatön 8' Untersatz 32'
Quintatön 16' Principal 8' Gedackt 8' Principal 16'
Oktave 8' Gedackt 8' Principal 4' Subbaß 16'
Rohrflöte 8' Violdigamba 8' Flöte douce 4' Oktave 8'
Gemshorn 8' Oktave 4' Nachthorn 4' Gedackt 8'
Quinte 6' Blockflöte 4' Quinte 3' Quinte 6'
Oktave 4' Querflöte 4' Nasat 3' Oktave 4'
Spitzflöte 4' Quinte 3' Oktave 2' Nachthorn 4'
Quinte 3' Oktave 2' Waldflöte 2' Quinte 3'
Superoktave 2' Spitzflöte 2' Spitzflöte 1' Superoktave 2'
s Sifflöt 2' Waldflöte 1' Terz 13/5' Waldflöte 1'
n Terz 13/5' Terz 13/5' Mixtur IV Mixtur VII

Mixtur VI Mixtur V Cymbel II Cymbel IV
Cymbel III Cymbel III Ranket 8' Posaune 32'
Trompete 16' Fagott 16' Oboe 4' Posaune 16'
Trompete 8' Vox humana 8' Cymbelstern Trompete 8'
Schallmey 4'
Cornet 2'
Accessories: two cymbelsterns; revolving sun in the Ow; Vogelgesang (birdsong; built
by Contius for the last time in Halle); Bw tremulant.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); CD–c1 (pedal).
Wind supply: ten bellows.
Wind pressure: 32–33˚.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 239; Serauky 1939, 479–83; Stüven 1964, 118. (b) NBR,
no. 59, BDOK I, no. 85; BDOK II, no. 76; Wolff 2000, 136, 143, 151, 155, 187, 207–8, 484,
527, and elsewhere.
Small organ: Built 1663–64 by Georg Reichel; positioned over the altar. Dedicated
February 15, 1664, with sermon by Johann Gottfried Olearius, later Bach’s superintendent
in Arnstadt. Various repairs and rebuilds; organ’s pitch was lowered by two whole tones
during repairs in 1875. 1972, restoration by Schuke Orgelbau (Potsdam); 1982, organ
tuned in quarter-comma meantone.
13. Halle, Market Church:

Schuke organ in historical case
(photograph, 2007)
s
n
Halle (Salle) 31 jp

s
n 14. Halle, Market Church: Reichel organ (photograph, 2007)
jp

Disposition 1664/1972 (I/6)
Manual
Grob Gedackt 8'
Principal 4'
Spillflöte 4'
Octava 2'
Sesquialtera II [13/5' + 11/3', with no repetitions]
Superoctav 1'
Compass: CD–c3.
Pitch (1972): Chorton (three half tones above A = 440).
Temperament (1982): meantone.
Literature: (a) Mundt 1907/8, 392; Serauky 1939, 297; Lützkendorf 1991, 166–78;
Brandt 1996, 14–18.
Hamburg
According to Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, his father “journeyed now and again to Ham-
burg, to hear the then famous Organist of St. Catherine’s, Johann Adam Reinken” during
the time Bach was a choral student at St. Michael’s in Lüneburg in 1700 to 1702 (NBR, no.
306, BDOK III, no. 666). The bonds to Hamburg apparently remained strong. After the
death of his wife Maria Barbara, Bach became interested in the vacant organist position
at the St. Jacobi Church, and in November 1720 he made a trip to Hamburg, where he
played the organs both at St. Jacobi and at St. Catherine’s. According to the obituary,
Bach 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 town, to their general astonishment.
The aged Organist of this Church, Johann Adam Reinken, 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 had been used to do at the Saturday vespers. Particularly on this,
Reinken made Bach the following compliment: “I thought this art was dead, but I see
that in you it still lives” (NBR, no. 306, BDOK III, no. 666).
The chorales on “An Wasserflüssen Babylon,” BWV 635a and 635b, should be viewed in
this context. Apparently Bach also played the Fugue in G Minor, BWV 542/2, in 1720,
for Mattheson cited the theme and countersubject in his Grosse General-Baß-Schule of
1731. Original source evidence suggests that a performance of the cantata “Ich hatte viel s
Bekümmernis,” BWV 21, likewise probably took place in Hamburg. n
Halle (Salle) • Hamburg 33 jp

Bach was chosen as organist but did not accept the position, remaining for the time
as kapellmeister in Köthen; Johann Joachim Heitmann was called instead. In 1768, Carl
Philipp Emanuel Bach became cantor at the Hamburg Johanneum and music director
of Hamburg’s five principal churches, a position he held until his death in 1788. His
predecessor was his godfather, Georg Philipp Telemann, who had held the position from
1721 to 1767. As cantor and music director, Emanuel was responsible for festive concerted
music at St. Catherine’s and St. Jacobi.
Johann Sebastian Bach apparently never forgot Reinken’s instrument. As his student
Johann Friedrich Agricola reported in his annotations to Adlung’s Musica mechanica
organoedi (1768):
In the organ of St. Catherine’s in Hamburg there are 16 reeds. The late Capellmeister,
Mr. J. S. Bach in Leipzig, who once made himself heard for two hours on this instru-
ment, which he called excellent in all its parts, could not praise the beauty and variety
of tone of these reeds highly enough. It is known, too, that the famous former Organist
of this church, Mr. Johann Adam Reinken, always kept them in the best tune . . .
The late Capellmeister Bach in Leipzig gave assurance that the 32-foot Principal
and the pedal Posaune in the organ of St. Catherine’s in Hamburg spoke well and quite
audibly right down to the lowest C. But he also used to say that this Principal was the
only one of that size with these good qualities that he had ever heard (NBR, no. 358,
BDOK III, no. 739).
Principal Church of St. Catherine’s/Hauptkirche St. Katharinen

Three-aisled Gothic hall church, completed 1426. Church and the parts of the organ that
had not yet been put in storage were destroyed in World War II; 1950–56, modernizing
rebuild by architects Hopp and Jäger.
Organ: 1520, rebuild of an existing organ by Marten de Mare; 1534, repairs by Jacob
Iversand. 1543, substantial work by Gregorius Vogel (a III/43 disposition is transmitted).
1551–52, Rückpositiv added by Hendrik Niehoff and Jasper Johannsen. Between 1559
and 1629, the organ was cared for by the Scherer family of organ builders, who in 1605–6
built a new case and a partially new organ. 1630–31, Gottfried Fritzsche added a seven-
stop Brustwerk presumably played by the Oberwerk (III) keyboard. Further rebuilds
by Friedrich Stellwagen in 1644–47 and Joachim Richborn. 1671–74, Johann Friedrich
Besser apparently provided a fourth keyboard, eight new bellows, and Principal 32' and
Posaune 32' in the Pedal. At the recommendation of organist Anton Heinrich Uthmöller,
the disposition was enlarged in 1738–40; further rebuilds continued into the twentieth
century. Case and wind chests destroyed in 1943. 1962, new organ (IV/75) by Emanuel
Kemper, who reused some of the original pipes that had been placed in storage. 2008–12,
reconstruction by Flentrop Orgelbouw of the organ and organ gallery as Reinken knew
s
them, using original pipework that has been partially preserved.
n

15. Hamburg, St.
Catherine’s Church:
Niehoff/Johannsen/
Stellwagen organ

Werck [II] Rückpositiv [I] Oberwerk [III] Brustwerk [IV] Pedal
Principal 16' Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal 32'
Quintadena 16' Gedackt 8' Hohflöte 8' Octava 4' Principal 16'
Bordun 16' Quintadena 8' Flöte 4' Quintadena 4' Sub-Baß 16'
Octava 8' Octava 4' Nasat 3' Waldpfeiffe 2' Octava 8'
Spitzflöte 8' Blockflöte 4' Gemshorn 2' Scharff VII Gedackt 8'
Querflöte 8' Hohlflöte 4' Waldflöte 2' Dulcian 16' Octava 4'
Octava 4' Quintflöte 11/3' Scharff VI Regal 8' Nachthorn 4'
Octava 2' Sifflet 1' Trommete 8' Rauschpfeiffe II
Rausch-Pfeiffe II Sesquialtera II Zincke 8' Cimbel III
Mixtura X Scharff VIII Trommete 4' Mixtura V
Trommete 16' Regal 8' Groß-Posaun 32'
Baarpfeiffe 8' Posaune 16'
Schallmey 4' Trommete 8'
Krummhorn 8'
Schallmey 4' s
Cornet-Baß 2' n
Hamburg 35 jp

Accessories: tremulants in W and Rp; two cymbelsterns, drum, Vogelgesang (bird-
song); cut-off valves to all divisions.
Couplers: Rp/W, Ow/W, W/Ped.
Compass: CDEFGA–c3 (manuals), CDE–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: sixteen bellows.
Literature: (a) Klée Gobert 1968a, 101–54; Niedt 1721, 176–77; Vogel 1997, 95–108;
Seggermann 2001, 142–50; Grapenthin 2007, 169–98. (b) NBR, nos. 306 and 358, BDOK
III, nos. 666 and 739; Adlung 1768, 187 and 288; Wolff 2000, 60–65, 211–16, and else-
where; Wolff 2005, xviii, xxiii; Maul/Wollny 2007, xxi–xxxv.
Principal Church of St. Jacobi/Hauptkirche St. Jacobi

Three-aisled Gothic hall church, completed 1360. Collapse of the vault over the organ
in 1714; building destroyed on June 18, 1944 (organ was in storage). 1951–59, modern
reconstruction according to plans of architects Hopp and Jäger.
Organ: 1512–16, new organ by Jacob Iversand and Harmen Stüven; 1546, repairs by
Jacob Scherer; 1588–92, rebuild by Hans Scherer I; 1605, rebuild by Hans Scherer I and
II; 1635, renovation by Gottfried Fritzsche; 1655, rebuild by Hans Christoph Fritzsche.
1689–93, new organ by Arp Schnitger using twenty-five registers from the previous organ.
1721, repairs and rebuild by Otto Diedrich Richborn; 1760, repairs and rebuild by Johann
Jacob Lehnert; further rebuilds in eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The Schnitger
facade pipes were sacrificed toward the end of World War I (1917); the instrument was
brought into playing condition again by Hans Henny Jahnn and Karl Kemper in 1926–30.
1942, pipework and wind chests were placed in storage; 1948–50, provisional rebuild by
Kemper (organ placed on the ground floor); 1961, the Kemper-altered organ was placed
in a new case on a newly built middle-aisle gallery. A modern Kemper organ was installed
in the south aisle beside the Schnitger organ. 1989–93, reconstruction of the Schnitger
organ of 1693 (key desk copied from Lübeck cathedral), with extensive restoration by
Jürgen Ahrend of what had remained from the original organ.

Werck (II) Rück Positiv (I) Ober Positiv (III) Brust Positiv (IV) Pedal
Principal 16' Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal (wood) 8' Principal 32'
Quintadehn 16' Gedackt 8' Rohrflöht 8' Octav 4' Octava 16'
Octava 8' Quintadehna 8' Hohlflöht 8' Hohlflöht 4' Subbaß 16'
Spitzflöht 8' Octava 4' Spitzflöth 4' Waldtflöht 2' Octava 8'
Gedackt 8' Blockflöte 4' Octava 4' Sexquialtera II Octava 4'
Octava 4' Naßat 3' Naßat 3' Scharff IV-VI Nachthorn 2'
Rohrflöht 4' Octava 2' Gems Horn 2' Dulcian 8' Mixtur VI-VIII
Flachflöht 2' Siffloit 1½' Octava 2' Trechter Regal 8' Rausch Pfeiff III
s Super Octav 2' Sexquialtera II Scharff IV–VI Posaune 32'
Rausch Pfeiff III Scharff VI–VIII Cymbel III Posaune 16'
n

16. Hamburg, St. Jacobi
Church: Schnitger organ in its
original position on the west
wall (photograph, ca. 1860;
organist Heinrich Schmahl
stands in the aisle)
Mixtur VII-IX Dulcian 16' Trommet 8' Dulciane 16'

Trommet 16' Bahr Pfeiffe 8' Vox Humana 8' Trommet 8'
Schallmey 4' Trommet 4' Trommet 4'
Cornet 2'
Accessories: Main cut-off valve; cut-off valves for all divisions; two tremulants; two
cymbelsterns; one Totentrommel (“death” drum).
Couplers: Bp/W, Op/W.
Compass: CDE–c3 (Rp); CDEFGA–c3 (W, Op, Bp); CD–d1 (Ped)
Wind supply (1721): twelve bellows.
Wind supply (1993): six bellows, all with wind pressure of 80 mm WC.
Pitch (1993): Chorton, a1 = 495 Hz.
Temperament (1993): modified meantone (1/5 Pythagorean comma).
Literature: (a) Praetorius 1619, 168–69; Niedt 1721, 175–76; facsimile of the 1720 dis-
position in Reinitzer 1995, 147; Hepworth 1905/6, 258–64; Klée Gobert 1968b, 155–234;
Busch 1993, 156–61. (b) NBR, no. 81, BDOK II, no. 102; NBR, no. 306, BDOK III, no. s
666; see also St. Catherine’s Church. n
Hamburg 37 jp

17. Hamburg, St. Jacobi Church: Schnitger organ after restoration
s
and reconstruction (photograph, 1993)
n
jp

Hohnstein (Saxon Switzerland)
See Stöntzsch.
Kassel
Johann Sebastian and Anna Magdalena Bach traveled to Kassel at the end of September
1732 to examine the new organ in the St. Martin’s Church, whose builder was well known
to the Thomascantor. The trip occurred scarcely three weeks after their youngest daughter,
Christiana Dorothea, one and a half years old, was buried on August 31, 1732. The couple
arrived on September 21 and put up at the Gasthaus Stadt Stockholm. According to the
report in a Kassel newspaper from September 22:
The great and costly organ in the Collegiate Church of St. Martin, or the so-called
Great Church, on which work has been going on for almost three years, has finally
been adapted to the mode of today and brought to perfection by the organ builder,
Mr. Nicolaus Becker, of Mühlhausen. When this organ, in accordance with the orders
of High Authority, has been examined by the famous Organist and Music Director Mr.
Bach of Leipzig, with the help of the Court and Town Organist here, Mr. Carl Möller,
in the hope that it will pass the desired test, it is to be played fully next Sunday, God
willing, in public assembly, and inaugurated with musical harmony. (NBR, no. 157,
BDOK II, no. 316)
Bach’s organ recital took place in the presence of the prince of Hesse-Kassel, who espe-
cially admired and complimented the artist on his pedal playing, removing a ring from
his finger and presenting it to Bach (BDOK II, no. 522). A notation of the Kittel student
Michael Gotthard Fischer on his copy of the Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Dorian), BWV
538, claims that the piece was “played at the examination of the large organ in Cassel.”
There are no further details regarding Bach’s program, which may have included a solo
cantata performed by Anna Magdalena Bach. In Kassel, Bach not only was remunerated
very well, he also was entertained by the prince and provided with a servant who waited
on him and his wife during their eight-day stay.
St. Martin’s Church/Martinskirche

Built in the fourteenth–fifteenth centuries as collegiate church for the Hesse residence;
secularized in 1526; from 1529, a Lutheran parish church; from 1567, burial site of the
landgraves of Hesse. Church and organ destroyed in October 1943. 1954–58, modern
rebuilding of the church.
Organ: New organ (III/33) built 1610–12 by Hans II and Friedrich Scherer; renovations
1662–64 by Ludwig Compenius. 1717, repairs by Andreas Jacobus: new Posaune 16' (to s
replace Scherer register that had been destroyed by “lead sugar” (Bleizucker) and rework- n
Hohnstein (Saxon Switzerland) • Kassel 39 jp

ing of Trompetbaß and Cornetbaß; the Rückpositiv, “which had been unusable for many
years,” was brought “again into good condition for playing” (Carspecken 1968). 1730–31,
enlargement of organ by Johann Friedrich Stertzing; new stops included Vox humana
and probably Posaune 32'. After Stertzing’s death in 1731, Wender’s son-in-law Johann
Nikolaus Becker completed the instrument in 1732; the 1732 disposition is unknown.
Presumably on the advice of Bach, whose report is not preserved, the bellows were set
lower in 1733. 1797–1801, major renovation. 1837, a disposition of III/42 is recorded.
1896, completely new organ (III/38) by Friedrich Ladegast. Nothing survives from the
earlier organ.
Disposition (III/33) from before 1730 (Dresden Ms.)

Rück-Positiv (I) Ober-Werck (II) Ober-Positiv (III) Pedal
Principal 8' Principal 16' Hohl Pfeiffe 8' Principal 32'
Gedackt 8' Quintadena 16' Principal 4' Octav Principal 16'
Quintadena 8' Octava 8' Gemßhorn 4' Untersatz 16'
Octava 4' Hohl Pfeiffe 8' Nasat 3' Gedackt 8'
Quer-Pfeiffe 4' Flöthen 4' Wald-Flöthe 2' Rausch-Pfeiffe III
Mixtur VI Rausch Pfeiffe III Zinck III [4'?] Posaune 16'
Scharff IV Mixtur VIII Cymbel II Trompeta 8'
Krumbhorn 8' Scharff Trompeta 8' Cornet 2'
Meßingen Regal 8'
Accessories: strongly beating tremulant; softly beating tremulant; cymbelstern; tam-

buro (drum); cut-off valve for each division.
Couplers: manual coupler; coupler Hw/Ped.
Literature: (a) David 1951, 60; Smets 1931, no. 104; Bernsdorff-Engelbrecht 1967,
113–26; Carspecken 1968, 47–63; Fock 1939/1997, 49–54. (b) NBR, no. 157, BDOK II,
no. 316; BWV, entry for BWV 538; Wolff 2000, 24 and 208.
Köthen
In August 1717, Bach was called as court kapellmeister to the prince of Anhalt-Köthen.
In this position, which he held until April 1723, he was responsible for the music in the
city churches only on rare occasions. Nevertheless, in that he had organ students (among
others, his nephews Johann Bernhard Bach and Bernhard Christian Kayser), it seems
likely that he would have used Köthen’s various instruments at least for teaching. The
fragmentary autograph entry of the Fantasia in C Major, BWV 573, in the first keyboard
album for Anna Magdalena Bach (1722), no doubt belongs in this pedagogical context.
Bach and his family belonged to the Lutheran congregation of St. Agnus’s Church,
where, from 1721 on, Bach rented a seat in the women’s section for his wife Anna Magda-
s
lena. For the Calvinistic-reformed princedom, St. Jacob’s Church functioned as cathedral
n

18. Kassel, St. Martin’s
Church: Scherer-Becker
organ with historic facade
pipes and no Rückpositiv
church and princely interment site. It was there, then, that in March 1729 Bach’s funeral
music was performed for his former employer, Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Köthen. In ad-
dition, performances of sacred vocal works of Bach (among others, BWV 21 and 199) have
been verified as having taken place in Köthen in 1717–23, even though in what context
they took place remains unclear.
Organists at St. Jacob’s were Johann Jacob Müller (also composer and fifth-class
teacher in the reformed school) from 1713 to 1721 and Friedrich August Martini from
1732 to 1781. Christian Ernest Rolle worked as organist at St. Agnus’s (his dates are con-
firmed for the years between 1718 and 1727); he also was a member of the court kapelle.
Thereafter, until 1758, although apparently irregularly and possibly in rotation with Kayser
(see below), the organist was Johann Christoph Rosenkranz.
Bach’s Köthen student Bernhard Christian Kayser went with his teacher to Leipzig in
1723, continued his instruction with Bach, undertook the study of law at the university in
1724, and for a number of years was apparently one of Bach’s closest associates, perhaps s
even serving for a time as Bach’s private secretary. Returning to Köthen, he functioned n
Kassel • Köthen 41 jp

there from 1733 at the latest as “lawyer to the court and government” as well as “chamber
musician” and court organist, for a time probably also as organist of St. Agnus’s Church,
of which he was a member. Important copies of Bach works stem from Kayser, includ-
ing, for example, the Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV 548, which attests to Kayser’s
musical capabilities.
St. Jacob’s Church/Jacobskirche

Three-aisled Gothic hall church built 1400–1518 (already in use by 1488). Lutheran ser-
vices began ca. 1527, reformed services in 1589; as a result, the high altar and sculptures
were removed by no later than 1596. From the end of the sixteenth century, reformed
city and cathedral church. 1866–69, rebuild of the church interior.
Organ: 1674–76, new organ (II/25, spring chests) by Zacharias and Andreas Thayßner.
1697, Andreas Thayßner added a manual coupler, and in 1703–4 he made additional
improvements. 1713–14, repairs by Johann Georg Müller; 1717–18, repairs by David Zu-
berbier; 1735, repairs by Johann Georg Zippelius. 1746, repairs by Johann Scheibe, who
also proposed a renovation. A number of renovation proposals were made by Johann
Christoph Zuberbier, who recorded the disposition in 1756 and in 1766–68 carried out
a rebuild. 1877, new organ (III/47) by Friedrich Ladegast. In Köthen’s Heimatmuseum,
all that is preserved from the Thayßner organ is the central tower and a rounded outer
tower with its carvings.

Hauptwerk [II] Rückpositiv [I] Pedal
Quintathön 16' Quintathön 8' Principalbaß 16'
Principal 8' Gedact 8' Subbaß 16'
Gemshorn 8' Principal 4' Posaunenbaß 16'
Gedact 8' Gedact 4' Trompete 4'
Octava 4' Gemshorn 4' Cornettin 2'
Quinta 3' Quinta 3'
Sesquialter Octava 2'
Super-Octava 2' Flöta 1'
Mixtur IV Mixtur III
Trompete 8' Fagott [16'?] or
Schallmey [4'?]
Coupler: manual coupler.

Compass: CD–c3 (manuals), CD–c1 or CD–d1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Haetge 1943, 142–67; Henkel 1985, 5–28; Grohs 2000, 307–9. (b)
König 1963/64, 53–60; Wolff 2000, 187–235 and elsewhere; Wolff 2005, xxi–xxii, xxvii.
s
n

19. Köthen, St. Jacob’s Church:
Thayßner organ (photograph,
ca. 1860)
St. Agnus’s Church/Agnuskirche

Baroque hall church, built as the Lutheran city church in 1694–99 at the wish of the Lu-
theran princess Gisela Agnus of Anhalt-Köthen. 1748, addition of a surrounding gallery
by the court carpenter, Höhne; 1849, rebuild of the church’s interior.
Organ: 1707–8, new organ (II/27?) by Johann Heinrich Müller, dedicated Easter
Monday 1708; funded by a gift of 1,000 talers made in 1699 by Princess Gisela Agnus of
Anhalt-Köthen. Various repairs carried out 1734 and 1742 by Johann Christoph Zuberbier.
The Rückpositiv disposition is recorded as part of a Zuberbier cost estimate; he added
a Vox humana. Later rebuilds. Wilhelm Rust visited the organ in 1865. 1881, new organ
(III/33) by Wilhelm Rühlmann. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Fragmentary disposition ca. 1740 (II/27) according to

Hartmann and Zuberbier
(Ten Stops) (Ten Stops) Quinta 3' (Eight Stops)
Principal 8' Quintaton 8' Octava 2' Posaunbaß 16'
Trompete 8' Gedackt 8' Spitzflöte 2'
Principal 4' Tertia 13/5' s
Floute douce 4' Mixtur III n
Köthen 43 jp

20. Köthen, St. Agnus’s
Church: Müller organ
Accessories: Hw tremulant.
Compass: C–? (manuals); C–d1e1f1 (pedal, according to Rust).
Literature: (a) Hartmann 1799, 19–20; Rust 1878, vii–ix; Haetge 1943, 167–72; Klotz
1950, 189–201; Henkel 1985, 5–28; Dähnert 1986, 3–24. (b) BDOK II, nos. 86, 92, 103;
König 1963/64, 53–60; see St. Jacob’s Church.
Palace Church/Schlosskirche
1597–1608, construction of castle with chapel; 1731, rebuild of chapel according to plans
by Johann Michael Hoppenhaupt Sr. After 1869, no church services took place there,
and the room was rebuilt. 1963, reconstruction of the chapel; 1988–91, restoration as
Baroque gallery church (galleries taken from the reformed church in Oberbeuna, built
in 1725 by Hoppenhaupt).
Organ: 1731–33, new two-manual organ by David Zuberbier; the disposition of the
s previous instrument is unknown. By 1865, when Wilhelm Rust visited, only remnants
n remained. 1991, installation by Orgelbau Wieland Rühle of an organ by Johann Christoph

Zuberbier that had been built in 1754 for the church in Thurau/Anhalt (but from 1715 had
been housed in the Köthen Historical Museum).

Hauptwerk [I] Brustwerk [II] Pedal
Quintaten 8' Gedackt 8' Sub Baß 16'
Viol di Gamba 8' Quintaden 4' Octaven Baß 8'
Prinzipal 4' Prinzipal 2'
Quinta 3' Quinta 1½'
Octava 2'
Tertia 13/5'
Mixtur III 1'

Compass: C–e3 (manuals); C–e1 (pedal).
Wind supply: two bellows.
Pitch: Kammerton.
Literature: (a) Rust 1878, ix; Dauer 1992; Rühle 1992.
Langewiesen
At the end of November 1706, Bach traveled from Arnstadt to the small town of Lange-
wiesen (near Gehren) to examine an organ. (Langewiesen is the birthplace of his first
wife, Maria Barbara, and the place where at one time his father-in-law, Johann Michael
Bach, worked.) The organ examination, which took place on the First Sunday of Advent
(November 28), was carried out by Bach, Johann Kister (city organist from neighboring
Gehren), and city councilman Fidler, also from Gehren. Neither the examination report
nor the disposition of 1706 has survived. Johann Christian Thalacker was cantor and
apparently also organist of Our Lady’s from 1693 to 1746.
Church of Our Lady/Liebfrauenkirche

Baroque hall church with surrounding galleries, erected 1675–80 from what remained
of the old city church after a fire.
Organ: 1706, new organ by Johann Albrecht and Johann Sebastian Erhardt. 1794–95,
rebuild by the Wagner Bros., who recorded the original disposition. 1845, new organ
(II/18) by Johann Friedrich Schulze. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
Disposition (II/20) before rebuild in 1794

Hauptwerk (I) Positiv (II) Pedal
Quintadena 16' Quintadena 8' Subbaß 16' s
Principal 8' Gedackt 8' Violonbaß 16'
n
Köthen • Langewiesen 45 jp

Hauptwerk (I) Positiv (II) Pedal
Gemshorn 8' Spiel Flöte 4' Principal Baß 8'
Violdigamba 8' Quinta 1½' Hohlfloeten Baß 4'
Octave 4' Mixtur IV 1' Posaunen Baß 16'
Tertia 1½' [!] (English) Tremulant
Quinta 3'
Octave 2'
Mixtur IV 2'
Particulars: According to Seidel, an English tremulant gives delicate stops, such as

the Vox humana, “a soft waver (ein leichter Tremulant).”
Compass: C–c3 (manuals); C–c1 (pedal).
Archival Sources: Stadtarchiv Langewiesen, Bestand 3478; Thüringisches Hauptsta-
atsarchiv Rudolstadt, Bestand Unterkonsistorium Gehren, Nr. 351: Die Erbauung eines
neuen Orgelwerckes in der Kirche zu Langewiesen betr., 1784–1801, fol. 35r (disposition in
January 1794).
Literature: (a) Seidel 1844, 97–98; Dehio 2003, 749. (b) BDOK II, no. 18.
Leipzig
Six years before the beginning of his tenure in Leipzig as cantor and director of music from
1723 to 1750, Bach visited Leipzig at the invitation of the rector of the university in order
to test the new organ in the university church of St. Paul’s. After the successful examina-
tion, Daniel Vetter, the sixty-year-old organist at St. Nicholas’s who was responsible for
overseeing the organ-building project, wrote:
At the request of the honorable University the instrument was examined on December
16, 1717, by the kapellmeister from Köthen, Mr. N. [recte: J. S.] Bach, with no major
defect, and judged in such a way that he could not praise and laud it enough, especially
its rare stops, recently invented, and not to be found in very many places (BDOK I,
no.87).
Beginning in 1723, Bach held overall responsibility for the music in Leipzig. Even though
he held no position as organist, he played the organs in the city every now and again, used
them for teaching, oversaw their upkeep, and concerned himself with filling the city’s
organist positions. During Bach’s tenure, the following were organists: At St. Thomas’s,
Christian Gräbner until 1729, Johann Gottlieb Görner after 1729; at St. Nicholas’s, Johann
Gottlieb Görner until 1729, the Bach student Johann Schneider from 1730; at the New
Church, Georg Balthasar Schott until 1729, the Bach student Carl Gotthelf Gerlach after
s 1729; at St. Paul’s, Johann Christoph Thiele. Bach had close contact with the Leipzig organ
n builders Johann Scheibe and Zacharias Hildebrandt.

The organs in the two principal churches of St. Nicholas and St. Thomas were used
primarily during worship services and were also used to accompany Bach’s cantatas,
passions, and other sacred works. They played a special role in those cantatas in which
Bach treated the organ as a concertizing instrument, himself playing the solo parts and
giving over ensemble direction to the choir prefects. This can be seen especially in the
cantatas “Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal in das Reich Gottes eingehen,” BWV 146 (Jubilate
Sunday, May 12, 1726); “Geist und Seele wird verwirret,” BWV 35 (Twelfth Sunday after
Trinity, September 8, 1726); “Gott soll allein mein Herze haben,” BWV 169 (Eighteenth
Sunday after Trinity, October 20, 1726); “Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen,” BWV 49
(Twentieth Sunday after Trinity, November 3, 1726); “Ich habe meine Zuversicht,” BWV
188 (Twenty-first Sunday after Trinity, October 17, 1728); and “Wir danken dir, Gott, wir
danken dir,” BWV 29 (municipal election, August 27, 1731).
The only new organ built in Leipzig during Bach’s tenure was for the Church of St. John,
located just outside the city gates. The disposition for this new organ by Scheibe must
certainly have been developed with Bach’s assistance. Bach and Zacharias Hildebrandt
tested the new organ in the fall of 1743. The Bach student Johann Friedrich Agricola later
reported that this organ “was recognized as flawless by Mr. C[apell]. M[eister]. Joh. Seb.
Bach and Mr. Zacharias Hildebrandt after perhaps one of the strictest investigations
ever suffered by an organ” (BDOK III, no. 740). Organists at St. John’s were Johann
Michael Steinert, 1694–1731; Johann Gottlieb Reinicke, 1731–47; and Johann Georg
Hille, 1747–66.
St. Paul’s or University Church/Paulinerkirche or Universitätskirche

1485, completion of the rebuild of the medieval monastery church to a late Gothic hall
church; 1539, secularization of the monastery; 1543, surrender of the monastery holdings
to the university; August 12, 1545, dedication of the church by Martin Luther. 1710–12,
Baroque refurbishing of the interior; nineteenth century, neo-Gothic remodeling. Only
lightly damaged during World War II, the church was demolished by the East German com-
munist regime on May 30, 1968; construction of an “Aula with Vestry,” a contemporary
interpretation of the former University Church, began in 2007.
Organ: 1528, new organ (II/15) by an unknown builder placed in the middle of the
south wall; rebuilds 1626–27 by Josias Ibach and 1627–28 by Heinrich and Esaias Com-
penius. 1710, university initiated negotiations with Gottfried Silbermann for a new organ,
which nevertheless was never built. Instead, the university continued with its plan to
have Johann Scheibe carry out a major rebuild and expansion of the existing instrument,
which Scheibe already had moved to the west side of the church in 1710. 1716, completion
of what at the time was the largest organ in electoral Saxony; 1717, examination by Bach.
Rebuilds in later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; 1841–44, new organ (III/56) by
Johann Gottlob Mende. s
For Bach’s organ report, see Part II.A. n
Langewiesen • Leipzig 47 jp

21. Leipzig, St. Paul’s
Church: Scheibe organ
(copper engraving, ca.
1720, with notes in the
hand of Johann Andreas
Silbermann: “The case is
painted white, here and
there a little goldleaf.”)
s
n
jp

Disposition 1717 (III/48 plus six transmissions) according to Sicul
Hauptwerk (II) Hinterwerk (Echo) I Brustwerk (III) Pedal
Groß-Principal 16' Lieblich getackt 8' Principal 8' from Transmissions:
from pure tin in (wood) pure tin in façade Groß-Principal-
facade (T) Bass 16' (T)
Groß-Quinta- Quinta-Tön 8' Viol di Gamb Groß-Quinta-
Tön 16' (T) naturell 8' Tön 16' (T)
Klein Principal 8' (T) Fleute deuce 4' Grob getact wide- Octav-Bass 8' (T)
scaled 8'
Fleute Allemande 8' Quinta decima 4' Octav 4' Octav-Bass 4' (T)
Gems-Horn 8' Decima nona 3' Rohr-Flöte 4' Quint-Bass 3' (T)
Octav 4' (T) Holl-Flöte 2' Octav 2' Mixtur-
Bass V–VI (T)
Quinta 3' (T) Viola 2' Nassat 3' On the small Brust-
Pedal chests:
Quint-Nassat 3' Vigesima nona 1½' Sedecima 1' Groß hell-Quinten-
Bass 6' of pure tin
in facade
Octavina 2' Weit-Pfeiffe 1' Schweitzer-Pfeiffe 1' Jubal-Bass 8'
Wald-Flöte 2' Mixtur III Largo [Larigot] [11/3'] Nacht-Horn-Bass 4'
Große Mixtur V–VI (T) Helle Cymbal II Mixtur III Octav-Bass 2'
Cornetti III Sertin [Sordin] 8' Helle Cymbal II On large wind chests
Zinck II to either side:
Schalmo [Chalumeau] Groß Principal-
of wood 8' Bass 16' of pure
tin in facade
Sub-Bass 16'
Posaunen-Bass 16'
Trompeten-Bass 8'
Holl-Flöten-Bass 1'
Mixtur-Bass IV
Particulars: A visitor to the organ in 1736 described some of the stops as follows
(Dresden Ms., 43):
Chalumeau: stopped reed, voiced softly and sweetly, imitating the instrument.
Fleute Allemande: narrow-scaled open wood, somewhat sharply voiced, imitating the
traverso.
Weite Pfeiffe: open metal, very widely scaled, sharply voiced, also called Glöcklein-Thon.
Sertin: stopped reed; nevertheless because of its sharp intonation it resembles the
muted trumpet called Sertin or the stop most organ builders call Sordun.
Largo: wide-scaled, open 1½' similar to Glöcklein-Thon.
Schweitzer Pfeiffe: very narrow, open, sharply voiced.
Jubal: principal-scaled, open but dull-voiced.
s
n
Leipzig 49 jp

Große Hell-Quinten Bass: wide-scaled, with a somewhat high cut-up, very loud al-
though reverberant and melodious.
The same source indicates that the keyboards and stop names were color-coordinated:
blue for the Hinterwerk, red for the Brust.
Accessories: tremulant; cut-off valves to each division; cymbelstern; bellows signal.
Compass: CD–? (manuals); CD–c1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Praetorius 1619, 116; Sicul 1718, 195–97; Dähnert 1980, 182–84; Schae-
fer 1994, 156–58; Hütter 1995, 483–677; Butler/Butler 2006, 285–306; Butler 2011,
89–91. (b) BDOK I, no. 87; NBR, no. 72, BDOK II, nos. 87–89; Wolff 2000, 143–44, 184,
187, 221, 316, 318.
St. Nicholas’s Church/Nikolaikirche

Three-aisled hall church, erected 1513–25 to succeed the oldest parish church of the city.
1628–30, addition of west-end student gallery; 1735, addition of two tiers of galleries.
1784–97, classical refurbishing of the interior.
Organ: 1479, first mention of an organ in the west gallery of the southern side-aisle.
1597–98, new organ (II/27) by Johann Lange; 1608, repairs by Joachim Zschugk; 1625–26,
renovation of the case; 1638–39, repairs by Andreas Werner to damage incurred during
the Thirty Years’ War. 1693–94, enlargement by Zacharias Thayßner to III/36. 1724–25,
renovations by Johann Scheibe; 1739–40, repairs by Zacharias Hildebrandt. 1741, organ
is visited by Johann Andreas Silbermann. 1750–51, organ is put into perfect condition
again by Zacharias and Johann Gottfried Hildebrandt. 1785–87, dismantling of the old
organ (usable parts incorporated into the town church organ in Taucha) and new organ
(III/49) by Gebr. Trampeli. 1862, entirely new organ (IV/85) by Friedrich Ladegast;
2003–4, restoration and enlargement (V/103) by Eule Orgelbau.
Disposition (III/36) according to J. J. Vogel (ca. 1700)

Oberwerk (II) Rückwerk (I) Brustpositiv (III) Pedal
Quintatön 16' Grobgedact 8' Quintathon 8' Untersatz 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Principal 4' Octavbaß 4'
Grobgedact 8' Gemshorn 4' Sesquialtera II Posaunenbass 16'
Gemshorn 8' Quintathon 4' Quinte 3' Trompetenbaß 8'
Octava 4' Viola di Gamba 4' Octava 2' Schallmeyenbaß 4'
Nazard 3' Nazard 3' Mixtur III Cornetbaß 2'
Quinte 3' Octava 2 Schalmey 4'
Superoctava 2' Mixtur IV
Waldflöte 2' Sesquialtera
Mixtur VI Bompart 8'
Fagot 16'
s
Trompete 8'
n

22. Leipzig,
St. Nicholas’s
Church: Lange organ
(watercolor by Carl
Benjamin Schwarz of
the “Former Organ in
the St. Nicholas Church
in Leipzig” 1785)
Particulars: Johann Andreas Silbermann (Schaefer 1994) lists Quinte 1½' instead
of Viola di Gamba 4' (Rp) and Quinte 1½' instead of Quinte 3' (Bw), as well as Octava 8'
instead of Octavbaß 4' (Ped). Tin-plated iron resonators in the Schalmey 4' (facade, Bw)
and in the pedal reeds. Cornetbaß 2' with wooden blocks and boots. The stops were “iron
drawknobs in slots.”
Accessories: tremulant; Vogelgesang (birdsong); cymbelstern.
Couplers: “no pull-down pedal” (Silbermann).
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals), CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four large single-fold bellows.
Pitch: Chorton.
Literature: (a) Vogel n.d., 97; Dähnert 1980, 180–82; Schaefer 1994, 171–73; Magirius
1995a, 337–473. (b) BDOK II, no. 180.
s
n
Leipzig 51 jp

St. Thomas’s Church/Thomaskirche
Three-aisled hall church, built 1482–96 for the Augustinian monastery that had existed
since 1212. 1498, completion of a stone choir gallery; 1570–71, addition of galleries on
the north and south sides; 1632, construction of two musicians’ galleries for town pipers
and art fiddlers on the north and south sides of the choir gallery. End of the nineteenth
century, removal of Baroque additions and renovation of the interior in neo-Gothic style.
1949, Johann Sebastian Bach’s alleged remains were moved from the Bach-Gellert vault
in St. John’s Church to a new tomb located at the entrance to the choir.
Large Organ: First evidence of an organ dates from 1384. 1511, new organ (likely
II/21) by Blasius Lehmann; rebuilds during the sixteenth century; 1598–99, enlargement
by Johann Lange to II/25. 1670–71, enlargement of Brustwerk from two to nine stops
by Christoph Donat and sons. 1721–22, major rebuild by Johann Scheibe; 1730, during
Bach’s tenure, organ was cleaned and through-tuned (the temperament was “no longer
accurate”), and the Pedal Posaune 16' was strengthened, again by Scheibe; 1739–40,
Scheibe provided new twenty-four-note pedal keyboard (probably CD–c1); 1747, major
repairs by Scheibe. 1755, rebuild (III/39) by Christian Immanuel Schweinefleisch; he built
new chests for the Rückpositiv and Pedal and eleven new stops (three for the Rückposi-
tiv and eight for the Pedal). 1772–73, Schweinefleisch’s student Johann Gottlieb Mauer
moved the Rückpositiv into the main case as an Oberwerk division; 1794–95, rebuild by
Gebr. Trampeli; further rebuilds between 1808 and 1847 by Johann Gottlob Mende. 1889,
completely new organ (III/63) by Wilhelm Sauer, who also enlarged the organ to III/83
at the wish of Karl Straube in 1908. In addition to the Sauer organ, in 1998–2000 a new
“Bach organ” (IV/61) by Gerald Woehl was installed in the north balcony; its disposition
is modeled on the Stertzing organ in Eisenach’s St. George’s Church, while the case is
modeled after the Scheibe organ for Leipzig’s St. Paul’s Church.
Disposition (III/35) according to J. J. Vogel (ca. 1700)

Oberwerk (II) Rückpositiv (I) Brustwerk (III) Pedal
Principal 16' Principal 8' Grobgedackt 8' Sub Baß 16'
Quintatön 16' Quintadena 8' Principal 4' Posaunen Baß 16'
Principal 8' Lieblich Gedacktes 8' Nachthorn 4' Trommeten Baß 8'
Spielpfeife 8' Traversa 4' Nasat 3' Schallmeyen Baß 4'
Octava 4' Spitzflöte 4' Gemshorn 2' Cornet 2'
Quinta 3' Klein Gedackt 4' Sesquialtera
Superoctava 2' Violin 2' Zimbel II
Sesquialtera II Schallflöt 1' Regal 8'
Mixtur VI–IX Rausch Quinta II Geigenregal 4'
Mixtur IV
Krumbhorn 16'
Trommet 8'
s
n

23. Leipzig, St.
Thomas’s Church:
Mauer organ (drawing,
1772–73)
Accessories: tremulant; Vogelgesang (birdsong); cymbelstern.

Compass: CD–c3? (manuals); CD–c1 (pedal).
Pitch: Chorton.
Literature: (a) Vogel n.d., 111; Dähnert 1980, 184–86; Schrammek 1983b, 46–55;
Magirius 1995b, 153–335; Wolff 1998, 20–22; Sprondel 2000, 390–93; Wolff 2005b,
9–20. (b) BDOK II, no. 561; see St. Paul’s Church.
Small Organ: 1489, new construction as swallow’s-nest organ on the south wall;
rebuilds during the sixteenth century; 1630, enlargement by Heinrich Compenius.
1639–40, organ was moved by Andreas Werner and Erhardt Müller to a new gallery over
the triumphal arch. Inscription on the organ doors: “SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS /
DOMINUS DEUS ZEBAOTH” (Holy, holy, holy art thou, Lord God of hosts), along with
the year it was built on the left, “F[ecit]. 1489,” and the year it was rebuilt or repaired on s
the right, “R[eparavit]. 1639.” 1665, six stops added by Christoph Donat; 1720–21, repairs n
Leipzig 53 jp

by Johann Scheibe. 1727–28, Zacharias Hildebrandt brought eight stops into playing
condition. 1740–41, dismantling of the disintegrating organ by Johann Scheibe. Bach used
the swallow’s-nest organ for performances of multichoir works, as, for example, in the
Magnificat with the Christmas interpolations, BWV 243a, or in the St. Matthew Passion
(1736) for the third choir in the first part’s introductory and concluding choruses.
Disposition (II?/21) according to J. J. Vogel (ca. 1700)

Rückpositiv [I] Oberwerk [II] Brustwerk [II?] Pedal
Lieblich Gedackt 8' Principal 8' Trichterregal 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 4' Gedackt 8' Sifflöt 1' Fagott 16'
Hohlflöte 4' Quintatön 8' Spitzflöte 2' Trompete 8'
Nasat 3' Octave 4'
Octave 2' Rauschquinte II 3'
Sesquialtera II Mixtur IV–X
Dulcian 8' Cymbel II
Trompete 8'

Pitch: Chorton.
Literature: (a) Vogel n.d., 111; Dähnert 1980, 186. (b) see St. Paul’s Church.
St. John’s Church/Johanniskirche

1582–84, new building after the church had been destroyed in 1547; 1894–97, new build-
ing using the tower from 1749. 1894, discovery of the alleged remains of Johann Sebastian
Bach and Christian Fürchtegott Gellert, which were then interred in two new sarcophagi
in a tomb directly in front of the altar. Considerable damage to the building during World
War II (1943); the ruins were exploded in May 1963. (The Bach bones had already been
moved to St. Thomas’s in 1949.)
Organ: 1553, purchase of a positive; 1656, installation by Christoph Donat of a small
organ that had been in the St. Nicholas Church. 1694–95, new organ (I/10) built by Johann
Tobias Gottfried Trost (Manual: Gedackt 8', Quintatön 8', Prinzipal 4', Gedackt 4', Quinte
3', Oktave 2', Sesquialter II, Mixtur III; Pedal: Subbaß 16', Prinzipalbaß 8'). 1742, the
old organ was sold to the church in Laußig (Eilenburg County) and Johann Scheibe built
a new organ using pipes from the small organ of the St. Thomas Church; Bach’s organ
report unverifiable. Further rebuilds during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;
1893–94, removal of the organ during a church renovation. 1899, organ’s key desk and
organ bench purchased by Paul de Wit (of Leipzig); after 1926 they were housed in the
Music Instrument Museum of Leipzig University (Inv.-Nr. 262). After restoration in
2009 by Marcus Stahl, Dresden, they are now on display in the Bach Museum of the
s
Bach-Archive Leipzig.
n

24. Leipzig, St. John’s Church: Scheibe organ (photograph, ca. 1894)
25. Leipzig, St. John’s

Church: Scheibe key
desk; rebuilt by Paul de
Wit, ca. 1900; restored
2009. Museum for
Musical Instruments
of the University of
Leipzig. Since March
2010 on permanent
loan to the Bach
Museum Leipzig.
s
n
Leipzig 55 jp

Quintathön 16' Quintathön 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' Lieblich Gedackt 8' Violon 8'
Gedackt 8' Principal 4' Posaun 16'
Octav 4' Spielpfeiff 4' Trompet 8'
Spielpfeiff 4' Hohlflöt 3'
Quinta 3' Octav 2'
Octav 2' Weitpfeiff 1'
Octav 1' Tertia II
Mixtur IV
Cornetto II
Particulars: “Of special interest . . . is to be noted that by engaging a stop it is pos-

sible to play piano and forte on one manual quite extraordinarily well” (SeN, 56; cited in
Dähnert 1980, 177).
Accessories: cut-off valves for the manuals; tremulant; bellows signal.
Coupler: Hw/Ped.
Literature: (a) SeN, 56; Adlung 1768, 251; de Wit 1899/1900, 989; Dähnert 1962,
85–86, 103; Dähnert 1980, 177–78; Henkel 1986, 44–50; Mai 1995, 809–69. (b) BDOK
II, no. 519; see St. Paul’s Church.
New Church/Neue Kirche

Baroque hall church with surrounding galleries completed 1699, replacing the Franciscan
(Barefoot) monastery church build 1488. Replaced in the nineteenth century by the St.
Matthew’s Church, which was built on the same site; this building was fully destroyed in
World War II (1943).
Organ: 1703–4, new organ by Christoph Donat Sr. and Jr., placed on the south gal-
lery above the pulpit; Georg Philipp Telemann was its first organist. 1722, rebuild by
Johann Scheibe (the disposition transmitted by Niedt/Mattheson [p. 189] was not built).
Further rebuilds beginning in the late eighteenth century; 1847, new organ by Johann
Gottlob Mende.

Vorderwerk (I) Hinterwerk (II) Pedal
Quintatön 16' Lieblich gedackt 8' zur Subbaß 16'
Music [for concerted music]
Principal 8' Viol’ di Gamba 8' Posaunenbaß 16'
s
Grobgedackt 8' Klein gedackt 4' Trompetenbaß 8'
Spielflöten 8' Octava 2' Schalmeyenbaß 4'
n

Octava 4' Nasat 3'
Gedackte Flöte 4' Spitzflöt 1'
Quinta 3'
Superoctava 2'
Gemshorn 2'
Russflöte 1'
Mixtur IV
Particulars: resonators of tin-plated iron in the Trompetenbaß 8' and Schalmeyen-

baß 4'.
Accessories: tremulant; bellows signal.
Temperament: meantone; however, Lieblich gedackt 8' zur Music: well-tempered.
Literature: (a) Niedt 1721, 189; Schering 1926, 116–17; Dähnert 1980, 179–80; Mai/
Küas 1995, 679–96.
26. Leipzig, New

Church: Donat
organ (detail; copper
engraving, ca. 1730)
s
n
Leipzig 57 jp

Lübeck
In the late fall of 1705, Johann Sebastian Bach set out on a journey to Lübeck “in order
to listen to the famous organist of St. Mary’s Church there, Diedrich Buxtehude” (NBR,
no. 306; BDOK III, no. 666); he returned to Arnstadt at the beginning of February 1706.
Bach had been granted four weeks’ leave, and he had arranged for his cousin Johann Ernst
Bach to substitute for him. Nevertheless, because he “stayed about four times longer”
than he had requested, he was required to justify himself on February 21, 1706, before
the church consistory (NBR, no. 20; BDOK II, no. 16).
None of the details of Bach’s stay in Lübeck are known. It appears, however, that
the trip was planned to coincide with the performances on December 2 and 3, 1705, of
Buxtehude’s oratorios Castrum doloris and Templum honoris (BuxWV 133–34), for which
none of the music has survived.

Three-aisled Gothic brick basilica; nave built 1315–30. Bombed in World War II (1942);
the organs and the seventeenth-century music galleries were completely destroyed. 1954,
rebuilding of the church using what remained of the interior.
Main Organ: 1377, earliest record of an organ. 1516–18, new organ or substantial
rebuild by an otherwise unknown organ builder; the large two-manual instrument in-
cluded Werk, Unterwerk, and Pedal divisions (the organ never possessed a Rückpositiv).
1560–61, addition of a Brustwerk by Jacob Scherer; 1596–98, substantial rebuild begun by
Gottschalk Johannsen (also known as Borchert) and concluded by Jacob Rabe. 1637–41,
substantial rebuild and enlargement by Friedrich Stellwagen; organ examination by Hein-
rich Scheidemann. 1683, Michel Briegel “completely tuned the two organs throughout,
not including the reeds,” in thirty-one and a half days (Lübeck, Archiv der Hansestadt, St.
Marien, I 1a, Wochenbuch 1678–1685, fol. 279r). Apparently Buxtehude, who later composed
a laudatory poem for Werckmeister’s Harmonologia of 1702, wanted all three organs (main
organ, small organ, rood screen organ) in the same temperament, not least so that they
could all be played together (Castrum doloris, 1705: dirge accompanied “by all organs”).
1704, three new stops added by Otto Diedrich Richborn. 1721, disposition (III/54) is
published by Niedt/Mattheson. 1733–35, rebuild by Konrad Bünting that included rear-
ranging the keyboards as well as filling in the missing notes in the keyboard’s compass.
1782, probable tuning in equal temperament. 1851–54, completely new organ (IV/80) by
Johann Friedrich Schulze using the original case (nonspeaking pipes were placed in the
facade); destroyed 1942. 1968, new organ (V/101) by Emanuel Kemper.
s
n

27. Lübeck, St. Mary’s
Church: Schulze
organ in historical case
28. Lübeck, St. Mary’s

Church: Johannsen/
Stellwagen organ with
original Brustwerk
(painting by Carl Julius
s
Milde, 1851)
n
jp

Disposition (III/54) according to Niedt (1721)
Werck (III) Unterwerk (I) Brustwerk (II) Pedal
Principal 16' Bordun 16' Principal 8' Principal 32'
Quintadena 16' Principal 8' Gedact 8' Principal 16'
Octava 8' Blockflöte 8' Octava 4' Sub-Baß 16'
Spitz-Flöte 8' Hohlflöte 8' Hohl-Flöte 4' Octava 8'
Octava 4' Quintadena 8' Sesquialtera II Gedact 8'
Hohl-Flöte 4' Octava 4' Feld-Pfeiffe 2' Octava 4'
Nasat 3' Spiel-Flöte 2' Gemshorn 2' Bauernflöte 2'
Rauschpfeiffe IV Sesquialtera II Sifflet 1½' Nachthorn 2'
Scharff IV Mixtura V Mixtura VIII Mixtura VI
Mixtura XV Scharff IV–V Cimbel III Groß-Posaun 24'
Trommete 16' Dulcian 16' Krumhorn 8' Posaune 16'
Trommete 8' Baarpfeiffe 8' Regal 8' Dulcian 16'
Zincke 8' Trichter-Regal 8' Trommete 8'
Vox humana 8' Krumhorn 8'
Cornet 2'
Accessories: cymbelstern; two drums; tremulants in Bw and Ow.

Compass: W and Uw: CDEFGA–c3; as of 1733, CD–c3. Bw: DEFGA–g 2a2; as of 1733,
CD–c3. Ped: CDEFGA–d1; as of 1733, CD–d1.
Wind supply (1707): ten bellows.
Pitch: Chorton.
Temperament (1683): modified meantone (well-tempered?); after 1782, probably
equal.
Literature: (a) Niedt 1721, 189; Stahl 1939, 6; Snyder 1985, 427–29, 431–34; Snyder
1986, 175–90; Dehio 1994, 451–65; Belotti 1997, 254; Ortgies 2004, 70–74; Ortgies 2006,
316–36; Snyder 2007, 79–87, 467. (b) NBR, no. 20, BDOK II, no. 16; NBR, no. 306, BDOK
III, no. 666; Wolff 2000, 65, 95–98, 208, 526; Maul/Wollny 2007.
Small Organ (“Dance of Death” Organ/“Totentanz” Orgel): 1475–77, new organ
(I/P) by Johannes Stephani placed in the northern side chapel, a confessional chapel
that since the fifteenth century had housed Bernt Notke’s painting The Dance of Death.
1557–58, addition of a Rückpositiv division by Jacob Scherer; 1621–22, addition of a
Brustwerk and enlargement of the Pedal by Henning Kröger. 1653–55, reworking of the
wind chests, among other things, by Friedrich Stellwagen. 1701, overhaul by Hans Han-
telmann—according to Buxtehude, the first renovation since Stellwagen’s work. 1760,
enlargement of the Brustwerk disposition by organ builder Bünting; he also filled in the
missing pitches D ♯, F ♯, and G ♯; provided couplers to all manuals; replaced the tinfoil on
the facade pipes; and made changes to the case. 1805, organ tuned in equal tempera-
ment by Joachim Christoph Kaltschmidt. Ca. 1845, Theodor Vogt writes down what is
now the oldest surviving record of the disposition (III/39). 1845–46, rebuild reducing
s
the disposition to thirty-four stops. 1937, modified partial restoration by Karl Kemper;
n

29. Lübeck, St. Mary’s:
“Totentanz” organ after
restoration (photograph,
1937)
reconstructed disposition recorded by Gustav Fock. Organ destroyed World War II (March
1942). 1986, new organ (IV/56) by Alfred Führer using data from exact measurements
taken in 1937.
Disposition 1705 (III/40) as reconstructed in 1937

Hauptwerk [II] Rückpositiv [I] Brustwerk [III] Pedal
Quintade 16' Prinzipal 8', facade Gedackt 8' Prinzipal 16', facade
Prinzipal 8', facade Rohrflöte 8' Quintadena 4' Subbaß 16'
Spitzflöte 8' Quintatön 8' Hohlflöte 2' Oktave 8'
Oktave 4' Oktave 4' Quintflöte 1½' Gedackt 8'
s
Nasat 22/3' Rohrflöte 4' Scharff IV Oktave 4'
n
Lübeck 61 jp

Hauptwerk [II] Rückpositiv [I] Brustwerk [III] Pedal
Rauschpfeiffe II Sesquialter II Krummhorn 8' Quintadena 4'
Mixtur VI–X Sifflöte 1½' Schalmei 4' Oktave 2'
Trompete 8' Scharf VI–VIII Nachthorn 1'
Dulzian 16' Zimbel II
Trechterregal 8' Mixtur IV
Posaune 16'
Dulzian 16'
Trompete 8'
Schalmei 4'
Cornet 2'
Coupler: Couplers date from 1760.

Manual compass: CDEFGA–c3; from 1760, CD–c3.
Pedal compass: CDEFGA–d1; from 1760, CD–c1.
Pitch: Chorton.
Temperament (1683): modified meantone (well-tempered?); after 1805, equal.
Literature: (a) Ley 1906/07, 280–82; Stahl 1939, 9–11; Fock 1974, 186; Dehio 1994,
451–65; Snyder 2002, 40; Snyder 2007, 81–82, 467.
Rood Screen Organ (Lettnerorgel): Documented use since 1492 for masses in the
choir and Marian services in the chapel behind the high altar. 1664, new positive organ
by Michel Briegel; 1684, repair and tuning of the organ, which according to Buxtehude
“had been very imperfect and impure”; it took Michel Briegel six days. The instrument
was used until 1800. In addition, since 1678 there was a “Doppelt 16 füßiges Regal”—regal
with a 16' register—for performances on feast days and at Abendmusiken (Snyder 2007,
466). 1854, new organ (I/7) by Theodor Vogt, using registers from the dismantled main
organ. The case was modeled after the Brustwerk case that had been removed from the
main organ. In 1900, Karl Kemper built a new organ (II/15) using the same case. De-
stroyed 1942.
Pitch: Chorton.
Temperament (1683): modified meantone (well-tempered?).
Literature: (a) Stahl 1939, 11–12; Snyder 2007, 101, 463, and 468.
Lüneburg
From March 1700 until the spring of 1702, Johann Sebastian Bach, supported by a schol-
arship, studied as chorister at the Latin School of St. Michael’s, Lüneburg, at that time
the secondary residence of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg-Celle. The Lüneburg con-
nection apparently came through Georg Böhm, who became Bach’s organ and keyboard
teacher. A very early Bach autograph in organ tablature notation—a manuscript dated 1700
s of Johann Adam Reinken’s chorale fantasia “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” (By the Flowing
n Waters of Babylon) copied under Böhm’s supervision—proves that already at the beginning

30. Lübeck, St. Mary’s:
Center aisle with rood screen
organ (painting by Wilhelm
Stoeltzner, 1856)
of his time in Lüneburg the fifteen-year-old was an unusually advanced performer (Maul/
Wollny 2007). The Lüneburg time also offered the young Bach the opportunity of getting to
know the large north German organs and acquiring further knowledge of organ building.
Bach made various trips from Lüneburg to Hamburg in order to seek out Reinken and
play on his organ at St. Catherine’s. (At the time Böhm worked as harpsichordist at the
opera, and Bach’s cousin Johann Ernst Bach also was in Hamburg for educational reasons.)
Georg Böhm’s organ at St. John’s Church in Lüneburg was the best in the city in ca.
1700, although still without a fully developed pedal division. Bach no doubt was strongly
influenced by Böhm and may still have maintained contact while he was in Leipzig. At the s
very least, Böhm took part as distributor in Bach’s Clavier-Übung project. n
Lübeck • Lüneburg 63 jp

St. John’s Church/Johanniskirche
Five-aisled Gothic hall church, completed before 1370, enlarged 1460–70.
Organ: 1551–53, new organ (III/27) by Hendrik Niehoff and Jasper Johansen. 1576,
addition of Untersatz 16' (preserved) to the Pedal (Hinterlade) by Dirk Hoyer. 1586,
refurbishing of pedal chests by Matthias Mahn; 1587, repairs by Hans Scherer I; 1633–35,
rebuild by Franz Theodor Kretzschmar; 1651–52, enlargement by Friedrich Stellwagen to
III/40. At the request of Georg Böhm, Mathias Dropa built a new pedal division in 1712–15
and enlarged the organ to III/47. Numerous changes after 1739. 1952–53, restoration by
Rudolf von Beckerath, including replacing the no-longer-preserved mechanical action.
1992, repairs and changes to disposition.
31. Lüneburg, St. John’s

Church: Niehoff/Johannsen/
Dropa organ (photograph,
2000)
s
n

Disposition 1710 (III/28)–1714 (III/46; new stops in italic)
Rückpositiv (I)—1710 Rückpositiv (I)—1714 Oberwerk (III)—1710 Oberwerk (III)—1714
Principal 8' (L) Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal 8'
Quintaden 8' (U) Quintadena 8' Hohlflöte 8' Rohr Flöthe 8'
Octave 4' (L) Octava 4' Octave 4' Octava 4'
Hohlflöte 4' (U) Wald-Flöthe 2' Rohr Flöthe 4'
(from Rp)
Sieflöte 1' (U) Sifflet 1' Nassat 3' Nasat 3'
Mixtur (L) Gemßhorn Gemßhorn 2'
Scharff (L) Scharff V-VII Superoctave 2'
Sesquialtera (U) Sesquialtera II Cymbel Mixtur V–VI (from Rp)
Regal 8' (U) Dulcian 16' Sesquialtera II
Baarpfeiffe 8' (U) Baar Pfeiffe 8' Trommette Trompeta 8'
Schalmey 4' (U) Regal 4' Krumbhorn 8'
Vox humana 8'
Werck (II)—1710 Werck (II)—1714 Pedal—1710 Pedal—1714
Untersatz 32'
Principal 16' Principal 16' Principal 16'
Quintadena 16'
Octave 8' Octava 8' Untersatz 16' Untersatz 16'
Gedackt 8' Gedackt 8'
Octave 4' Octava 4' Octava 4'
Spitzflöte 4' Octava 2'
Nachthorn 2' [Ped] Super Octava 2' Nachthorn 2'
(from Werck)
Mixtur Mixtur VI–VII Mixtur VII–VIII
Scharff Scharff Rauschpfeiffe III
Trommette 16' Groß Posaune 32'
Posaun 16'
Trommette 8' [Ped] Dulcian 8' Trompeta 8' (from
Werck)
Schalmey 4' (from Rp) Trompeta 4'
Cornette 2' [Ped] Cornet 2' (from Werck)
Particulars: Using a Netherlandish model, the principal plenum stops in the Rück-
positiv were placed on a lower chest (L = lower chest, Unterlade) while the flutes and reeds
were placed on an upper chest (U = upper chest, Oberlade). According to Praetorius (1619):
“3 keyboards; the middle one, for the instrument’s largest division, has an entire octave
more in the bass than keyboards generally have—that is, another octave below low C,
which is coupled to the Pedal and is used with it. Otherwise the 3 Praestants or Principals
in the three keyboards are all the same, and not lower than 4-foot [recte: 8-foot] tone.”
Matthias Dropa noted in 1710: “Untersatz 16' only goes to F, and from there the Pedal is
coupled to the Manual [Werck]. In sum, 27 stops, of which scarcely 18 are fully usable.”
The Regal 8' in the Rückpositiv, he says: “is worth little or nothing at the top.” s
n
Lüneburg 65 jp

Accessories (until 1714): tremulant; cut-off valves.
Accessories (after 1714): cut-off valves to all divisions; main cut-off valve; tremulant;
cymbelstern.
Couplers (1714): Rp/W, Ow/W.
Compass: CDEFGA–g2a2 (manuals); CDEFGA–c1 (pedal).
Compass (after 1714): CD–c3 (manuals), CD–c1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Praetorius 1619, 170–71; Krüger 1906, 67–72, 78–80; Smets 1931, 27;
Fock 1950, 113, 122–23; Vente 1958, 89; Selle 1970, 59–116, especially 70–77; Vogel/Lade/
Borger-KIeweloh 1997, 102–7 and 347–48. (b) BDOK II, no. 5; NBR, no. 306, BDOK III,
no. 666; Wolff 2000, 41, 42, 53–66, 70, and elsewhere; Maul/Wollny 2007.
St. Michael’s Church/Michaeliskirche

Three-aisled Gothic hall church (fourteenth century) that served as the site of the family
vault of the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg.
Organ: 1538–52, rebuild of an older instrument on the north wall by Jacob and Hans
Scherer; 1551, addition of a new Rückpositiv; 1580, additional work by the Scherers and by
Jacob Scherer’s son-in-law, Dirk Hoyer. 1683, report from Arp Schnitger on the organ’s
condition; he found “almost nothing . . . that is still somewhat usable” (Fock 1974, 102).
The bold disposition he proposed was never built; instead, in 1705–7 Matthias Dropa
built a new instrument (III/43) on the west wall at the base of the tower. Tobias Götterling
provided the artful case carvings. Later rebuilds. 1931, new organ (III/49) by Furtwängler
& Hammer built into the original case.
Main organ, disposition 1705 (III/32) according to Dropa

“Specification of the old St. Michael’s organ. The stops contained therein that are still
present are the following:”
Oberwerk [II] Rückpositiv [I] Brustwerk [III] Pedal
Principal 16' usable Principal 8' Principal 2' Principal 16' (T)
in the Pedal
Hollflete 16' [Ped] Quintadena 8' Waldflete 2' Nachthorn 2' (T)
Octav 8' [Ped] Rohrflete 8' Sexquialtera II Mixtur IV (T)
Octav 4 Gedact 8 Scharff III–IV Tromet 8' (T)
Gemshorn 2' Octave 4' Regal 8' Cornet 2' (T)
Nachthorn 2' (T) Nasat 3'
Rauschpfeiff II Gemßhorn 2'
Mixtur IV (T) Siflet 1½'
Tromet 8' (T) Mixtur IV–V
Cornet 2' (T) Schalmei 4'
s
Compass: F–g2a2 (manuals); D–b ♭ (pedal).
n

32. Lüneburg, St. Michael’s
Church: Center aisle with
Scherer/Hoyer organ (paint-
ing by Joachim Burmester,
ca. 1700)
Choir Positive
1662, positive (I/4) is bequeathed from Hamburg; 1701, enlargement by Johann Balthasar
Held, reusing the bellows, keyboard, and a Krummhorn 8'. It is likely that, as a matins
choir member, Bach regularly played this organ. The existence of the instrument cannot
be verified after ca. 1800. 2000, new instrument by Martin ter Haseborg, built according
to Held’s proposal from the spring of 1701.

Manual
Gedackt 8' (wood)
Principal 4' (lowest six pipes are stopped)
Octav 2'
Sexquialtera II
Klein Krumhorn 8' s
n
Lüneburg 67 jp

Particulars: In the organ built in 2000, two transpositions are possible, for a1 = 440
Hz and a1 = 465 Hz, and stops are divided between c1 and c ♯1 (at normal pitch).
Accessory: tremulant.
Compass: C–d3.
Pitch (2000): a1 = 415 Hz.
Temperament (2000): meantone.
Literature: (a) Fock 1950, 81 and 113; Fock 1974, 102–4, 120–23; Vogel/Lade/Borger-
Keweloh 1997, 194–95; van de Linde 2002, 199–218; pers. comm. from Tobias Graven-
horst, August 12, 2005. (b) See St. John’s Church.
Mühlhausen
On June 15, 1707, Johann Sebastian Bach was appointed successor to Johann Georg Ahle
at St. Blasius’s Church in Mühlhausen, but by July of 1708 he had already left this post,
accepting the position of court organist and chamber musician to Duke Wilhelm Ernst
of Saxe-Weimar. In the free imperial city of Mühlhausen, Bach had access to a large,
albeit old, organ. He apparently had been given consent from the beginning to have it
renovated and enlarged.
As city organist he also was responsible for collaborating with the other churches,
and he regularly played church services at the “Brückenhof” Church. In addition to
Mühlhausen’s two principal churches—St. Mary’s (the Ratskirche, which served as the
principal house of worship for the city council) in the upper city and St. Blasius’s (the
superintendent’s church) in the lower city—there were more than ten active houses of
worship in the town. Bach’s responsibilities included the festive music for the annual
inauguration of the city council at St. Mary’s; his polychoral cantata “Gott ist mein König,”
BWV 71, is associated with this occasion in 1708, as are two other cantatas from the years
1709–10, neither of which has survived.
Bach departed on friendly terms, and he returned to Mühlhausen on a number of
occasions. His relationship to the organ builder Johann Friedrich Wender, who had built
the organ in Arnstadt and who probably had recommended Bach to Mühlhausen, likewise
remained active for decades. Bach’s last documented visit to the free imperial city, in 1735,
was in connection with his consultation with Christian Friedrich Wender concerning the
new organ for St. Mary’s. In addition, his third-born son, Johann Gottfried Bernhard,
was a candidate to succeed Johann Gottfried Hetzehenn, organist at St. Mary’s, who had
died in April of that year. The young Bach was elected as organist of St. Mary’s on June
9, while both father and son were in Mühlhausen. An unofficial examination of the new
Wender organ by Johann Sebastian Bach is recorded under the date June 16 in the account
book of St. Mary’s, and it is noted that he and his son “were given a small dinner by the
s administrator on account of the favorable state of affairs” (BDOK II, no. 365).
n

Five-aisled Gothic hall church (fourteenth century); principal church of the upper city.
Now used as a museum (Thomas Müntzer Memorial).
Organ: 1564, new organ; 1614, overhaul by unknown builder. 1676, enlargement by
unknown builder with assistance from Johann Friedrich Wender. After damage from
lightning on October 6, 1720, restoration by Wender (incorporating parts still usable).
1734–38, new organ by Christian Friedrich Wender, probably with advice from J. S. Bach.
Later changes; 1821–22, rebuild by Johann Friedrich Schulze. 1891, new organ (III/61)
by Wilhelm Sauer incorporating some old stops into a neo-Gothic case (originally in-
tended for Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church). Rebuild in 1976. 1993, restoration by Christian
Scheffler to the condition of the organ in 1891. Nothing remains of the Wender organ,
but an archival photograph of the original organ gallery during the dismantling of the
instrument survives.
Disposition 1720 (III/60) according to Dresden Ms.

Haupt Werk [II] Rück-Positiv [I] Ober Werck [III] Pedal
Bordun 16' Principal 8' Salicional 16' Sub-Baß 32'
Principal 8' Gedackt 8' Viola di Gamba 8' Sub-Baß 16'
Spill-Flöthe 8' Quintadena 8' Hohlflöte 8' Principal 16'
Salicional 8' Quintadena 4' Principal 4' Octava 8'
Octava 4' Queerflöthe 4' Fleute douce 4' Wald-Flöthe 8'
Offene Flöthe 4' Hohlflöthe 4' Spitz-Flöthe 4' Octava 4'
Qvinta 3' Gemßhorn 4' Quinta 3' Qvintadena 4'
Superoctava 2' Quinta 3' Wald-Flöthe 2' Nachthorn 4'
Sexta 4' [31/5'] Superoctava 2' Tertian 13/5' Superoctava 2'
Waldhorn 2' Tertia 13/5' Cimbel IV SubSuperoctava 1'
Sifflet 1½' Sifflet 1' Harffen Regal 16' Mixtura X
Cymbel Mixtur VI Mixtura VI Hautbois 8' Groß-Posaune 32'
Mixtura VIII Dulcian 16' Trompeta 4' Posaune 16'
Sordunen 16' Krumbhorn 8' Dulcian 16'
Zinck 8' Trompeta 8'
Krumbhorn 8'
Schallmey 4'
Cornet 2'
Accessories: tremulant to Hw and Ow; tremulant to Rp; tremulant to Ped; cymbelstern;

drum; Vogelgesang (birdsong); bellows signal; cut-off valve for each division; main cut-
off valve.
Wind supply: fourteen bellows.
s
n
Lüneburg • Mühlhausen 69 jp

33. Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s: Bird’s-eye view of the organ gallery from the time
of the dismantling of the Wender organ (photograph, ca. 1890)
Disposition 1738 (III/43) according to Adlung (1768)

Hauptwerk (II) Rückpositiv (I) Oberwerk (III) Pedal
“Is wide-scaled and “Is somewhat wider- “Has narrow scaling “Has very wide
has quite a magestic scaled and sounds and a biting scaling, pene-
sound” (recht pungent and voicing” (eine trating strength”
majestätischen Klang) delicate” (schneid- spitzige Intonation) (durchdringende
end und delikat) Stärke), “and
beautiful reeds”
Quintatön 16' *Quintatön 8' Rohrflöte 8' Principal 16',
tin, facade
Rohrflöte 16' *Bordun 8' Principal 4', Untersatz 16', wood
tin, facade
*Principal 8', English *Principal 4', Salicet 4' Oktave 8'
tin, facade tin, facade
Violdigamba 8' *Spitzflöte 2' Spitzflöte 4' Gemsquinta 51/3'
Gedackt 8' *Sesquialtera II Flöte douce 4', wood Oktave 4'
Gemshorn 8' *Mixtur III Ged. ital. Quinte 3' Spitzflöte 2'
Oktave 4' Oktave 2' Rohrflöe 1'
Kleingedackt 4' Terz 13/5' Mixtur VI 22/3'
Quinte 22/3' Cymbel III Posaune 32', wood
Oktave 2' Sordino 8' Posaune 16', wood
s Waldflöte 2' Trompete 8'
n Mixtur VI 2' Cornettin 2'

Scharfe Cymbel III
Basson 16'
Trompete 8'
Particulars: * = register from the previous organ.

Accessories: cut-off valves to all divisions; two tremulants (one slower, one faster);
cymbelstern with four bells: c2, e2, g2, c3.
Couplers: Hw/Ped; Hw/Rp; shove coupler for Ow/Hw; low Kammerton [Großkam-
merton] coupler; normal Kammerton [Kleinkammerton] coupler.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); CD–d1 (pedal); manual keyboards made with ivory and
ebony.
Wind supply: three very large bellows for the manuals, three very large bellows for
the pedal.
Pitch: Chorton.
Archives: Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen, Chronik. Fragment 1533–1802, Sign. 61/18.
Literature: (a) Niedt 1721, 192–93; Adlung 1768, 259–60 [1738 disposition]; Sommer
1882, 66–72; Smets 1931, 28–29 [1720 disposition]. (b) Brinkmann 1950, entry: Johann
Gottfried Bernhard Bach, n.p.; NBR, no. 176, BDOK I, no. 31; BDOK II, nos. 365 and 372;
Wolff 2000, 89–90, 99–100, 102–15, 143, 399–400, 526, and elsewhere.
St. Blasius’s Church/Kirche Divi Blasii

Three-aisled Gothic hall church (thirteenth–fourteenth centuries); principal church of
the lower city.
Organ: 1560–63, new organ by Jost Pape; 1676, rebuild by Jost Schäfer. 1687–91, partial
rebuild and enlargement (II/29) by Johann Friedrich Wender, who settled in Mühlhausen
at the time. At Bach’s recommendation, organ enlarged by Wender in 1708 to III/37. After
various rebuilds, in 1821–23, new organ by Johann Friedrich Schulze using the original
case. 1959, new organ by Schuke Orgelbau (Potsdam) according to Bach’s disposition of
1708 but enlarged by five stops to III/42.
Dispositions 1707 (II/29) and 1708 (III/37)

In 1707 As rebuilt in 1708 In 1707 As rebuilt in 1708
Ober- and
Hauptwerk (II) Hauptwerk (II) — Brustwerk (III)
Quintatön 16' Quintatön 16' — Stillgedackt 8'
Principal 8' Principal 8' — Flöte 4'
Gemßhorn 8' Violdigamba 8' — Quinte 3'
Oktave 4' Oktave 4' — Principal 2'
Gedackt 4' Gedackt 4' — Terz 13/5'
Quinte 3' Quinte 3' — Mixtur III s
Sesquialtera II Sesquialtera II — Schallmey 8' n
Mühlhausen 71 jp

In 1707 As rebuilt in 1708 In 1707 As rebuilt in 1708
Ober- and
Hauptwerk (II) Hauptwerk (II) — Brustwerk (III)
Oktave 2' Oktave 2'
Mixtur IV Mixtur IV
Cymbel II Cymbel II
Trompette 16' Fagotto 16', C-c1
Rückpositiv (I) Rückpositiv (I) Pedal Pedal

Gedackt 8' Gedackt 8' — Untersatz 32'
Quintatön 8' Quintatön 8' Principal 16' Principal 16'
Principal 4' Principal 4' Subbaß 16' Subbaß 16'
Salicional 4' Salicioanl 4' Oktave 8' Oktave 8'
Quintflöte 4' Quintflöte 4' Oktave 4' Oktave 4'
Sesquialtera II Sesquialtera II Rohrflötenbaß 1' Rohrflötenbaß 1'
Oktave 2' Oktave 2' Mixtur IV Mixtur IV
Spitzflöte 2' Spitzflöte 2' Posaunbaß 16' Posaunbaß 16'
Cymbel III Cymbel III Trompete 8' Trompete 8'
Cornetbaß 2' Cornetbaß 2'
Particulars: Italic = Bach’s modifications. Also at his suggestion, new shallots and
tongues for the Pedal Posaune 16'.
Accessories: tremulants to all three keyboards; cymbelstern with twelve bells (c, e, g,
c); drum; bellows signal.
Couplers: Bw/Hw; Rp/Hw; Hw/Ped.
Compass: CD–d3 (manuals); CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four bellows to the manuals, two bellows to the pedal [three additional
bellows].
Pitch: Chorton.
Temperament: well-tempered (according to Ratte and Rathey).
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 260–61; Thiele 1927/28, 142–52; Schrammek 1983a,
18–21; Ratte 2000, 510; Rathey 2001, 163–71. (b) NBR, no. 31, BDOK I, no. 83; Dok II,
no. 21; see St. Mary’s Church.
“Brückenhof” Church/Brückenhofkirche (former St. Mary Magdalene’s

Church of the Augustinian Convent)
One-aisled monastery church of the order of the Penitence of Holy Mary Magdalene,
thirteenth century; after introduction of the Reformation, used as parish church and
known as the “Brückenhof” Church. 1680, renovation of the church building, which
was damaged by fires in 1689 and 1707. 1843, church closed; 1884, church torn down.
Organ: 1702, new organ (I/7) by Johann Friedrich Wender; 1727, repairs by Wender.
s 1760–61, repairs by Johann Christoph Wilhelmi; further repairs into the nineteenth
n century. 1843, organ moved to All Saints; pitch was changed to Chorton from “between

34. Mühlhausen,
St. Blasius’s Church:
Schulze organ in historical
case without Rückpositiv
35. Mühlhausen, St. Blasius’s Church: Disposition for new organ, 1708. On the left, J. S. Bach’s n
handwriting; in the concluding paragraph, J. F. Wender’s quotation in the amount of 250 talers.
On the right, comments of the city council after Wender’s hearing on February 22, 1708. jp

Chor- and Kammerton” (Ernst 1987) by organ builder Johann Friedrich Große. 1917,
sacrifice of the facade pipes. After secularization of All Saints (now an exhibition hall) in
1920, the organ—only case, action, wind chests, and rollerboard were preserved—even-
tually came to the St. George’s Church (essentially a Romanesque hall church, altered
frequently and enlarged in 1713) in Dörna, where Johann Friedrich Wender had been
baptized. 1994–2001, restoration by Kristian Wegscheider of what parts survived; he
built new pipework using the old scalings.
Disposition 1848–2000 (I/7)

1848 2000
Manual Manual
Gedackt 8' Gedackt 8'
Principal 4' Principal 4'
Flöte 4' (conical, wood) Spitzflöte 4' (metal)
Hohlflöte 8' Quinta 22/3'
Octave 2' Octave 2'
Mixtur III 1' Mixtur III 1'
Pedal Pedal
Subbaß 16' Subbaß 16'
Particulars: In the 1848 disposition, Flöte 4' was added ca. 1781 and the Hohlflöte 8'
replaced Quinte 3'. In the 2000 disposition, scalings were reconstructed from Wender’s
scale indications on the underside of the toeboards.
Compass: CD–c3 (manual); CD–c1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Sommer 1882; Ernst 1987; communications from Kristian Weg-
scheider, 2005. (b) See St. Mary’s Church.
Naumburg
At the request of the city council, the new Hildebrandt organ was to be inspected in Sep-
tember 1746 “by two well-known capable masters of their craft and experts in the field.”
Accordingly, “the kapellmeister from Leipzig, Mr. Bach, a highly qualified organist, and
Mr. Silbermann of Dresden, an organ builder well known in his field, were selected”
(BDOK II, no. 546). They submitted their report to the city council on September 27, af-
firming that they had “examined and carefully gone through the entire organ part by part”
(BDOK II, no. 547). Bach’s student and future son-in-law, Johann Christoph Altnickol,
took over the post of Naumburg city organist in September 1748; he held the position
until his early death in 1759.
s
n

36. Mühlhausen, “Brückenhof” Church: Wender organ
now in St. George’s Church, Dörna (photograph, 2006)
City Church of St. Wenceslas/Stadtkirche St. Wenzel

Late-Gothic hall church, erected 1426–46 to replace an older parish church (Stadtkirche).
1534–35, addition of student balconies; 1724, decoration of interior in Baroque style and
addition of a Spiegeldecke (a ceiling with a flat middle section). 1945, war damage on the
north and west sides.
Organ: 1613, new organ (II/38) by Joachim Zschugk placed on north side of the choir.
Ca. 1650, organ tuned by Ludwig Compenius to a pitch that was “choir-appropriate”
(chormäßig); in 1662 he provided a third manual keyboard. 1695–1705, organ moved to
the west end, placed in a new case with ornate carvings by Johann Goericke, and enlarged s
n
Mühlhausen • Naumburg 75 jp

to III/45 by Zacharias Thayßner. 1743–46, new organ by Zacharias Hildebrandt; old case
retained. Various changes in nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 1993–2000, thorough
restoration by Eule Orgelbau, returning the organ to its 1746 condition.
Disposition 1746/2000 (III/53)

Hauptwerk (II) Rückpositiv (I) Oberwerk (III) Pedal
Principal 16' (o) Principal 8' (o) Bordun 16' (r) Principal 16' (o)
Quintathen 16' (o) Quintadehn 8' (o) Principal 8' (o) Violon 16' (o)
Octava 8' (o) Rohr Floete 8' (o) Hollflött 8' (o) Subbaß 16' (o)
Spitzflöte 8' (o) Viol di Gamba 8' (o) Unda maris 8' (r) Octav 8' (o)
Gedackt 8' (o) Praestanta 4' (o) Prestant 4' (o) Violon 8' (o)
Octav 4' (o) Vagara 4' (o) Gemshorn 4' (+) Octav 4' (o)
Spitzflöte 4' (r) Rohrflött 4' (o) Quinta 3' (o) Octava 2' (r)
Sesquialtera II (r) Nassat 3' (r) Octav 2' (o) Mixtur VII (r)
Quinta 3' (o) Octava 2' (r) Tertia 13/5' (r) Posaune 32' (r)
Weit Pfeiffe 2' (o) Rausch Pfeiffe II (r) Waldflöt 2' (r) Posaune 16' (r)
Octav 2' (o) Mixtur V (r) Quinta 1½' (r) Trompet-Bass 8' (r)
Cornett IV (r) Fagott 16' (r) Sif-Floete 1' (r) Clarin-Bass 4' (r)
Mixtur VIII (r) Scharff V (r)
Bombart 16' (r) Vox humana 8' (r)
Trompet 8' (r)
Particulars: (o) = register with more than 50 percent material from Hildebrandt;
(r) = register reconstructed completely by Eule; (+) old pipework, but not from Hildeb-
randt. Although there is a stopknob for Pedal Untersatz 32', it nevertheless was not built
by Hildebrandt, because there was not enough room in the Thayßner case, which he
retained.
Accessories: tremulant; cymbelstern; bellows signal; Ow tremulant [for Vox humana];
cut-off valve for each division.
Couplers: shove coupler, Rp/Hw; shove coupler, Ow/Hw; wind coupler, Hw/Ped.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals); CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply 1746/2000: seven bellows.
Wind pressure (1746): 36˚ (manuals), 40˚ (pedal).
Wind pressure (2000): 74 mm WC (manuals), 78 mm WC (pedal).
Pitch (2000): Chorton (464 Hz).
Temperament (2000): Neidhardt I (1724).
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 263–64; Dähnert 1962, 189–200; Reichling 2000; Werner
2000, 396–402; Schrammek 2001, 27–30. (b) NBR, no. 235, BDOK I, no. 90; BDOK II,
nos. 546–51; (b) Wolff 2000, 143–44, 208, 421, 533.
s
n

37. Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s Church: Hildebrandt organ (photograph, 2006)
s
n
jp

Ohrdruf
After the death of his father in 1695 (his mother had died the previous year), Johann
Sebastian Bach moved at the age of ten to live with his older brother and guardian Johann
Christoph Bach, transferring from the Latin School in Eisenach to the Lyceum in Ohrdruf.
Johann Christoph had worked at St. Michael’s Church in Ohrdruf since 1690, serving as
city and court organist and also, from 1700, as preceptor of the fifth (and second-lowest)
class of the Lyceum (even though he did not finish Latin school). According to the obitu-
ary, young Johann Sebastian “laid the foundations for playing the clavier” (NBR, no. 306;
BDOK III, no. 666) under Johann Christoph’s guidance and at the same time came to know
the various organs in Ohrdruf. At that time Georg Christoph Stertzing, who began building
the large new organ for the St. George’s Church in Eisenach in 1696, still had his workshop
in Ohrdruf. Bach’s connections to Stertzing and his son are documented into the 1730s.
Upon Johann Christoph’s death in 1721, the position of city organist and cantor in
Ohrdruf fell to Christoph’s son Johann Bernhard, who had studied with his uncle Johann
Sebastian. In that position, which he held until his death in 1743, Johann Bernhard was
responsible for both St. Michael’s and Trinity Church. After 1742 his brother Johann An-
dreas played for him at Trinity. From 1744 to 1779, Johann Andreas was at St. Michael’s, as
well; Heinrich Zacharias Frischmuth succeeded Johann Andreas at Trinity, serving there
from 1744 to 1774. Johann Andreas Bach was the owner of two handwritten anthologies
of organ music by various masters compiled by Johann Christoph Bach around 1700,
anthologies that also contain early autographs of Johann Sebastian Bach: the so-called
Andreas Bach Book (Leipzig, Musikbibliothek, Becker collection III.8.4) and the so-called
Möller Manuscript (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, Mus. ms. 40644).

Late-Gothic hall church, completed 1412; it succeeded a St. Michael’s chapel that had
been erected ca. 724–25 by St. Boniface when he established the Benedictine order in
Thuringia. 1753, church destroyed by fire; 1760, new building; 1808, building (again)
fell victim to fire. New building completed 1823, but destroyed (except for the tower)
during World War II (1945).
Organ: 1683, Heinrich Brunner repaired a positive to which he later added a pedal
division; the positive was moved to the newly built Trinity Church in 1714. The new organ
(II/19) begun in 1679 by Kaspar Lehmann remained unfinished after the builder died.
1688–90, renovation and enlargement by Heinrich Brunner, likewise never completed.
In 1693, at J. C. Bach’s request, his teacher Johann Pachelbel evaluated the organ’s de-
ficiencies (see Schulze 1984, plates 1/2, for a facsimile of his report), which were never
completely remedied during Bach’s tenure. The organ was destroyed during the fire
s
of 1753. 1758–60, new three-manual organ by Johann Stephan Schmaltz according to
n

plans of Johann Andreas Bach. Johann Peter Kellner, of Gräfenroda, served as consultant
and praised the instrument, noting especially: “Oboe d’amore 8' is an entirely new and
especially beautiful stop, one I have found in no other organ, and its inventor, Bach, and
its maker, Schmaltz, are to be praised on account of it.”

Quintadena 16' Stillgedackt 8' Principal 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Subbaß 16'
Grob Gedackt 8' Flöte 2' Oktav 8'
Oktave 4' Nassat 3' Mixtur III 4'
Quinta 3' Sesquialtera II Fagotto 16'
Klein Oktave 2' Oktave 1' Cornetto 2'
Mixtur IV 2'
Cymbel II 1'
Trompeta 8'

Archival Source: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Gotha, Gemeinschaftliches Hohenlo-
hisches Archiv, no. 2702.
Literature: (a) Lux 1926, 145–55; Oertel 1950, 7–10; Schulze 1984, 189–90; Dehio
2003, 938; Harder 2005, 154–61. (b) BDOK II, no. 4; NBR, no. 306, BDOK III, no. 666;
Wolff 2000, 35–51 and elsewhere.
Trinity Church/Trinitatiskirche
Baroque hall church, erected 1709–14, with two tiers of galleries on three sides; also used
as burial site and referred to as “Burial Church.”
Organ: 1714, positive (I/5) from Ohrdruf’s St. Michael’s Church was set up (it had been
repaired by Heinrich Brunner in 1679 and had later acquired a pedal division). Johann
Christoph Bach played the dedication on June 17, 1714. 1745–47, new organ by Johann
Stephan Schmaltz according to plans of Johann Andreas Bach; dedicated on June 27, 1747,
with a cantata composed by J. A. Bach. 1814, new organ (II/34) by Georg Franz Ratzmann;
rebuilt 1886. 1992, organ returned to its 1814 condition by Förster & Nicolaus. Nothing

Manual Pedal
Principal 8' Grob Gedackt 16'
Klein Gedackt 4'
Flöte 2'
Cymbel s
n
Ohrdruf 79 jp

Compass: CDEFGAB–c3 (manual)
Archival Source: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Gotha, Gemeinschaftliches Hohenlo-
hisches Archiv, no. 2689.
Literature: (a) Haupt 1998, 88; Dehio 2003, 938. (b) See St. Michael’s Church.
Castle Chapel/Schlosskapelle
A chapel in the four-winged Renaissance Ehrenstein Castle, in use from 1665 to 1775
by the counts of Hohenlohe-Oehringen as their secondary residence. 1775, dissolution
of the Castle Chapel. Dramatically changed, the building is used partially as a museum.
Organ: No information is preserved.
Literature: (a) Lehfeldt 1898, 85; Dehio 2003, 939–40.
Potsdam
According to Johann Nicolaus Forkel, during his trip to Potsdam and Berlin in 1747 Jo-
hann Sebastian Bach was shown all of the organs in Potsdam—instruments built by the
Silbermann student Joachim Wagner, whom Bach apparently knew. Wilhelm Friedemann
Bach accompanied his father on the trip and Forkel’s report is based on Friedemann’s
recollection of the event. The Berlin newspapers of May 11, 1747, noted of Bach’s visit
simply that “On Monday, the famous man let himself be heard on the organ in the Church
of the Holy Spirit at Potsdam and earned general acclaim from the listeners attending
in great number” (NBR, no. 239; BDOK II, no. 554). It is not known whether Frederick
the Great, whose chamber-music gathering Bach had attended the previous evening, was
among the listeners. It is unlikely.
Garrison Church/Garnisonkirche
Built 1720–22, the church had to be torn down in 1730 because the foundation was sinking.
(The organ [II/25] built in 1723 by Joachim Wagner was given by King Friedrich Wilhelm I
to the Jerusalem Church in Berlin, where it remained until 1878.) 1731–32, new Garrison
Church designed by Philipp Gerlach. The most important sacred building in Prussian
Baroque architecture, and used as a “preaching church” by both Lutheran and Reformed
congregations, it was a galleried, rectangular room with the pulpit located in the middle
of the long side. Bombed April 1945; ruins dynamited in 1968.
Organ: 1732, new organ by Joachim Wagner; changes in the eighteenth and nineteenth
centuries. 1898, new organ (III/46) by Wilhelm Sauer using twenty-one stops from the
Wagner organ and the original facade. Destroyed April 1945.
s
n

Hauptwerk (II) Unterwerk (I) Oberwerk (III) Pedal
Bordun 16' Gedackt 8' Quintadehna 16' Principal 16'
Principal 8' Quintadena 8' Principal 8' Violon 16'
Rohrflöte 8' Rohrflöte 4' Salicional 8' Octave 8'
Octave 4' Nassat 3' Gedackt 8' Quinte 6'
Flauto traverso 4' Octave 2' Octave 4' Octave 4'
Quinte 3' Terz 13/5' Fugara 4' Mixtur VI
Octave 2' Sifflöte 1' Quinte 3' Posaune 16'
Cornet V Cimbel III Octav 2' Trompete 8'
Scharff V Vox humana 8' Waldflöte 2' Clairon 4'
Cimbel III Quinta 1½' Carillon
Fagott 16' Mixtur IV
Trompet 8' Hautbois 8'
Accessories: tremulant; cut-off valve for each division; tremulant for the Vox humana
8' (Uw); drawknob for fanfaring angels; drawknob for drumming angels; cymbelstern
(Sonnenzug); bellows signal.
Compass: CDE–c3 (manuals); CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: six large bellows.
Literature: (a) SeN, 78; Mundt 1925/26, 275–76; Thom 1990, 8–9; Kitschke 1993,
212–18; Schaefer 1994, 162; Dehio 2000b, 782–83. (b) NBR, no. 239, BDOK II, no. 554;
Wolff 2000, 208, 425–28, 446, 533.
Holy Ghost Church/Heiliggeistkirche

Built 1725–26 to serve both Lutheran and Reformed congregations; destroyed in April 1945.
Organ: 1730, new organ by Joachim Wagner. 1859, new organ (II/22) by Carl Ludwig
Gesell and Carl Schulz. Destroyed April 1945.
Disposition 1730 (II/18 plus four transmissions)

Bordun 16' Quintadöne 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' Gedackt 8' (T) Posaune 16'
Gedackt 8' (T) Octave 4' (T) Trompete 8'
Octave 4' (T) Flöte 4'
Quinte 3' Nassat 3'
Octave 2' (T) Octave 2' (T)
Cornett III Quinte 1½'
Scharff V Cimbel III (T)
Cimbel III (T) Vox humana 8'
Trompete 8'
s
n
Ohrdruf • Potsdam 81 jp

38. Potsdam, Garrison Church:
Wagner organ above the pulpit altar
(photograph, between ca. 1928 and
1944)
Particulars: Apparently keyboard was at the side, with the facade over the balustrade
of the second balcony. Inscription in the pedal chest (discovered in 1859 by Carl Ludwig
Gesell and Carl Schultz): “His Royal Majesty in Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm, had the organ
in this church built by the organ builder Wagner in 1730; also the church was built 3 years
previously.” (Cited in Kitschke 1993, 210.)
Inscription in the manual chest: “This church, which was previously a government
building, was built several years ago, after which His Royal Majesty also gave this organ,
which was built in 1730 by the organ builder Joachim Wagner of Berlin, and is the 5th
instrument made by him after his new invention.” (Cited in Kitschke 1993, 210.)
Literature: (a) Wagener 1863/64, 2; Albrecht 1938; Kitschke 1993, 210. (b) NBR, no.
239, BDOK II, no. 554; see Garrison Church.
s For St. Nicholas’s Church/Nikolaikirche, see Reference Organs.
n

Sangerhausen
In the fall of 1702, after finishing his Latin school education in Lüneburg, Johann Se-
bastian Bach applied for the position of city organist at St. Jacobi Church, a post that had
become vacant upon the death in that year of Gottfried Christoph Gräffenhayn. Bach
was chosen by the city council after a successful audition, but he was not hired due to
the intervention of Johann Georg, Duke of Weißenfels. The position went instead to
Johann Augustin Kobelius, who also served as music director (from 1703 onward) until
his resignation in 1725; his successor, Johann Friedrich Rahm, served until 1736.
Bach retained his connections with Sangerhausen. He was apparently consulted in
1726–28 during the project to build a new organ, and in 1737 he corresponded with the
mayor of the city regarding the vacant organist position. Bach’s third son, Johann Gott-
fried Bernhard, competed successfully for the position and was appointed by city council
on January 14, 1737. He resigned from the position in 1738, scarcely two years later. (In
Mühlhausen, too, Gottfried Bernhard had resigned from the position at St. Mary’s Church
after just two years of service.) He left Sangerhausen for parts unknown without notice
to his superiors and leaving debts behind—to the great sorrow of his father. Gottfried
Bernhard died in 1739 in Jena, where he had begun to study law at the university.
St. Jacobi Church/Jacobikirche

Three-aisled late-Gothic hall church completed in 1502. Interior newly decorated ca.
1665 in Baroque style, using in part items from the Augustine Eremite monastery; sur-
rounding wooden galleries are from the early seventeenth century.
Organ: Built 1603 by Ezechiel Greutzscher in an existing case; 1697, brought into
good order by Heinrich Brunner at request of continuo organist Gottfried Christoph
Gräffenhayn. 1726–28, new organ by Zacharias Hildebrandt; case carvings by Valentin
Schwarzenberger. It is likely that Bach was involved in planning the disposition. Organ
was examined at the end of May 1728 and dedicated on June 1. Changes and rebuilds in
the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 1976–78, thorough restoration by Eule Orgelbau,
recovering the disposition of 1728 and adding three additional pedal stops.

Rückpositiv [I] Oberwerk [II] Brustwerk [II] Pedal
Principal 4' Grob Quintadena Regal Grob Quintadena
16' [T?] 16' [T?]
Quintadehn Baß 4' Grob gedackter Octava Subbaß 16' [T?]
Unterbaß 16' [T?]
Hoelflöten 2' Grob Principal 8' Rauschpfeiffen Grob Posaunen
gedoppelt [II] Baß [16']
Kleine octava 1' Grobe Octava 4' Flöten Baß s
gedeckt [8'?]
n
Potsdam • Sangerhausen 83 jp

39. Sangerhausen, St. Jacobi Church: Hildebrandt organ (photograph, 2007)
s
n
jp

Rückpositiv [I] Oberwerk [II] Brustwerk [II] Pedal
Kleine Quinta 11/3' Grob Gedacktes 4' Quinten Baß
Zimbeln doppelt [II] Grobe Quinta 3' Corneten Baß
Stimme Dulcian Super Octava 2'
Arth [Dulcian-like
stop] [8'?]
Mixtur VIII
Zimbeln III
Zincken 8'
Particulars: The Subbaß (Unterbaß) was made of metal. Regarding the Grob Quinta-
dehna 16': “Like the Subbaß, playable both in the manual and the pedal, with two separate
registers [stopknobs].”
Accessories: tremulant to each division.
Coupler: Rp/Ped.
Compass: CDE–c3 (manuals), CDE–f1 or d1 (pedal).

Hauptwerk (I) Brustwerk (II) Pedalwerk
Bordun 16' Still Gedackt 8' Prinzipalbaß 16'
Prinzipal 8' Rohrflöte 8' Subbaß 16'
Gedact 8' Violdigamba 8' Oktavenbaß 8'
Quintadena 8' Prinzipal 4' Posaunenbaß 16'
Oktave 4' Rohrflöte 4'
Spitzflöte 4' Nassat 3'
Quinta 3' Octava 2'
Octava 2' Quinta 1½'
Mixtur V Siflet 1'
Cimbeln III Cimbeln III
Cornet IV
Trompete 8'
Vox humana 8'
Particulars: Subbaß 16' was taken over from the previous organ. Gedacktbaß 8', Cho-
ralbaß 4', and Rauschbaß IV were added to the Pedal in 1978.
Accessories: Bw tremulant; tremulant for use with the Vox humana 8'.
Coupler: Bw/Hw.
Compass (1728): CD–c3 (manuals), CD–c1 (pedal).
Compass (1978): CD–d3 (manuals), CD–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four wedge bellows.
Wind pressure (1978): 76 mm WC.
Pitch (1728): Chorton.
Pitch (1978): a1 = 440 Hz at 18˚ C. s
n
Sangerhausen 85 jp

Temperament: Equal temperament (1978).
Literature: (a) Schmidt 1882, 61–67; Dähnert 1962, 169–81; Schrammek 1983a,
60–63; Dehio 1999a, 471–72. (b) NBR, no. 203, BDOK I, no. 42; BDOK II, nos. 395–96;
Wolff 2000, 67–68, 399, 532, and elsewhere; Wolff 2005, xix.
Stöntzsch (Pegau)/Hohnstein (Saxon Switzerland)

On November 2, 1731, while the organ was being enlarged, Johann Sebastian Bach came
to Stöntzsch to evaluate the work. A contemporary report in the church archive notes that
at the time “only 6 registers or stops [were] finished as well as 2 bellows.” On February
4, 1732, the completed organ was “once again looked at and tested by Mr. Kapellmeister
Bach and afterward fully paid” (BDOK II, no. 298).
Church
Built 1722, replacing an older church from ca. 1000. To benefit brown-coal strip mining,
the church was torn down in 1965; village of Stöntzsch razed.
Organ: 1677–78, new organ (I/5) by Georg Oehme (disposition: Grobgedackt 8', Offene
Flöte 4', Principal 2', Mixtur 1½', Dulcian Regal 8', “revolving Cymbel” [= cymbelstern]).
1728–32, enlargement by Johann Christoph Schmieder with counsel from Johann Sebas-
tian Bach; organ moved to the west balcony. 1935, restorative overhaul by Eule Orgelbau.
As a result of the town being razed, the organ was dismantled in 1964 by Eule Orgelbau
and moved to Hohnstein.
Disposition ca. 1730 (I/9)

Manual Pedal
Quintadena 8' Sup Bass 16' (wood)
Grob gedackt 8' Principalbass 8' (wood)
Principal 4'
Klein gedackt 4'
Quinta 3'
Octave 2'
Mixtur III
Particulars: “The Principal is to be placed in the facade in three towers. Keyboard

at the front of the organ. Two strong bellows, of good wood and leather, and otherwise
well protected, the wind chests, actions and case (Structuren), and other work built in a
proper and durable manner according to accepted organ building standards, with some
carvings and paintings in front in the facade. On account of the lack of room, the pipework
to be placed as close together and the case narrowed as much as I can allow it without any
s damage to the organ (Schmieder manuscript, ca. 1730).”
n

40. Stöntzsch, church:
Oehme/Schmieder organ now
in the church in Hohnstein
(photograph, 1968)
Hohnstein Church/Kirche Hohnstein

Built 1725–26, hall church with tower (using stones from the enclosure wall of an earlier
structure that burned in 1724), designed by George Bähr, architect in Dresden. Surround-
ing galleries, organ placed above the altar in the choir.
Organ: 1967, Schmieder organ from Stöntzsch (with altered disposition) installed by
Eule Orgelbau.

Manual Pedal
Spitzprinzipal 8' [1967] Subbaß 16' [1732?]
Rohrflöte 8' [1935] Principal 8' [1860] s
n
Sangerhausen • Stöntzsch 87 jp

Manual Pedal
Praestant 4' [1935] Singend Cornet 4' [1967]
Gedeckt 4' [1860] Rauschpfeife V 4' [1967]
Nasard 22/3' [1935] Liebliche Posaune 16' [1935]
Octava 2' [1732]
Tertia 13/5' [1935]
Mixtur IV 11/3' [partially 1967]
Trompete 8' [1967]

Compass: CD–c3 (manual), CD–c1 (pedal); C ♯ added to manual and pedal in 1935.
Wind supply: two bellows (reconstructed 1935).
Wind pressure: 68 mm WC (1935).
Archival Source: Archiv der Superintendentur Borna, no. 5.722, fol. 5 (disposition,
ca. 1730).
Literature: (a) David 1951, 101; Dähnert 1980, 156–58; Schrammek 1983a, 42–45.
(b) BDOK II, no. 298.
Störmthal
Bach undertook the examination of the new Hildebrandt organ in Störmthal on Novem-
ber 2, 1723, during his first year in Leipzig, at the invitation of Störmthal’s patron, Statz
Hilmor von Fullen. According to the report, Bach acknowledged and commended the
instrument’s “soundness and reliability” (BDOK II, no. 163). The organ was dedicated
with the performance of the cantata “Höchsterwünschtes Freudenfest,” BWV 194, which
was heard in two parts, before and after the sermon.
Church
Late-Gothic hall church, completely renovated and rebuilt in 1722, with surrounding
galleries; chancel altar in choir. Original condition is almost fully preserved.
Organ: Newly built (I/8) in 1702 as a gift of the patron, von Fullen, who also paid for
construction of the gallery for the organ and choir. 1722–23, new organ by Zacharias
Hildebrandt, likewise a gift of von Fullen. 1723, painting of the interior and the organ
case; 1748, repairs by Hildebrandt. Minor changes in nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
1917, organ brought into playing condition by Eule Orgelbau; facade pipes that had been
sacrificed for the war effort were replaced and pitch was lowered to A = 440 by shifting
the trackers. 1974, repairs by Eule-Orgelbau. 2000, case painted in its original colors.
2008, restoration by Eule-Orgelbau.
s
n

41. Störmthal, church:
Hildebrandt organ (photograph,
2000)
42. Störmthal: Title page of

the cantata text for the organ
s
dedication (BWV 194)
n
jp

Manual Pedal
Principal 8' Octava 2' Subbaß 16'
Quintadena 8' Tertia 13/5' Posaune 16'
Grobgedackt 8' Quinta 1½'
Praestant 4' Sufflöt 1'
Rohrflöte 4' Mixtur III 11/3'
Nasat 3' Cornet III
Particulars: The Cornett III (from c1) was added at the request of chamberlain von
Fullen. The 2008 restoration included removing a Principalbaß 8' that had been added to
the organ by Urban Kreutzbach in 1840, building a new Posaune 16' according to historical
models, and restoring the organ’s pitch and temperament.
Accessories: tremulant (reconstructed 2008).
Compass: CD–c3 (manual), CD–c1 (pedal).
Pitch (2008): Low Chorton, a1 = ca. 462 Hz.
Temperament: Silbermann 1/6 comma.
Literature: (a) Dähnert 1962, 158–64; Barth 1974, 22; Dähnert 1980, 258–59; Dehio
1996b, 364; www.euleorgelbau.de, accessed January 1, 2010. (b) BDOK II, nos. 163 and
164.
Taubach (Weimar-Taubach)
On October 26, 1710, the Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, Johann Sebastian Bach went
to Taubach (now a part of Weimar) to evaluate and dedicate the organ.
St. Ursula’s Church/Kirche St. Ursula

Built 1704–5, retaining the choir tower from the fifteenth century; 1849–50, demolition
of the church; new church designed by Clemens Wenzeslaus Coudray.
Organ: 1709–10, new organ by Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs; demolished in 1848.
For Bach’s examination report, see Part II.A.

Werk Pedal
Gedackt 8', metal Sup Baß 16', wood
Quintathön 8', ½ metal, ½ wood Principal Baß 8', wood
Principal 4', of good tin Wald Flöth 2', metal
s
Quinta 3', metal
n

Octava 2', metal
Tritonus 13/5', metal
Superoctav 1', metal
Mixtur III, metal
Accessories: cymbelstern, tremulant.

Wind supply: two bellows (9' x 4½').
Literature: (a) Dehio 2003, 1212; Lehfeldt 1893. (b) NBR, no. 42, BDOK I, no. 84;
BDOK II, nos. 50, 50a.
Weimar
In July 1708, Johann Sebastian Bach assumed the position of court organist and chamber
musician at the court of Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar; in the spring of 1714 he assumed
the post of concertmaster, as well. The majority of Bach’s organ works stem from the
Weimar years. Bach’s predecessor was Johann Effler, who held the position from 1678 to
1708 and, until the positions were divided in 1684, served at the same time as city organist.
Bach’s successors were his two earliest students, Johann Martin Schubart (1717–21) and
Johann Caspar Vogler (1721–63).
Johann Gottfried Walther, a distant relative, was organist from 1708 to 1748 of the
City Church of St. Peter and Paul’s, where Bach’s children born in Weimar were baptized.
(Walther’s predecessor was Samuel Heintze [1692–1707], his successor Johann Samuel
Maul [1748–1802].) On November 27, 1713, Walther stood as godparent at the baptism of
the organ builder Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs’s son. The court’s church services were held
from time to time in the City Church, especially at high feasts. At such times, Bach would
have had opportunity to play the organ. The organist at the St. Jacob’s Church from 1713
to 1765 was Philipp Samuel Alt, who also was a bass in the court kapelle.
Built 1651–54 as part of Wilhelmsburg Palace; interior decoration completed by 1658 was
designed by Johann Moritz Richter Sr., who also designed the palace church in Weißen-
fels. The church—named Weg zur Himmelsburg (The Path to Heaven’s Castle)—fell prey
to flames when the palace burned in 1774.
Organ: In 1657, Duke Wilhelm IV of Saxe-Weimar inherited the old organ from Erfurt’s
Church of the Barefoot Friars (Barfüßerkirche) and contracted with Ludwig Compenius to
erect the organ in its own space above the altar in the new palace church. The one-manual
instrument was heard for the first time at the dedication of the renovated church on May
28, 1658 (its Oberwerk remained essentially unchanged until 1774). Several months later
Compenius was contracted to build a second division, a Seitenwerk, which was completed s
December 18, 1658 (II/20; organ inspection by Adam Drese, court organist and kapell- n
Störmthal • Taubach • Weimar 91 jp

43. Weimar, Palace Church:
Interior with Compenius
organ (gouache by Christian
Richter, ca. 1660)
meister). 1707–8, Johann Conrad Weißhaupt built new bellows, new wind chests, and
new Pedal stops, and integrated the Seitenpositiv into the organ as Unterwerk. 1712–14, at
Bach’s request, Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs enlarged the bellows, improved the wind chests,
and added new stops. 1719–20 and 1734–38, repairs and/or renovations by Heinrich
Nicolaus Trebs. 1756, demolition of the organ because of structural problems with the
balcony. The replacement instrument (II/24) was destroyed in the palace fire of 1774.
Disposition 1658 (II/20) according to Schrammek (1988)

Seitenpositiv Oberwerk Pedal
Grobgedackt, narrow-
scaled [stiller Mensur] 8' Quintadena 16' Gedackter SubBass 16'
s Quintadehna 8' Principal 8' Posaunen Bass 16'
n Spielpfeife 4' Gedackt 8' Fagott-Bass 16'

Sesquialtera Gemßhorn 8'
Spitzflöthe 2' Octava 4'
Krumbhorn 8' Klein gedackt 4'
Trommet 8' Mixtur
Schallmeyen 4' Cymbel
Glockenspiel
Disposition 1737 (II/24) according to Wette

Im Unter-Clavier [I] Im Ober-Clavier [II] Im Pedal
Principal 8' Quintathön 16' Groß-Untersatz 32'
Gedackt 8' Principal 8' Sub-Bass 16'
Violdigamba 8' Gemshorn 8' Violon-Bass 16'
Kleingedackt 4' Gedackt 8' Principal Bass 8'
Octava 4' Octava 4' Posaun-Bass 16'
Waldflöt 2' Quintathön 4' Trompetten-Bass 8'
Sesquialtera IV Mixtur VI Cornett-Bass 4'
Trompette 8' Cymbel III
Glockenspiel
Particulars: According to the Dresden Ms., Principals 8', tin; Untersatz 32', Sub-Bass
16', and Violon-Bass 16', wood; Posaun-Bass 16', wooden resonators; rest of the stops,
metal. Sesquialtera IV “in octaves 22/3' and 13/5'.”
According to Schrammek (1985, 1988), the Untersatz 32' may already have been added
during the 1707–8 rebuild.
Accessories: Ow and Uw tremulants; cymbelstern.
Coupler: manual coupler; pedal coupler (Ow/Ped).
Compass (after 1708): CD–c3 (manuals), C–e1 (pedal).
Wind supply (1708): eight large bellows.
Pitch: Chorton.
Positive
In 1658, the duke contracted Samuel Bidermann to build a positive for the palace church.
It apparently stood behind the altar in the first balcony and was later maintained by Ludwig
Compenius and then, from 1712, by court organ builder Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs. The
instrument was destroyed, at the latest, by the palace fire of 1774.

Manual
Koppel 8', wood
Prinzipal 4', tin
Superoktave 2', tin
Quint [1½'], tin s
Cimbel III, tin n
Weimar 93 jp

Compass: CDEFGA–c3.
Archival Sources: Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Weimar, B 4367a and B 4351.
Literature: (a) Wette 1737, 174–76; Adlung 1768, 282; Lehfeldt 1893, 373–74; Löffler
1926, 156–58; Smets 1931, 70; Jauernig 1950, 49–105; Schrammek 1988, 99–111. (b)
Wolff 2000, 66–69, 117–86, 483, 526–27, and elsewhere.
City Church of St. Peter and Paul’s (Herder Church)/

Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul (Herderkirche)
1498–1500, late-Gothic hall church with recessed choir; interior decorated by Johann
Adolf Richter in Baroque style in 1726–35, including, among other things, addition of
two-tiered galleries above the side aisles.
Organ: 1683, new organ by Johann Bernhardt Rücker. According to the Dresden Ms.,
however, at the examination Rücker’s work “was found to be bad, and because he was not
capable of remedying the shortcomings, he therefore fled by night” (Smets 1931, 70).
1685, new organ (II/25) by Christoph Junge using parts from the older organ. 1810–12,
new organ (III/44) by Johann Gottlob Trampeli, completed by his nephew Friedrich
Wilhelm Trampeli. 2000, new organ (III/53) in partially reconstructed Trampeli case
by W. Sauer Orgelbau Müllrose. Nothing from Bach’s time survives.

Rück Positiv (I) Oberwerk (II) Pedal
Grobgedackt 8' Quintadehna 16' Sub-Baß 16'
Quintadena 8' Principal 8' Posaunen 16'
Principal 4' Grobgedackt 8' Trompet-Baß 8'
Klein Gedackt 4' Gemßhorn 8' Cornet-Baß 2'
Spill-Flöten 4' Viol di Gamba 8'
Viol di Gamba 4' Octava 4'
Sesquialtera II Quinta 3'
Octava 2' Octava 2'
Sifflöth 1' Mixtur IV
Cymbel Mixtur III Cymbel III
Trompeta 8'
Particulars: reed resonators (with the exception of the Pedal Posaune) of tin-plated
sheet metal.
Accessories: cymbelstern in Rp; Ow tremulant; Rp tremulant.
Couplers: Rp/Ow; Ow/Ped; Rp/Ped.
s Wind supply: six bellows.
n

Archival Sources: (A) Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Weimar, B 4342 and B 4351.
Literature: (a) Lehfeldt 1893, 333–36; Smets 1931, 70; Dehio 2003, 1315–16. (b) BDOK
II, nos. 54, 56; see Weimar Palace Church.
St. Jacob’s Church/Jacobskirche

1712–13, new Baroque hall church built using parts of the older structure from the twelfth
century; interior with three tiers of galleries on three sides. As court musician, Bach
took part in the dedication on November 6, 1713. 1728, elevated to garrison church by
Duke Wilhelm Ernst; after the city fire of 1774, for a short while it served as the court’s
church. 1806, Goethe and Christiane Vulpius were married here. After the Napoleonic
war of 1816–17, interior was restored. Johann Gottfried Walter’s gravestone lies next to
the church wall.
Organ: 1721–23, new organ (II/18) by Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs, a gift of Duke Wilhelm
Ernst of Saxe-Weimar. After restoration of the church in 1823, new organ placed in the
upper balcony by Johann Friedrich Schulze; facade with dummy pipes retained. 1977,
new organ (II/17) on the south side of the choir by Gerhard Böhm.

Haupt Werck [I] Brust Werk [II] Pedal
Gedackt 8' Quintadena 8' Sub Baß 16'
Principal 4' Nachthorn 4' Principal Baß 8'
Klein Gedackt 4' Wald-Flöthe 4' Posaune 16'
Quinta 3' Flaute douce 4'
Octava 2' Sesquialtera II
Tertia 13/5' Principal 2'
Mixtur III Cymbel Mixtur III
Trompeta 8'
Particulars: Hw Trompeta 8' resonators of tin-plated sheet metal.

Accessories: Hw tremulant; Bw cymbelstern.
Couplers: Bw/Hw, Hw/Ped.
Wind supply: two large bellows.
Literature: (a) Löffler 1926, 156–58; Smets 1931, 71, 135; Haupt 1998, 103; Dehio
2003, 1317–18.
Weißenfels
Bach’s connections to Weißenfels date back to 1713. On February 23 of that year, in connec-
tion with a hunting party on the occasion of Duke Christian’s birthday, and at the request
of the neighboring Saxe-Weißenfels court, Bach, court organist in Weimar, conducted the s
cantata “Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd,” BWV 208. Bach’s second wife, Anna
n
Weimar • Weißenfels 95 jp

Magdalena, grew up in Weißenfels, where her father, a trumpeter, was a member of the
court kapelle. Bach’s links to Weißenfels were strengthened during the Leipzig years;
in 1728, Duke Christian named him titular kapellmeister of Saxe-Weißenfels. There is
no evidence that Bach played the organ in the Palace Church, although it is likely that
he knew the instrument. Palace organists were Christian Edelmann (until 1701), David
Heinrich Garthoff (1702–41), and Georg Caspar Mangold (1741–46).
Along with the Herold organ in Buttstädt near Weimar, the organ in the Palace Church
of Weißenfels is one of the few instruments of the Bach period with a pedal compass that
reached to f1.
Baroque palace church in Augustusburg, a castle with three wings completed 1682 to
a design by Johann Moritz Richter, who also built the Wilhelmsburg in Weimar. Royal
ownership ended in 1746.
Organ: 1668–73, new organ (II/30; spring chests) by Christian Förner placed in the
second (upper) balcony. Georg Friedrich Händel played the organ as a young man in 1693.
1839, new organ (II/17) placed in the Förner case by Johann Friedrich Schulze. 1945,
war damage; 1983–85, new organ by Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt using the Förner
disposition and retaining the original case.

Brustwerk (I) Oberwerk (II) Pedal
Quintadehn 8' Quintadehn 16' Sub-Baß 16' of wood
Gedackt 8' Principal 8' Principal 8'
Principal 4' Grob-Gedackt 8' Octav 4'
Gedackt 4' Spitz-Flöt 8' Quinta 3'
Quinta 3' Octav 4' Octav 2'
Sesquialtera [13/5'] Quinta 3' Mixtur IV 2'
Octav 2' Sesquialtera [13/5'] Posaunbaß 16'
Mixtur III 1' Octav 2' Trompet 8'
Krummhorn 8' Mixtur IV 2' Cornet 2'
Schalmey 4' Fagott 16'
Trompet 8'
Accessories: tremulant to the entire organ.

Compass: CD–c3 (manuals), CD–f1 (pedal).
Wind supply (1673): three bellows.
Pitch (1985): 440 Hz at 15˚.
s Temperament (2000): slightly unequal.
n

44. Weißenfels, Palace
Church: Interior (photo-
graph, 2006)
45. Weißenfels, Palace

Church: Reconstructed
Förner organ (photograph,
s
2006
n
jp

Literature: (a) Trost 1677; Sommer 1882, 82; Friedrich 2001c, 21–35; Koschel 2002,
9–14; Voigt 2004, 81–87. (b) NBR, no. 44, BDOK II, no. 55; NBR, no. 212, BDOK II, nos.
254 and 462; BWV 208 entry; Wolff 2000, 134–35, 208, and elsewhere.
Weißensee
Bach tested the repaired organ in Weißensee on June 22, 1735, on his return from Mühl-
hausen, and he was in Weißensee again for the examination of the organ on December
16, 1737. No other visits have been discovered.
City Church of Saint Peter and Paul’s/Stadtkirche St. Peter und Paul
One-aisled hall church, built ca. 1180, Protestant since 1539. Interior decoration from
1655, barrel-vaulted ceiling from 1689 to 1691.
Organ: 1735–37, enlargement of the 1624 instrument by four stops to III/32 by Conrad
Wilhelm Schäfer; disposition unknown. 1903, new organ (II/21) by Otto Petersilie in the
original case with larger-than-life representation of Moses and Aaron.
Literature: (a) Haupt 1998, 95; Braun 1999, 19–33; Dehio 2003, 1362–64; Börner/
Schubert 2005.
Zschortau
At the request of the patron Heinrich August Sahrer von Sahr, Johann Sebastian Bach
travelled to Zschortau, a short distance from Leipzig, on August 7, 1746, the Ninth Sun-
day after Trinity. He played and tested the organ and found that “everything has been
built capably, carefully, and well” (NBR, no. 235, BDOK I, no. 89). In addition to Bach
and Scheibe, Johann Paul Streng, superintendent from Delitzsch, and administrator
Andreas Christian Brandes were also present at the organ examination. Bach’s report
clearly indicates that Scheibe, who probably was born in Zschortau, provided a number
of items over and above what was contracted: the wooden stops Quinta Thön 16', Viola di
Gamba 8', and Fleute-Travers 4', as well as Super-Octave 1' and “a coupler (Angehänge)
between Manual and Pedal.”
St. Nicholas’s Church/Kirche St. Nicolai

Hall church with a Romanesque lateral west tower. Choir, nave, and adjacent sacristy
built ca. 1517. Galleries on three sides were added in 1870.
Organ: 1744–46, at request of patron Heinrich August Sahrer von Sahr, new organ
(I/13) by Johann Scheibe in west balcony. 1870, instrument moved to a newly built second
balcony and a second manual added by Eduard Offenhauer. 1954, instrument moved back
s to the previous position by Eule Orgelbau. 1984, removal of the second manual by Eule
n

46. Zschortau, church: Scheibe
organ (photograph, 2009)
Orgelbau. 2000, restoration and restitution of the original disposition by Eule Orgelbau.
Only organ by Scheibe that has been preserved.

Manual Pedal
Quinta Thön 16' Fleute doux 4' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' Hohl Fleute 3', bass Posaun-Baß 16'
Grobgedackt 8' Hohl Fleute 3', soprano Violon 8'
Viol de Gamba 8', bass Super Octava 2'
Viol de Gamba 8', soprano Super Octava 1'
Octav 4' Mixtur III–IV 11/3'
s
n
Weißenfels • Weißensee • Zschortau 99 jp

Particulars: Viola di Gamba 8' and Hohl Fleute 3' are divided between c1 and c ♯1. The
Gedackt 4' is called “Fleute Doux” in Scheibe’s proposal and “Fleute-Traverse” in Bach’s
report. In 1744, Scheibe described the Viola di Gamba 8' as “a costly and rare register that
cannot be built for less than several hundred talers.” Its lowest octaves are made of wood;
from c ♯1 the pipes are metal and slightly tapered. Hohl Fleute 3', stopped metal pipes.
Quinta Thön 16', stopped and of wood. Posaunen Baß 16', wide-scaled, with leathered
wooden shallots.
Inscription in the Pedal chest: “Johann Scheibe currently organ builder to the hon-
orable Leipzig University 1744” (Johann Scheibe beÿ/Einer löbl. universitat leipzig/der Zeit
Orgelmacher 1744).
Inscription in the manual chest: “Johann Hinrih Jentz of Leipzig 1745.”
Accessories: tremulant (reconstructed 2000); bellows signal.
Coupler: pedal coupler (does not couple the Quinta Thön 16' and Viola di Gamba 8').
Wind supply: three bellows (2005, two bellows added that can be pumped either by
hand or with an electric motor).
Pitch (2005): Chorton, a1 = 464.4 Hz at 18˚ C.
Temperament: unequal.
Literature: (a) Rubardt 1936/37, 272–74; Dähnert 1980, 285–86; Blanchard 1985,
176–79; Theobald 1986, 81–89; Dehio 1996b, 1073; Petzoldt 2000, 280–85, 322–23;
information from Eule Orgelbau, 2005; Kaufmann 2006, 404–9. (b) NBR, no. 235, BDOK
I, no. 89; BDOK II, no. 545.
s
n

section b
Reference Organs
from Bach’s World
There is no evidence that Johann Sebastian Bach knew and played the organs cited in
the following section. For the majority of these instruments, however, it is highly likely
that he did. Beyond that, many of the instruments are particularly important to the his-
tory of organ building and provide an essential guide toward an understanding of Bach’s
instruments.
Berlin
After his visit to Potsdam in 1747, Johann Sebastian Bach proceeded to Berlin. He had
previously been in Berlin in 1742, when he had visited his son Carl Philipp Emanuel, who
at the time was in the service of Frederick the Great, king of Prussia. Bach’s first docu-
mented visit to Berlin was from Köthen in 1719, the year in which organ builder Joachim
Wagner settled in Berlin. It cannot be proven that Bach got to know the St. Mary’s organ
in 1747 or on an earlier occasion.

Three-aisled Gothic hall church, completed in early fourteenth century. Renovated after
a fire in 1380. Nineteenth century, addition of rib vaulting as well as walls separating the
nave and the tower vestibule. 1893–95, new organ gallery.
Organ: 1720–23, new organ by Joachim Wagner (opus 1); case by Johann Georg Blume,
1723, finished in 1742 by Paul de Ritter. At the request of Friedrich Ludwig Seydel, organist
at St. Mary’s, the organ was rebuilt in 1800 according to specifications provided by Abbé
Georg Joseph Vogler, at which time 1,400 “unnecessary” pipes were removed. The Wagner
disposition was partially rebuilt in 1830 by Carl August Buchholz and enlarged by Schlag
& Söhne to III/53 with cone chests. 1948, renovation by Alexander Schuke. 2000–2002, s
partial reconstruction (III/46) by Daniel Kern. n
jp

Hauptwerk (II) Oberwerk (III) Hinterwerk (I) Pedal
Bordun 16' Quintadena 16' Gedackt 8' Principal-Bass 16'
Principal 8' Principal 8' Quintadena 8' Violon 16'
Viole di Gambe 8' Gedackt 8' Octav 4' Gembßhorn 8'
Rohrflöt 8' Octav 4' Rohrflöt 4' Quinta 6'
Octav 4' Fugara 4' Octav 2' Octav 4'
Spitzflöt 4' Nassat 3' Waldflöt 2' Mixtur VI 2'
Quinta 3' Octav 2' Quinta 11/3' Posaune 16'
Octav 2' Tertie 13/5' Cimbel III 1' Trompet 8'
Scharff V 1½' Sifflöt 1' Echo to Cornet V
Cimbel III 1' Mixtur IV 1½'
Cornet V 8' (from c1) Vox humana 8'
Trompete 8'
Accessories: Ow tremulant; HinW tremulant; cymbelstern; cut-off valves for each

division.
Couplers: Ow/Hw, HinW/Hw.
Pitch (2002): a1 = 440 Hz.
Literature: (a) Dehio 2000a, 35–37; Pape 2000, 175–76; Pape 2002, 150–59; Gailit
2002, 140–49. (b) Wolff 2000, 208, 317, 425–31, 446, and elsewhere.
Buttstädt
It is likely that Bach took over responsibility for the Herold organ in St. Michael’s Church
(an instrument he may have known as early as 1702) from his Weimar predecessor Johann
Effler, and in this manner he probably got to know Johann Anton Mylius (librettist, BWV
1127), the superintendent there. Organists in Buttstädt, a city that belonged to the duchy
of Weimar, were Johann Paul Friese (from before 1700 until his death in 1721) and Johann
Tobias Krebs (from 1721 to 1762), a student of Johann Gottfried Walther and of Johann
Sebastian Bach and father of the later Bach student Johann Ludwig Krebs. The important
manuscripts that contain organ music transmitted by the Krebs circle (Staatsbibliothek
Berlin, Mus. ms. Bach, P 801–803) originated in part in Buttstädt and therefore would
have been played on the organ there.

One-aisled hall church with a very deep and high choir, completed 1551. Severely damaged
during fire of 1684, the renovated church with three tiers of surrounding galleries was
s dedicated in 1689; in 1720 it was sumptuously decorated by Franz Domenicus Minetti, a
n
jp 102 reference organs

47. Berlin, St. Mary’s Church: Wagner organ after restoration and reconstruction
(photograph, 2002) s
n
jp

48. Buttstädt, St. Michael’s
Church: Herold organ
(photograph, 1976)
Florentine sculptor and painter. The pulpit and altar by court sculptor Friedrich Philipp
Puppert (1727) are considered the most important in Thuringia.
Organ: Contract for a new organ signed on July 29, 1696, with Peter Herold, who died
in 1700; Finke (Johann Georg? Christian?) completed the instrument in 1701. 1724,
at request of Johann Tobias Krebs, and after an evaluation by Johann Gottfried Walter
(text cited in Schmidt-Mannheim 2004), repairs by Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs. 1764–66,
enlargement by Johann Michael Hartung; numerous changes in the nineteenth and twen-
tieth centuries.
Contract disposition 1696 (II/23)

Ober Werck (I) Unter Werck (II) Pedal
Quinta Thön 16' Gedackt 8' Sub Baß 16'
Principal 8' Quinta Thön 8' Flötgen Bässgen 1'
Gems Horn or so- Principal 4' Posaunen Baß 16'
called Flach Flöte 8'
s
Viola di Gamba 8' Quinta 3' Cornet Bässgen 2'
n

Gedackt 8' Sesquialtera III
Octava 4' Octava 2'
Quinta 3' ZimbelStimme III
Super Octava 2' Trompetten Regal 8'
Sexta
Mixtur VI
ZimbelStimme III
Accessories: tremulant, cymbelstern.

Couplers: Ow/Uw, Ow/Ped.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals), CD–f1 (pedal).
Instruction in the contract: “for proper application of the fingers and feet, the d in
the pedal directly under the d1 in the manual, that is, that it is arranged and set according
to d1/d.”
Wind pressure: 33–35˚.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 206; Zietz 1969; Dehio 2003, 179–80; Schmidt-
Mannheim 2004, 155–88. (b) Maul 2005, 7–34.
Erfurt
Along with Arnstadt, Erfurt was the most important city for the musical Bach family during
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Johann Bach worked as organist from 1636
to 1673 at the Prediger Church, church of the town council and musical center for the
Lutheran citizens of Erfurt, a biconfessional city that at the time was part of the electoral
archbishopric of Mainz. His successor was Johann Effler, who previously had been organist
in Gehren (where he was succeeded by Johann Michael Bach, later Johann Sebastian’s
father-in-law). In 1678, Effler became city and court organist in Weimar, where he was
succeeded by Johann Sebastian Bach in 1708. Effler’s successor in Erfurt was Johann
Pachelbel, who held the organist post until 1690 and who taught Johann Christoph Bach of
Ohrdruf. Pachelbel’s successors as town organist were Nicolaus Vetter, 1690–91; Johann
Heinrich Buttstedt, 1691–1727; Jacob Adlung (Johann Nicolaus Bach’s student), 1728–62;
and Johann Christian Kittel (one of the last students of Johann Sebastian Bach), 1762–1809.
Johann Sebastian Bach often visited Erfurt, the birthplace of his parents, and in 1716
examined and evaluated the organ in St. Augustine’s Church.
Prediger Church/Predigerkirche
Three-aisled Gothic Dominican basilica from the thirteenth–fourteenth centuries;
with its considerable dimensions, it counts as one of the most important architectural
creations of the mendicant order in Germany. After the Reformation, it was Erfurt’s s
principal city church. n
Buttstädt • Erfurt 105 jp

s
n
49. Erfurt, Prediger Church: Schuke organ

jp in historical case (photograph, 2007)

Organ: 1572–79, new organ by Heinrich Cumpenius; 1648–49, enlarged by Ludwig
Compenius, who also repaired it in 1677. 1740, after a fire, damaged organ rebuilt by
Franciscus Volckland. 1977, new organ (IV/56) placed in original case by Schuke Orgelbau
(Potsdam).
Disposition (II/30) according to Adlung (1768)

Rückpositiv (I) Hauptwerk (II) Pedal
Quintatön 8' Quintatön 16' (T) Principal 16'
Gedackt 8' Principal 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 4' Gemshorn 8' Violone 16'
Nachthorn 4' Rohrflöte 8' Quintatön 16' (T)
Liebliche Pfeife 4' Violdigamba 8' Oktave 8'
Sesquialter II 3' Flötetraverse 8' Quinte 6'
Oktave 2' Oktave 4' Hohlflöte 4'
Scharpquintez III Sesquialter II Flachflöte 2'
Trompete 8' (T) Oktave 2' Posaune 16'
Schallmey 4' (T) Mixtur IV-VII Fagott 16'
Cymbel III Trompet 8' (T)
Schallmey 4' (T)
Adlung (1768) reports: “This instrument is old, and originally built in 1649 by Ludwig
Compenius, organ builder in Naumburg. Over time one continued to alter one thing
or another, and increase the number of stops, until it eventually reached the following
condition.” The organ facade carries the following chronostichon: “CoMpenIVm strVXIt
fraVDe ex VarIa reprehensVS restItVit VolkLanD VarIe Ist[ud] HoC organVM et aUXit.”
Accessories: two cut-off valves, three tremulants, glockenspiel (Hw).
Couplers: manual coupler, pedal coupler.
Compass: CDEFGA–e3 (manuals), CDEFGA–d1 (pedal).
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 224–25; Tettau 1890, 145; Ziller 1935, 22–28; Haupt
1998, 101; Belotti 1999, xix; Dehio 2003, 337–42; Friedrich 2005a, 211; Aumüller 2010,
67, 78, 103.
Frankfurt (Oder)
In 1749, Johann Sebastian Bach conferred with the Halle organ builder Heinrich Andreas
Contius (son of Christoph Contius) regarding an organ for the Franciscan Church in
Frankfurt (Oder). Apparently at the instigation of Royal Prussian concertmaster Johann
Gottlieb Graun, Contius approached Bach in Leipzig for this purpose in April. (No cor-
respondence survives. Bach had previously written a recommendation for Contius that
is dated January 12, 1748.) Contius did not receive the contract, however. It may be that
Bach was familiar with the Franciscan Church in Frankfurt, for Carl Philipp Emanuel s
Bach directed the collegium musicum in this Prussian university city from 1734 to 1738. n
Erfurt • Frankfurt (Oder) 107 jp

Franciscan Church (Lower Church)/Franziskanerkirche (Unterkirche)
Late-Gothic church, completed ca. 1525. 1735–36, renovation and addition of galler-
ies. World War II damage was repaired, and in 1967 the building became a concert hall;
original woodwork was removed.
Organ: 1749, recommendation and report from Bach regarding the planned new organ
for the renovated church; documents untraceable. 1754, new organ by Damm (Thamm);
instrument does not survive. 1975, concert organ by Frankfurter Orgelbau Sauer placed
in the western bay of the middle aisle. Since 1990, a positive by Wilhelm Sauer (opus 107,
built 1866 for the church in Jeeben/Altmark) has been in the choir.
Literature: (a) Wolff 2000, 444; Gramlich 2002, 80–86. (b) BDOK I, no. 51; BDOK
II, nos. 582, 586, 589, 590; BDOK V, no. A 90a.
Freiberg
Whether Bach knew Gottfried Silbermann’s first large organ, built for Freiberg’s Cathe-
dral of St. Mary, or the organ in Freiberg’s St. Peter’s Church, a parallel instrument to the
organ in Dresden’s Church of Our Lady, is not known. Nevertheless, it is likely that Bach
visited the city where Silbermann had his workshop, for we know from the inventory of
Bach’s estate that he owned a share in a silver mine in Kleinvoigtsberg, near Freiberg.
Bach’s student Johann Friedrich Doles, who later held Bach’s position in Leipzig, was
cantor from 1744 to 1755 in Freiberg, where he was responsible for the vocal music in
the cathedral.
Cathedral organists were Elias Lindner (student of Johann Kuhnau), 1711–31, and
Johann Christoph Erselius, 1731–72. Organists at St. Peter’s were Johann Christian Hen-
nig (student of Daniel Vetter and Jacob Weckmann), 1686–1722; Johann Gabriel Spiess,
1722–37; Johann Georg Glöckner, 1737–42; and Johann Christoph Klemm (student of
Johann Gottlieb Görner), 1742–61.
Cathedral of St. Mary/Dom St. Marien

Late-Gothic hall church, completed 1499; west portal (“Golden Door”) dates from
1225–30. Interior decoration dates from 1500 and after; following the Reformation, the
Cathedral became the burial site for the Albertine branch of the house of Wettin from
1541 to 1694. 1726–28, addition of private boxes under the stone galleries.
Organ: 1710–14, new organ by Gottfried Silbermann. Thomascantor Johann Kuhnau
and court organist Gottfried Ernest Pestel (Altenburg) examined the instrument on Au-
gust 13–14, 1714. On October 25, 1719, Elias Lindner, who had been organist since 1711
and had designed the organ’s case and balcony, requested new shallots for the Posaune
16' and that the Pedal Trompete 8' be leathered. In 1738, Silbermann altered the way
s the organ was pumped and replaced the Oberwerk Nassat 3' with Quintadena 8' and the
n Oberwerk Terz 13/5' with Flageolett 1'. At the same time, the case ornamentation was gilded

50. Freiberg, Cathedral: Concerted music at the Silbermann organ under direction of
Elias Lindner, cathedral organist and designer of the organ (copper engraving, ca. 1714) s
n
jp

51. Freiberg, Cathedral: Silbermann
organ (photograph, 2006)
by Christian Polycarp Buzäus. Repairs in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 1981–83,
complete restoration by Jehmlich with assistance from Kristian Wegscheider.

Hauptwerk (II) Brustwerk (I) Oberwerk (III) Pedal
“mighty or “delicate and sweet” “sharp and pointed” “strong and
solemn sound” (delicat und lieblich) (scharff und spitzig) penetrating”
(gravitätischer (stark und
Klang) durchdringend)
Bordun 16' Gedackt 8' Quintadehn 16' Untersatz 32'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Principal 8' Principalbaß 16'
Viola di Gamba 8' Rohrflöt 4' Gedackt 8' Sub Baß 16'
Rohrflöt 8' Nassat 3' Octava 4' Octav Baß 8'
Octava 4' Octava 2' Spitzflöt 4' Octav Baß 4'
Quinta 3' Tertia 13/5' Nassat 3' Pedalmixtur VI
Super Octav 2' Quinta 1½' Super Octava 2' Posaun Baß 16'
s Tertia 13/5' Sufflöt 1' Tertia 13/5' Trompet Baß 8'
n Cornet V, from c1 Mixtur III Echo V, from c1 Clarin Baß 4'

Mixtur IV Mixtur III
Zimblen III Zimbeln II
Trompet 8' Krumbhorn 8'
Clarin 4' Vox humana 8'
Particulars: Untersatz 32' comprises two stops: Holzgedackt 32' and Holzprincipal
16' on the same toeboard.
Accessories: tremulant to the manuals; Ow tremulant to the Vox humana; Hw and Bw
cut-off valves; Ow cut-off valve.
Couplers: shove coupler, Bw/Hw; shove coupler, Ow/Hw; no pedal coupler.
Compass: CD–c3 (manuals), CD–c1 (pedal).
Wind supply: six bellows (three bellows for the manuals and three bellows for the
pedal); since 1983, electric motor and one magazine bellows for each division.
Wind pressure (1714): 41° = 97 mm WC, manuals; 46° = 109 mm WC, pedal.
Wind pressure (1983): 90 mm WC (manuals), 100 mm WC (pedal).
Literature: (a) Dähnert 1980, 104–11; Dehio 1996a, 259–71; Greß 2001, 36–39.
St. Peter’s Church/Petrikirche

Late-Gothic church rebuilt 1728–34 after a fire. 1894–96, in place of the two-tiered gal-
leries, a new gallery that projected far into the room. 1974, remodeling; nave and choir
separated by a glass wall.
Organ: 1735, new organ by Gottfried Silbermann (built at the same time as the organ
for Our Lady’s in Dresden). 1855, organ tuned in equal temperament by Johann Gotthold
Jehmlich; 1895, organ pitch normalized and the low C ♯ added in all divisions; also, addi-
tion of Subbaß 16' as well as a Hinterwerk division with pneumatic membrane chest and
five registers. 1993, partial restoration by Jehmlich. 2006–7, collaborative restoration by
Jehmlich Orgelbau Dresden and Orgelwerkstatt Wegscheider Dresden, returning organ
to its 1734 condition; previously unknown Silbermann documents were discovered in
the Pedal chest.

Principal 16' Quinta Dena 16' Groß Untersatz 32'
Octav Principal 8' Principal 8' Principal Baß 16'
Viol di Gamba 8' Gedackts 8' Octaven Baß 8'
Rohr-Flöte 8' Quinta Dena 8' Posaune 16'
Octava 4' Octava 4' Trompete 8'
Spitz-Flöte 4' Rohr-Flöte 4'
Quinta 3' Nassat 3'
Octava 2' Octava 2' s
Tertia 13/5' Quinta 1½' n
Freiberg 111 jp

Hauptwerk (I) Oberwerk (II)
Cornet IV, from c1 Sufflöt 1'
Mixtur IV Sechst Quint Altra
[4/5', from c1 13/5']
Cymbel III Mixtur III
Fachott 16' Vox Humana 8'
Trompete 8'
Accessories: Hw tremulant; Schwebung [soft tremulant] to Ow; bellows signal.

Couplers: shove coupler, Ow/Hw; wind coupler, Hw/Ped.
Wind supply: four bellows (two to the manuals, two to the pedal).
Wind supply (1734/2007): four wedge bellows that can be pumped by hand or motor.
Pitch (2007): a1 = 462.5 Hz at 18° C.
Temperament: Until 1855, modified meantone; 1855–2007, equal; 2007, Neidhardt
II 1732 (“for a small city”).
Literature: (a) Dähnert 1980, 116–20; Dehio 1996, 277–79; Greß 2001, 101–3; Drech-
sel 2007.
52. Freiberg,
St. Peter’s Church:
Silbermann organ
(photograph, before
1894)
s
n

Gotha
Given that the city lies within the triangle Eisenach-Arnstadt-Weimar and close to
Ohrdruf, it is to be assumed that Johann Sebastian Bach knew the organs in Gotha. City
organists at St. Margaret’s Church were Johann Pachelbel, 1692–95; Johann Nicolaus
Bremser, 1695–1742; and Johann Ludwig Backhaus, 1742–71. Johann Christoph Bach,
Johann Sebastian’s older brother, was the first to be offered to succeed Pachelbel; he
nevertheless declined the position in order to stay in Ohrdruf.
St. Margaret’s Church/Margarethenkirche

Gothic hall church with added choir, completed 1543. Rebuilt 1636–40 after a fire. Since
1652, burial site for Duke Ernst I (“the Pious”) and his family. 1725–27, interior decora-
tion in Baroque style. After damage in World War II, restyling in 1951–57 according to
Baroque concepts.
Organ: 1652, new organ (III/P) by Johann Moritz and Andreas Weise. In 1687, court
organist Nicolaus Körner and chamber organist Christian Friedrich Witt found the in-
strument “to put it simply, thoroughly bad and ruined . . . so that one cannot cite specific
weaknesses, because not even one register, let alone more, is usable” (Ernst 1983, 13).
1688, contract with Johann Moritz Weise for repairs; 1696–98, new organ by Severin
Hohlbeck. Changes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Destroyed in the war;
new organ (III/36, op. 313) built 1960 by Alexander Schuke using the partial remains of
the original case.

Hauptwerk [I] Brustwerk [II] Pedal
Quintatön 16' Lieblich Gedackt 8' Principalbaß 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Subbaß 16'
Gedackt 8' Quintatön 4' Posaunenbaß 16'
Violdigambe 8' Nasat Quinte 3' Trompetenbaß 8'
Oktave 4' Spitzflöte 2' Schallmey Baß 4'
Spielflöte 4' Sief floit 1' Cornetbaß 2'
Quinta 3' Mixtur IV 1½'
Superoktava 2'
Sexta
Mixtur VIII 2'
Dulcian 16'
Trompetta 8'
Accessories: Hw tremulant, Bw tremulant, two cymbelsterns.

Coupler: Hw/Ped.
Literature: (a) Ernst 1983, 13; Dehio 2003, 483–84; Schuke 2004, 9; Harder 2005, s
155–56. n
Freiberg • Gotha 113 jp

53. Gotha, St. Margaret’s
Church: Schuke organ in
historical case (photo-
graph, 2007)
Gräfenroda
There is no evidence for Johann Sebastian Bach’s acquaintance with the Gräfenroda
organ, but he may have advised Kellner on its disposition. From 1732 to 1772, Johann Peter
Kellner was cantor and organist in Gräfenroda, a town southeast of Ohrdruf at the edge
of the Thuringian Forest. (He had already begun to substitute in 1727.) His acquaintance
with Johann Sebastian Bach was of great importance and may have come about through
his teacher Hieronymus Florentinus Quehl, from Suhl. It was strengthened during a visit
to Leipzig sometime before 1730. Kellner later became very active as an organ expert.
Kellner’s students included Johann Philipp Kirnberger, Johannes Ringk, and Johann
Ernst Rembt. Kellner and his circle played an important role in the transmission of Bach’s
organ music.
St. Laurence’s Church/Laurentiuskirche
s
Built 1731–33 as a Baroque hall church; restored 1839–43. Its important interior decora-
n
tion survives.

Organ: 1733–36, new organ by Johann Anton Weise; Johann Peter Kellner provided
the disposition. Enlargements in 1749 and 1755 by Johann Stephan Schmaltz. Repairs
and rebuilds in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 1908, new organ by Eifert using
some individual pipes and the original case. 1966, new organ by Hartmut Schüssler in the
original case, again retaining some original pipework, as well as wind chests and pipes
from the Strobel organ in Bad Frankenhausen. 2003–5, reconstruction of the Weise organ
by Orgelbau Waltershausen.

Bourdon 16' Hohlflöte 8' (t) Principal Baß 16'
Quintatön 16' (t) Gedackt 8' Subbaß 16'
Principal 8' (t) Principal 4' (t) Violon Baß 16'
Viol di Gamba 8' Flauto traverse 4' (t) Principal Baß 8' (t)
Gedackt 8' Gemshorn 4' Traversen Baß 8' (t)
Gemshorn 8' (t) Octava 2' Posaun Baß 16'
Octava 4' (t) Waldflöte 2' (t)
Octave 2' Spitzflöte 1' (t)
Mixtur VI 2' (t) Mixtur IV 1'
Scharff III 1' (t) Vox humana 8'
54. Gräfenroda, St. Laurence’s Church: Reconstructed Weise organ (photograph, 2006) n
Gräfenroda 115 jp

Particulars: (t) = partially old pipework (in the Ow Waldflöte 2', only one preserved
pipe). The Flauto traverse 4' (Ow) is overblowing, as is the Traversen Baß 8' (Pedal). Ow
Vox humana 8' was added in 1755; the glockenspiel above the Ow was already installed by
1749.
Accessories: two cut-off valves; twenty-eight-note glockenspiel; cymbelstern; Ow
tremulant; bellows signal.
Couplers: Ow/Hw, Hw/Ped.
Compass (1736): C–c3 (manuals), C–d1 (pedal).
Compass (2005): C–d3 (manuals), C–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply (1736/2005): five bellows.
Wind pressure: 75 mm WC (manuals), 80 mm WC (pedal).
Pitch (2005): a1 = 466 Hz.
Temperament: mild meantone (using 1/5 Pythagorean comma).
Literature: (a) Dehio 2003, 506; Harder 2005, 157–60; Friedrich 2005b, 214–18;
Stade 2005, 161–64; communication from Waltershausen Orgelbau, 2005.
Lahm (Itzgrund)
Johann Lorenz Bach, who had studied with Johann Sebastian Bach in Weimar from 1715
to 1717, worked from 1718 until his death in 1773 as organist and cantor in Lahm. It is
possible that he consulted with his uncle while planning the organ.
Hall church with altar and pulpit in the middle of the long side wall (Quersaalkirche), built
1728–32 in French Baroque style according to plans of Duke Adam Heinrich Gottlob von
Lichtenstein by the Ansbach court building director Karl Friedrich von Zocha. Burial site
of the dukes of Lichtenstein.
Organ: 1730–32, new organ by Heinrich Gottlieb Herbst; disposition by Johann Lorenz
Bach. Changes in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, especially under Paul Ott.
1978–83, restoration by Hoffmann Orgelbau.

Hauptwerk [I] Oberwerk (Hinterwerk) [II] Pedal
Quinta Thöne 16' Quinta Thöne 8' Sub-Baß 16'
Principal 8' Gemshorn 8' Violon-Baß 16'
Viola di Gamba 8' Praestanda 4' Quint grosso 12'
Gedact 8' Flaut-Traversiere 4' Principal 8'
Quinta 6' Sesquialtera II Getact 8'
Octav 4' Waldflöte 2' Octave 4'
s Flaut-Douce 4' Cymbel III ½' Mixtur V 2'
n

55. Lahm/Itzgrund, palace church: Herbst organ (photograph, 2007)
Nassat 3' Vox humana 8' Posaunen Baß 32'

Super-Octav 2' Posaunen Baß 16'
Mixtur IV 1' Trompete 8'
Trompete 8'
Particulars: Hw Nassat 3', C–c2 with chimneys, c ♯2–c3 conical. Ow Flaut-Traversiere

4', conical.
Accessories: two cymbelsterns; faster and slower tremulants.
Literature: (a) Mehl 1953, 78–82; Schindler 1985, 112–21; Dehio 1999b, 561.
Liebertwolkwitz
Liebertwolkwitz’s patron was Statz Hilmor von Fullen, who previously had endowed the
Störmthal organ. The close relationship between Bach and the organ builder Hildebrandt
suggests that Bach may also have been involved with this instrument. s
n
Gräfenroda • Lahm (Itzgrund) • Liebertwolkwitz 117 jp

Church
Hall church built 1572–75; heavily damaged by fire during the Battle of Leipzig in 1813;
rebuilt 1908 by Julius Zeißig. Two tiers of surrounding galleries; patron’s loge on the
north side.
Organ: 1724–25, new organ by Zacharias Hildebrandt, “organ builder and citizen of
Freiberg” (1724 contract), paid for by “Electoral Saxon and Royal Polish Chamberlain”
Statz Hilmor von Fullen of Störmthal. 1766, repairs; 1813, dismantling of the organ.
Nothing from Bach’s time survives.
56. Liebertwolkwitz,
church: Final page
of the organ contract
of 1724 with the
signature of Zacharias
Hildebrandt, as well as
Martin Weische, Tobias
Götzsche, and Andreas
Förstner, majors; also
Thomas Enghardt
and Christian Hönolt,
aldermen
s
n

Manual Pedal
Principal 8' Octava 2' Sub Baß 16'
Grobgedackt 8' Quinta 1½' Posaunen Baß 16'
Quintadena 8' Sufflöt 1'
Octava 4' Mixtur III 1½'
Rohr Flöte 4' Cornet III
Quinta 3'
Archival Source: Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Rara II, 204.
Literature: (a) Dähnert 1962, 32–33; Dehio 1998, 643–44.
Lübeck
In the winter of 1705–6, Johann Sebastian Bach spent a number of months in Lübeck.
The cathedral’s organ, which at the time was only six years old and for its time the most
modern organ in the city, may have been of particular interest to Bach.
Cathedral/Dom
Gothic hall church, rebuilt 1266–1341 from a Romanesque basilica. Destroyed in World
War II; 1966–70, rebuilt in a new form.
Organ: 1696, new organ contracted by Arp Schnitger and built by his longtime as-
sociate Hans Hantelmann. “In the year 1699, on the 6th, 7th, and 8th of February, it was
examined by Buxtehude, organist at St. Mary’s Church, and Johann Jacob Nordtmann,
organist here at the Cathedral” (Fock 1974, 160). Case carvings by Johann Jakob Budde.
1892–93, new organ (III/64) by E. F. Walcker & Cie in original case. The key desk from
1696 is preserved in the Saint Annen Museum. 1970, new organ (IV/47) by Marcussen
& Son.

Rückpositiv (I) Werck (II) Brustwerk (III) Pedal
Prinzipal 8' Prinzipal 16' Prinzipal 8' of wood Prinzipal 16'
Quintadena 8' Quintadena 16' Oktave 4' Subbaß 16'
Gedackt 8' Oktave 8' Oktave 2' Oktave 8'
Oktave 4' Spitzflöte 8' Gemshorn 2' Gedackt 8'
Blockflöte 4' Oktave 4' Quinta 1½' Oktave 4'
Kleinflöte 1' Rohrflöte 4' Sesquialtera II Nachthorn 2' s
Sesquialtera II Nasat 3' Scharff VI–VIII Rauschpfeiffe II n
Liebertwolkwitz • Lübeck 119 jp

Rückpositiv (I) Werck (II) Brustwerk (III) Pedal
Scharff VI–VIII Rauschpfeiffe II Dulzian 8' Mixtur VI–VIII
Dulzian 16' Mixtur VI–VIII Schallmey 8', from g Posaune 32', from F
Trichterregal 8' Zimbel III Posaune 16'
Trompete 16' Dulzian 16'
Trompete 8' Trompete 8'
Trompete 4'
Cornet 2'
Accessories: cut-off valve for each division; tremulants in Werck and Pedal; cymbel-
stern; drum; bellows signal.
Coupler: Bw/W.
Compass: CDE–c3 (RP), CDEFGA–c3 (W, Bw), CD–d1 (Ped).
Wind supply: eight bellows.
Literature: Fock 1974, 160–61; Snyder 2002, 38–43; Snyder 2007, 87–88.
57. Lübeck, Cathedral: Walcker

organ in historical case
s
n

58. Lübeck, Cathedral:
Original key desk of the
Schnitger organ (photograph,
1993)
Merseburg
When Bach was in Halle to examine the Contius organ, the large Wender organ in Merse-
burg Cathedral was just being completed. Considering his longstanding connections with
the Mühlhausen organ builder, Bach may have worked with Wender on the Merseburg
disposition. Georg Friedrich Kauffmann was court and cathedral organist in Merseburg
from 1710 until his death in 1735.
Cathedral/Dom
Three-aisled hall church, built 1510–17; Roman portions of the building date to the elev-
enth century.
Organ: 1665, new organ, builder unknown. 1693–1705, enlargement and renovation s
by Zacharias Thayßner; old case reused. The instrument was assessed negatively by the n
Lübeck • Merseburg 121 jp

organ builder Christoph Gloger and by Johann Kuhnau; Kuhnau speaks of a “very large,
but pretty much bungled organ” (Engel 1855). 1714–16, rebuild and further enlarge-
ment by Johann Friedrich Wender, including addition of a Brustwerk. Johann Nicolaus
Becker, Wender’s son-in-law, cared for the organ after 1724. 1734–35, repairs by Zacharias
Hildebrandt, who added a Vox humana to the Oberwerk. Later rebuilds. 1853–55, new
organ (IV/81) by Friedrich Ladegast using twenty-seven registers and six bellows from
the previous organ, as well as the case from 1665; the old registers were replaced by La-
degast in 1866. Various rebuilds in the twentieth century. 2002–4, thorough collaborative
restoration by Eule Orgelbau, Orgelwerkstatt Scheffler, and Orgelwerkstatt Wegscheider.
Disposition 1717 (IV/66) at the examination by Johann Kuhnau

and Gottfried Ernst Pestel (according to Engel 1855)
Brustwerk (I) Rückpositiv (II) Großmanual (III)
Gelinde Gedackt 8' (maple) Quinta dena 8' Rohrflöte 16' (7 lowest
pipes wood, rest metal)
Principal 4' (t) Großgedackt 8' (maple) Quinta dena 16'
Salicional 4' (t) Quinta dena 8' (m) Principal 8' (t)
Nassat 3' (t) Gedackt 8' (maple)
Kammerton Gemshorn 8' (m)
Oktava 2' (t) Principal 4' (t) Großgedackt 8' (m)
Flachflöte 2' (maple) Octava 4' (t)
Kammerton Quinta 6' (m)
Superoctava 1' (t) Flauto dulce 4' (maple) Octava 4' (m)
Mixtur IV (t) Quinta offen 3' (m) Kleingedeckt 4' (m)
Spielflöte 2' (m) Ses qui altera II (m)
Octava 2' (m) Octava 2' (m)
Tertia 2'[13/5'] (m) Mixtur VI (t)
Mixtur IV (t) Cymbel III (t)
Fagott 16' (wB) Bombard 16' (wB)
Bombard pedaliter
Trompet 8' (wb)
Oberwerk (IV) Pedal Hinterwerk to Pedal

Bordun 16' (w) Principalbaß 16' (t) Untersatz 32' (w)
Rohrflöte 8' (m) Subbaß 16' (w) Violonbaß 16' (w)
Viola di Gamba 8' (t) Oktavenbaß 8' (m) Fleute douce 8' (maple)
Principal 4' (t) Quintenbaß 6' (m) Nachthornbaß 4' (m)
Spitzflöte 4' (m) Oktavenbaß 4' (m) Scharfe Flöte 1'[2'?] (t)
Gedacktflöte 3' (m) Waldflöte 1' (t) Rohrflöte 1' (t)
Octava 2' (m) Mixturbaß VI (t) Trommetenbaß 8' (wB)
Rohrflöte 2' (m) Posaunenbaß 32' (wB*)
* lowest octave wood Schallmeyenbaß 4' (wB)
Tertia 2' [13/5'] (m) Cornettin 2' (wB)
s
Plein seu[!] V–VII (t)
n

s
59. Merseburg, Cathedral: Ladegast organ in historical case (photograph, 2005) n
jp

Oberwerk (IV)
Sordino 8' (wB)
Schallmey 4' (wB)
Stahlspiel
Particulars: (m) = metal, (t) = tin, (w) = wood, (wB) = tin-plated sheet metal.
“In addition there is also a fifth keyboard located on the [church’s] lowest balcony,
whose stops and other relevant information have been listed above in the Rückpositiv. For
these 4 or 5 manuals there are 3 large well-built bellows. Summa Summarum: 66 sounding
stops, 12 accessories, 10 wind chests, 5 keyboards, 6 bellows” (Engel 1855, 15). Bombard
pedaliter: “A special stop for the Bombard, to be played in the Pedal, with bells, a cut-off
valve, and 2 wind chests” (Engel 1855). Sordino 8': resonators of tin-plated sheet metal
with small tin caps, [a stop] that can imitate the Vocem humanam (Engel 1855). According
to Adlung (1768), Stahlspiel was a four-foot stop and there were two additional Pedal
stops, a Posaunenbaß 16' and a metal Oktavenbaß 8' at Kammerton pitch. According to
Kuhnau, who examined the organ, “the completed [Merseburg Cathedral] instrument was
given over last summer, with everyone delighted by the beautiful variety of its especially
quiet (doucen) stops and by the light action of the manual keyboards, of which there are
four, and by other artful inventions” (Mattheson 1725, 235).
Accessories: cymbelstern (Großmanual); cut-off valve for each division; Oberwerk
tremulant.
Manual couplers: Ow/Großmanual, Rp/Großmanual.
Pedal coupler: Ped/Großmanual (according to Adlung, only the front Pedal chests
could be coupled).
Wind supply: six large bellows (three to the manuals, three to the pedal).
Pitch: Chorton.
Literature: (a) Mattheson 1725, 235; Adlung 1768, 255–57; Engel 1855, 9–21; Dähnert
1962, 72; Dehio 1999a, 535–46.
Potsdam
According to contemporary accounts, Bach played all the organs in the Prussian capital
during his visit in 1747. Thus he may have visited St. Nicholas’s Church.
St. Nicholas’s Church/Nikolaikirche

Baroque hall church, built 1721–24; portal facade from 1752 to 1755 by Georg Wenzeslaus
von Knobelsdorff using Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome as a model. Church burned down
in 1795; 1835, new classical central-plan building with cupola.
Organ: 1724, installation and modification (changes are not documented) by Joachim
s
Wagner of the organ that had been built by Johann Michael Röder in 1713 for Potsdam’s
n

old Garrison Church. 1795, organ and church burned. 1837, new instrument (II/26) by
Gottlieb Heise for the new church.
Disposition 1724 (II/23) according to Kitschke (1993)

Haupt-Werk [I] Seiten-Werk [II] Pedal
Quintadoen 16' Gedackt 8' Sub-Baß 16'
Principal 8' Principal 4' Principal 8'
Octave 4' Quinta 3' Octave 4'
Quinta 3' Octave 2' Octave 2'
Octav 2' Tertian 13/5' Mixtur V
Quinta 1½' Cimbel III Posaun 16'
Mixtur V Vox humana 8' Trompet 8'
Trompete 8' Trompet 4'
Accessories: Seitenwerk tremulant; cut-off valves for all divisions; main cut-off valve;
bellows signal; cymbelstern.
Literature: (a) SeN, 79; Kitschke 1993, 207–10; Dehio 2000b, 779–80.
Rötha
The nearest Silbermann organs to Leipzig were the instruments in Rötha, about ten miles
south of the city. We can assume Bach’s acquaintance with them, even though they were
built before he arrived in Leipzig.
St. George’s Church/Georgenkirche

Three-aisled late Gothic hall church, built ca. 1500.
Organ: 1721, new organ by Gottfried Silbermann and Zacharias Hildebrandt for the
town’s patron, Christian August Freiherr von Friesen. 1796, addition of pedal coupler
by Johann Gottlieb Ehregot Stephani. Changes in the nineteenth century. 1917, facade
pipes sacrificed. 1979–80, restoration by Eule Orgelbau.

* Bordun 16' * Gedackt 8' Principal Baß 16'
Principal 8' Quintadena 8' * Posaune 16'
Rohr-Flöte 8' Principal 4' * Trommete 8'
Octava 4' Rohr-Flöte 4'
Spitz-Flöte 4' Nasat 3'
Quinta 3' Octava 2'
Octava 2' Tertia 13/5'
Cornet III Quinta 1½'
Mixtur III Sifflet 1'
s
Cymbeln II Mixtur III
n
Merseburg • Potsdam • Rötha 125 jp

60. Rötha, St. George’s
Church: Organ contract
dated December 22,
1718, with signatures
and seals of Gottfried
Silbermann and
Zacharias Hildebrandt
Particulars: * = partially reconstructed wooden pipes, resonators, or boots.

Couplers: shove coupler, Ow/Hw; Hw/Ped (permanently coupled until 1793).
Wind supply: three bellows (1935: magazine bellows with wind pressure of 76 mm WC).
Pitch (2000): Chorton a1 = 465 Hz.
Temperament: equal (since 1832).
s Literature: Dähnert 1962, 24–25; Dehio 1996b, 865–66; Greß 2001, 52–53.
n

61. Rötha, St. George’s Church: Silbermann/Hildebrandt organ (photograph, 2006) s
n
jp

Pilgrimage church “of the miraculous pear-tree,” erected 1510–20. Interior altered in
eighteenth century.
Organ: 1721–22, new organ by Gottfried Silbermann, who added, over and above the
contract, a Tertia in the manual and a permanently coupled Pedal Subbaß 16'. Changes
in the nineteenth century. 1942, organ stored due to disrepair of the church. 1950, dur-
ing the Bach celebrations, organ erected first in a hall of the Old City Hall, Leipzig, and
then at the Berlin Bach exhibition. 1960, organ returned to St. Mary’s in Rötha. 1975–77,
restoration by Eule Orgelbau.

Manual Pedal
Principal 8' Octava 2' Subbaß 16'
Gedackt 8' Tertia 13/5'
Octava 4' Quinta 1½'
Rohr Flöte 4' Sufflet 1'
Nassat 3' Cymbeln II
Coupler: pedal coupler (permanently coupled until 1834).
Wind supply: two bellows (1977: magazine bellows).
Temperament: equal (since 1834).
Literature: Dähnert 1962, 26; Dehio 1996b, 867–68; Greß 2001, 54–55.
Waltershausen
Located between Weimar and Gotha on the trade route from Leipzig to Frankfurt, Walters-
hausen and the large Trost organ must at some time have been visited by Bach—perhaps
on his trips to Kassel in 1732 or Mühlhausen in 1735, for example, by which time the organ
would have been completed.
City Church “To God’s Help”/Stadtkirche “Zur Gotteshilfe”

Baroque central-plan building, designed by Wolf Christoph Zorn of Plobsheim, built
1719–23 to replace a medieval church; model for Our Lady’s Church in Dresden.
Organ: 1722–35, new organ by Tobias Heinrich Gottfried Trost. 1754, apparently
enlarged by Ruppert, who is said to have added five previously uninstalled Trost stops.
s Rebuilds in nineteenth and twentieth centuries. 1996–98, thorough restoration by
n Orgelbau Waltershausen.

s
62. Rötha, St. Mary’s Church: Silbermann organ (photograph, 2006)
n
jp

Disposition ca. 1730/1998 (III/47)
Hauptwerk (II) Pedal
Portun Untersatz 16' (o) Groß Principal 16' (o)
Groß Quintadena 16' (o) Sub-Bass 16' (o)
Principal 8' (o) Violon-Bass 16' (o)
Gemshorn 8' (o) Octaven-Bass 8' (o)
Viol d’Gambe 8' (o) Celinder Quinta 6' (r)
Portun 8' (o) Quintadenen-Bass 16' (T)
Quintadena 8' (o) Viol d’Gambenbass 8' (T)
Unda maris 8' (o) Portun-Bass 8' (T)
Octava 4' (o) Super-Octava 8' (T)
Salicional 4' (o) Röhr-Flötenbass 4' (T)
Röhr-Flöta 4' (t) Mixtur-Bass VI 2' (T)
Celinder-Quinta 3' (o) Posaunen-Bass 32' (r)
Super-Octava 2' (p) Posaunen-Bass 16' (o)
Sesquialtera II (o) Trompeten-Bass 8' (o)
Mixtura VI–VIII 2' (r)
Fagott 16' (r)
Trompetta 8' (p)
Brustwerk (I) Oberwerk (III)
Gedackt 8' (o) Flöte Dupla 8' (r)
Nachthorn 8' (p) Flöte travers 8' (r)
Principal 4' (o) Vagarr 8' (o)
Flöte douce II 4' (o) Lieb. Principal 4' (o)
Nachthorn 4' (r) Spitz-Flöte 4' (o)
Gemshorn 4' (t) Gedackt Quinta 3' (r)
Nassad-Quinta 3' (p) Wald-Flöte 2' (o)
Spitz-Quinta 3' (o) Hohl-Flöte 8' (o)
Octava 2' (p) Vox humana 8'(r)
Sesquialtera II (p) Geigen-Principal 4' (o)
Mixtura IV 2' (p)
Hautbois 8' (p)
Particulars: (o) = original register, with less than five new pipes; (p) = partially re-
constructed register, with more than five new pipes; (r) reconstructed register; (T) =
transmission of pitches C–c1 from Hauptwerk to Pedal. Hauptwerk: Salicional 4', tapered;
Unda maris 8', doubled ranks of wooden pipes that share a rear wall and languid chamber.
Oberwerk: Geigenprinzipal 4' stands on its own pallet box in the Bw, directly over the
keydesk, and can be coupled to the Ow; Hohlflöte 8' and Vox humana 8' originally on the
same toeboard, separated in 1998.
Accessories: tremblant doux for all manual divisions; two cymbelsterns (bells from
Trost: g–b–d–g and c–e–g–c); bellows signal; cut-off valves allow wind to be provided to
the manuals and the pedal separately.
s Couplers: Ow/Hw, Bw/Hw, Hw/Ped, Bw/Ped.
n

s
n
63. Waltershausen, City Church “Zur Gotteshilfe”: Trost organ (photograph, 1998)
jp

Compass: C–c3 (manuals), C–d1 (pedal).
Wind supply: four large bellows. (1998: motors installed that simulate hand pump-
ing; bellows can also be pumped manually. Divided channels separate manual and pedal
wind.)
Pitch (1998): Chorton, a1 = 466.8 Hz.
Temperament (1998): well-tempered system based on 1/5 Pythagorean comma.
Archival Source: Trost’s description of the organ, Sächsische Landes- und Univer-
sitätsbibliothek, Dresden.
Literature: (a) Adlung 1768, 278–79; Heinke 1998, 21–25, 96; Vogel 1999, 1–3, 6;
Friedrich 2009, 106.
s
n

section c
Overview
An Inventory of the Organs
and Their Parts, Including
Their State of Preservation
The instruments described in Parts A and B are listed here according to their state of
preservation and the survival of historical elements from the period. Manual and pedal
compasses, when cited, likewise refer to the Bach period. For partially preserved instru-
ments, the third column lists the parts that still exist: C = case; K = key desk, preserved
separately; A = action; P = individual pipes; R = register(s); W = wind chest(s). Missing
information is noted by —, reference instruments (from Part B) by (B).
Preserved Instruments
Manual Pedal
Place Organ compass compass
Altenburg, Court Church T. H. G. Trost, 1739 (II/37) C–c3 C–c1
Freiberg, Cathedral (B) G. Silbermann, 1714 (III/44) CD–c3 CD–c1
Freiberg, St. Peter’s (B) G. Silbermann, 1735 (II/32) CD–c3 CD–c1
Halle, Market/Our Lady’s G. Reichel, 1664 (I/6) CD–c3 —
Lahm/Itzgrund, Palace H. G. Herbst, 1732 (II/29) CD–c3 CD–d1
Church (B)
Lüneburg, St. John’s H. Niehoff, 1551; (III/28) = CDEFGA–g2a2 CDEFGA–c1
condition before Dropa, 1714
Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s Z. Hildebrandt, 1746 (III/53) CD–c3 CD–d1
Rötha, St. George’s (B) G. Silbermann, 1721 (II/23) CD–c3 CD–c1
Rötha, St. Mary’s (B) G. Silbermann, 1722 (I/11) CD–c3 CD–c1
Sangerhausen, St. Jacobi Z. Hildebrandt, 1728 (II/27) CD–c3 CD–c1
Stöntzsch (Pegau) J. C. Schmieder, rebuild CD–c3 CD–c1
ca. 1730 (I/9)
Störmthal Z. Hildebrandt, 1723 (I/14) CD–c3 CD–c1
Waltershausen, City T. H. G. Trost, ca. 1730 (III/47) C–c3 C–d1
Church (B) s
Zschortau, St. Nicholas’s J. Scheibe, 1746 (I/13) CD–c3 CD–c1 n
jp

Partially Preserved Instruments
Parts Manual Pedal
Place Organ preserved compass compass
Arnstadt, New Church J. F. Wender, 1703 (II/21) C, P, K CD–c3 CD–c1
Berlin, St. Mary’s (B) J. Wagner, 1723 (III/41) C, P CD–c3 CD–d1
Buttstädt, Herold/Finke, 1701 (II/23) C, R CD–c3 CD–f1
St. Michael’s (B)
Eisenach, St. George’s G. C. Stertzing, 1707 (IV/58) C C–e3 C–e1
Görlitz, Church of E. and A. H. Casparini, 1703 C, P CD–c3 CD–d1
St. Peter and Paul’s (III/57)
Gotha, Castle Church S. Hohlbeck, 1692 (II/35) C — —
Gotha, St. Margaret’s (B) S. Hohlbeck, 1698 (II/25) C (part.) — —
Gräfenroda, J. A. Weise, 1736/2005 (II/26) C, P C–c3 C–c1
St. Laurence’s (B)
Halle, Market Church C. Contius, 1716 (III/65) C CD–c3 CD–c1
Hamburg, St. Catherine’s various (1720: IV/57) R CDEFGA–c3 CDE–d1
Hamburg, St. Jacobi A. Schnitger, 1693 (IV/60) R, wind CDE–c3; CD–c1
chests CDEFGA–c3
Köthen, St. Jacob’s Z. and A. Thayßner, 1676; C (part.) CD–c3 CD–c1
Disposition 1756 (II/25) [d1?]
Leipzig, St. John’s J. Scheibe, 1742 (II/22) K, organ CD–c3 CD–c1
bench
Lübeck, Cathedral (B) Schnitger/Hantelmann, K CDE–c3; CD–d1
1699 (III/45) CDEFGA–c3
Lüneburg, St. Michael’s Scherer family, among C — —
others (III/32)
Merseburg, Cathedral (B) enlarged by J. F. Wender, C — —
1717 (IV/66)
Mühlhausen, J. F. Wender, 1702; disposition C, A CD–c3 CD–d1
“Brückenhof” Church 1848/2000 (I/7)
Weißenfels, C. Förner, 1673 (II/30) C CD–c3 CD–f1
Palace Church
Instruments that have not been preserved

Manual Pedal
Ammern, St. Vitus’s J. F. Wender, 1708 (I/13) — —
Arnstadt, Upper Church E. Greutzscher, 1611 (II/22) CDEFGA–g2,a2 CDEFG–c1
Arnstadt, Palace Chapel — — —
Arnstadt, Our Lady’s E. Greutzscher, 1624 — —
Bad Berka, St. Mary’s H. N. and Ch. W. Trebs, — —
ca. 1750 (II/14)
Dresden, Our Lady’s G. Silbermann, 1736 (III/43) CD–d3 CD–c1
Dresden, St. Sophia’s G. Silbermann, 1720 (II/30) CD–d3 CD–c1
s Erfurt, St. Augustine’s G. C. Stertzing and J. G. Schröter, C–e3 C–e1
n 1716 (III/39)
jp 134 overview

Erfurt, Prediger Compenius, 1579/1649; rebuild CDEFGA–e3 CDEFGA–d1
Church (B) F. Volckland, 1740 (II/32)
Frankfurt/Oder, Damm, 1754 — —
Franciscan Church (B)
Gera, St. John’s J. G. Finke, 1725 (III/42) CD–c3 C–c1
Gera, St. Salvator’s J. G. Finke, 1722 — —
Gera, Castle Chapel J. G. Finke, 1721 (I/9) — —
Kassel, St. Martin’s H. and F. Scherer, 1612; rebuild — —
J. N. Becker, 1730–32 (III/34,
Dresden Ms.)
Köthen, St. Agnus’s J. H. Müller, 1708 (II/27?) — —
Köthen, Palace Church D. Zuberbier, 1733 (II/13) C–e3 C–e1
Langewiesen, Our Lady’s J. Albrecht, J. S. Erhardt, 1706; C–c3 C–c1
disposition (II/20) dates to
before 1794
Leipzig, New Church C. Donat, 1704 (II/21) CD–c3 CD–c1
Leipzig, St. Nicholas’s Z. Thayßner, 1694 (enlargement CD–c3 CD–d1
to III/36)
Leipzig, St. Paul’s J. Scheibe, 1716 (III/48) CD–? CD–c1
Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, J. Lange, 1599; C. Donat, 1670; CD–c3 CD–c1
large organ Disposition ca. 1700 (III/35)
Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, 1489; rebuild H. Compenius, 1630; — —
small organ 1665, enlarged by C. Donat;
disposition ca. 1700 (II?/21)
Liebertwolkwitz (B) Z. Hildebrandt, 1724/25 (I/13) CD–c3 CD–c1
Lübeck, St. Mary’s, Enlarged by F. Stellwagen, CDEFGA–c3; CDEFGA–d1
main organ 1641; disposition CDEFGA–g2,a2
recorded 1721 (III/54)
Lübeck, St. Mary’s, Enlarged by H. Kröger, 1622; CDEFGA–c3 CDEFGA–d1
small organ disposition reconstructed 1937
(III/40)
Lübeck, St. Mary’s, M. Briegel, 1664 — —
rood screen organ
Lüneburg, St. Michael’s, J. B. Held, 1701/2000 (I/5) C–d3
positive
Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s J. F. Wender, 1720 (III/60) — —
Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s Ch. F. Wender, 1738 (III/43) CD–c3 CD–c1
Mühlhausen, J. F. Wender, 1691 (II/29; CD–c3 CD–d1
St. Blasius’s rebuild 1708, III/37)
Ohrdruf, St. Michael’s K. Lehmann, H. Brunner, et al.; CD–c3 CD–c1
disposition in 1693 (II/21)
Ohrdruf, Palace Chapel — — —
Ohrdruf, Trinity Church H. Brunner, 1679 (I/5) CDEFGAB–c3 —
Potsdam, Garrison J. Wagner, 1732 (III/42) CD–c3 CD–d1
Church
Potsdam, Holy Ghost J. Wagner, 1730 (II/18) CD–c3 CD–c1 s
Church n
An Inventory of the Organs 135 jp

Manual Pedal
Potsdam, Röder/Wagner, 1724 (II/23) — —
St. Nicholas’s (B)
Taubach, St. Ursula’s H. N. Trebs, 1710 (I/11) — —
Weimar, Palace Church Disposition 1737 (II/24) CD–c3 CD–e1
Weimar, Palace Church, S. Bidermann, 1658 (I/5) CDEFGA–c3
positive
Weimar, City Church C. Junge, 1685 (II/25) — —
Weimar, St. Jacob’s H. N. Trebs, 1723 (II/18) — —
Weißensee C. W. Schäfer, 1737 (II/32) — —
s
n
jp 136 overview

part two
Organ Tests and
Examinations
s
n
jp

s
n
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section a
Johann Sebastian Bach’s
Organ Reports
Of the numerous reports written or co-written by Bach in the course of four and a half
decades, only seven have been preserved. As the following overview shows, Bach’s docu-
mented role as adviser and examiner of new and renovated instruments extends to more
than twenty instruments. It is certain that he had a hand in many more.
1703 Arnstadt, New Church J. F. Wender: new organ
1706 Langewiesen, Our Lady’s J. Albrecht and J. S. Erhardt:
new organ
1708 Mühlhausen, St. Blasius’s J. F. Wender: renovation
ca. 1708 Ammern, St. Vitus’s J. F. Wender: new organ
1710 Taubach, St. Ursula’s H. N. Trebs: new organ
1712–14 Weimar, Palace Church H. N. Trebs: renovation
1716 Halle, Market Church C. Contius: new organ
1716 Erfurt, St. Augustine’s G. C. Stertzing, J. G. Schröter:
new organ
1717 Leipzig, St. Paul’s J. Scheibe: new organ
1723 Störmthal Z. Hildebrandt: new organ
1725 Gera, St. John’s and St. Salvator’s J. G. Finke: new organs
1726–28 Sangerhausen, St. Jacobi Z. Hildebrandt: new organ
1731 Stöntzsch J. C. Schmieder: renovation
1732 Kassel, St. Martin’s N. Becker: renovation
1735 Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s C. F. Wender: renovation
1739 Altenburg, Palace Church T. H. G. Trost: new organ
~1742 Berka, St. Mary’s H. N. Trebs: new organ
1743 Leipzig, St. John’s J. Scheibe: new organ
1746 Zschortau, St. Nicholas’s J. Scheibe: new organ
1743–46 Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s Z. Hildebrandt: new organ
Bach’s very first inspection, of the organ in Arnstadt’s New Church, took place in 1703 s
and resulted in Bach being offered an appointment. His last documented examination is n
jp

dated November 1746. Nevertheless, as late as June 1749, the Thomascantor—a consultant
sought after as often by organ builders as by architects—was contacted on the advice of
the Prussian court kapellmeister Carl Heinrich Graun concerning the new organ being
planned for the Franciscan Church (Lower Church) in Frankfurt (Oder). In October of
the same year, the organ builder Johann Jacob Donati Jr. suggested Bach as consultant
for a new organ in Hartmannsdorf (BDOK V, no. B586b).
Concerning the inspection of the 1743 Scheibe organ in Leipzig’s St. John’s Church,
for which the report does not survive, the Bach student Johann Friedrich Agricola, in his
commentary to Jacob Adlung’s Musica mechanica organoedi (Berlin 1768), writes that the
instrument, “after the strictest examination of an organ that perhaps ever was undertaken,
was acknowledged by Mr. Capellmeister Joh. Seb. Bach and Mr. Zacharias Hildebrand,
to be above reproach” (BDOK III, no. 740). In his commentary, Agricola also refers to
Bach’s enthusiasm for the St. Catherine’s organ in Hamburg (BDOK III, no. 739), noting
especially the quality of its reeds and its 32' stops (Principal and Groß-Posaune), which
in his youth had shaped Bach’s conception of gravity in an organ. Thus, as early as 1708,
Bach specifically requested a 32' pedal stop in the renovation of his Mühlhausen organ.
In 1757, Christian Immanuel Schweinefleisch built eight new stops for the pedal division
of the St. Thomas organ in Leipzig. His inclusion of an Untersatz 32' seven years after
Bach’s death during the time that Bach’s student Johann Friedrich Doles was cantor
represents the granting of what probably had been a demand of the earlier Thomascantor
left unfulfilled during his lifetime.
In 1774, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach gave an account of his father’s activities as organ
examiner to Johann Nicolaus Forkel, author of the first Bach biography in 1802:
Never has anyone undertaken organ examinations so strictly and yet so fairly. He
understood to the highest degree everything about organ building. If a builder worked
honestly, and yet lost money on the project, he would persuade the patron to make
a subsequent payment. No one knew how to register an organ as well as he. Often he
shocked organists when he wanted to play their instruments, for he drew stops in his
own manner, and they believed it was impossible that the way he wanted it would sound
well, but they afterward heard an Effect that astounded them. These arts died with him.
The first thing he did at an organ examination was this: He said, in fun, “Above all I
must know whether the organ has good lungs,” and in order to test this, he would pull
on every speaking stop, and play as full-voiced as possible. At this point organ builders
often became pale with fright (NBR, no. 394; BDOK III, no. 801).
A year later, Emanuel once again emphasized to Forkel his father’s “special insights into
the proper design of an organ, the disposition of stops, and the placing of the same” (NBR,
no. 395; BDOK III, no. 803).
s In formulating his written reports, Bach—and also Kuhnau, the primary author of
n the Halle report from 1716—relied on Andreas Werckmeister’s Erweiterte und verbesserte
jp 140 part t wo. organ tests and ex aminations

Orgel-Probe (Quedlinburg, 1698) for the arrangement of the material and for terminology
(Williams 1982). It can be assumed, though, that Bach also knew Werckmeister’s previous
volume, Orgelprobe, oder kurze Beschreibung, wie . . . man die Orgelwerke . . . annehmen, probi-
ren, untersuchen . . . solle (Frankfurt/Leipzig, 1681). In any case, Werckmeister, whose term
“well-tempered” he also adopted, decisively influenced Bach’s theoretical knowledge.
The following reports are translations of the German texts published in BDOK I. They
are drawn for the most part from the New Bach Reader but differ from it at times, and the
reader is encouraged to compare versions.
1. St. Blasius’s Church, Mühlhausen, 1708

(NBR, no. 31; BDOK I, no. 83)
Specification for the new repair of the organ at St. Blasius’s:
1. The lack of wind must be remedied by adding three new well-built (tüchtig)
bellows that will provide sufficient wind for the Oberwerck, the Rückpositiv,
and the new Brustwerk divisions.
2. The four old bellows now present must be adapted in order to provide stronger
wind pressure to the new 32' Untersatz and the other Pedal stops.
3. The old Pedal wind chests must be removed and re-fitted with such wind lines
as allow one to use a single stop alone, or all stops at the same time, without any
change in the wind, something that has until now never been possible, and yet
is highly necessary.
4. Next, the 32' Sub Bass, or so-called Untersatz, of wood, which gives the best
gravity to the whole organ: This stop must now have its own wind chest.
5. The Posaunen Bass must be outfitted with new, larger resonators, and the
shallots regulated differently, so that the stop can produce much more gravity.
6. The new glockenspiel desired by the parishioners shall be put in the Pedal.
It consists of 26 bells sounding at 4' pitch, which bells the parishioners will
acquire at their own expense, and the organ builder will subsequently make
them playable.
As regards the Obermanual, here, instead of the Trompette (which will be
removed), there shall be a
7. Fagotto sounding at 16' pitch, which is useful for all kinds of new ideas, and
sounds quite delicate in concerted music. In addition, instead of the Gemshorn
(which likewise shall be removed), there will be a
8. Viol di Gamba 8', which will blend admirably with the present Salicional 4' in
the Rückpositiv. Also, instead of the Quinta 3' (which also will be removed), a
9. Nassat 3' could be fit in. s
n
Johann Sebastian Bach’s Organ Reports 141 jp

The remaining stops already in the Obermanual can remain, as can the
entire Rückpositiv, although as part of the renovation they must be completely
tuned from scratch.
10. As far as the important new little Brustpositiv is concerned, the following stops
could be placed in it:
In the facade, three Principalia, namely:
1. Quinta 3'
2. Octava 2'
3. Schalemoy 8'
all three of the above from good 14-worthy [87.5%] tin.
4. Mixtur III.
5. Tertia, which, by drawing other stops, can make possible a complete and
beautiful Sesquialtera.
6. Fleute douce 4'; and finally, a
7. Stillgedackt 8', which is perfect for accompanying concerted vocal music
and, being made from good wood, sounds far better than a metal Gedackt.
11. There must be a coupler between this Brustpositiv and the OberWerck manuals.
And finally, in addition to a thorough tuning of the entire organ, the tremulant
must be adjusted so that it beats at the proper rate.
2. St. Ursula’s Church, Taubach, 1711

Whereas Mr. Heinrich Trebs, the bearer, an organ builder experienced in his art, requests
me to give him a testimonial concerning the work he has done in this principality, I have
neither been able nor desired to refuse him, since he merits it too well; accordingly I as-
sure the gracious reader of this letter that he has applied his most praiseworthy industry
to the work he has done in these parts, and I, as one appointed to inspect the same, have
found that both in the fulfillment of the contract and in subsequent work he has proven
himself a reasonable and conscientious man, for he agreed to the lowest price and he
afterward performed the work agreed upon with the greatest industry.
Weimar, Feb. 16, 1711
Joh. Sebast. Bach,
Court Organist and Chamber Musician
s
n

3. Market Church of Our Lady, Halle, 1716
Since it has pleased the Most Honorable Collegium Marianum of the Town of Halle to
request in writing that the undersigned appear here the day before yesterday, that is, on
the 29th of April last, to examine and investigate in all its parts the large new organ in
the Church of Our Lady, constructed by the Grace of God and to His Glory by the organ
builder Herr Christoff Cuncius, and to note down whatever we should find that is well
done (tüchtig) or not so well done therein, and in general make known our judgment;
accordingly, in most dutiful response to this most gracious request and the trusting
confidence expressed in our experience and skill, we made our appearance here on the
appointed day and, after having had the high summons repeated to us orally, undertook
in God’s Name the examination of the new organ in said Church. To wit, we (1) found the
bellows chamber large enough for the bellows and well protected against bad weather,
but have also noted that, since the chamber’s window faces west, the bellows are exposed
to excessive heat from the sun, and therefore a curtain or some other protection against
the sun will be needed for the times when the organ is not in use. As for (2) the bellows
themselves, which are ten in number (although the builder promised only nine in the
contract, perhaps because he thought quod superflua non noceant [there would be no harm
in abundance], and that an even number was preferable to an odd for the sake of arranging
the bellows, which are set opposite each other), they might indeed still demonstrate the
specified capacity and the builder’s industry, but the wind did not drive the liquid in the
wind gauge we applied to the 35 to 40 degrees otherwise required in organs of this size and
found in other organs having a good wind supply, but only to 32 or 33 degrees. Accordingly,
one observes a shaking in the bellows when the Hauptwerk is played. Nevertheless this
would be tolerated if only the Oberwerck, the middle manual, did not shake—for this is
counted among the major faults.
But apart from this we found (3) no visible defect in the wind chests, which also with-
stood the test of having all the keys in both the manual and pedal keyboards pressed down
at the same time without our noticing any leakage except a little in the middle manual,
which, however, is caused by the toe boards not being screwed in firmly enough, and
can easily be corrected. Under the pallets the springs have not been doubled or tripled,
such as poor builders often do to prevent ciphers, but all are single. Because of this, the
keyboard should be comfortable to play. Yet it will nevertheless be necessary to make
it somewhat lighter, at the same time not compromising the quick return of the keys
and not causing any ciphering—all of which the master has promised to do. (4) As for
the organ’s internal layout, clearly it would have been better to have more room, so that
everything would not have had to be placed so close together and could be reached more s
easily. For the rest, (5) all the stops specified in the contract are present and made of the n

materials there mentioned, except that instead of the specified metal Gemshorn Bass
16' a wooden Untersatz or SubBass 32' has been provided, the size of its pipes making
up for not using metal.
Furthermore, the following useful stops have been built over and above the contract:
Spitzflöte 2'
Quinta 3'
Octava 2'
Nachthorn 4'
Quinta, open 6'
These five stops are made of metal.
On the other hand, the following have not been built:
the Fagott Bass, of tin 8'
Gedackt, of metal 4'
Waldflöte, ditto 2'
Rohr Flöte, ditto 12'
Likewise, he has provided two 3-rank Cymbals instead of the two 2-rank ones called
for. And however one deals with (6) concerns regarding the alloy of the metal, it is alto-
gether easy to see (and this is fairly commonplace) that in the stops not in the facade there
has been more saving of tin than of lead; so that the pipe resonators in the instrument
could or should have been somewhat thicker.
It is true that light should play off the pipes standing in the façade, and probably the
best part of the good tin has been used for them; that they do not shine must not be blamed
on the builder, but on the soot that has fallen upon them.
On the other hand, it is the builder’s fault if the sound—because the voicing has left
something to be desired, especially of the large pipes—is not audible and clear. This fault
is found here in various pipes, among others, in the Subbass 32' and Posaunenbass 32',
and also in the other reeds. However, as well as promising to tune the organ here and
there, since we found all three manuals still somewhat out of tune, and to set it in the
passably good temperament he at one time showed us, Herr Cuncius has also promised
to improve the voicing of some of the pipes, something which, indeed, would have been
better had it occurred before the examination, and it also would have been better if we
could have inspected the parts that are still missing—namely, the
Coupler,
2 Tremulants,
2 Cymbelsterns,
a movable sun operable from a stop in the Oberwerk, and
the Vogelgesang (bird song).
s
n

This, then, is what we, the undersigned, in obedience to our duty and in the interest of
truth must report concerning this organ. For the rest, we wish it may always perform well,
to the honor of the Most High and the especial renown of its Most Noble Patrons, as well
as of the whole worthy town, in peace and tranquility, for holy inspiration and devotion,
and may it last for many years. Halle, Feast of SS. Philip and James [May 1], 1716
Johann
Kuhnau, mpp [in his hand]
Christian Friedrich Rolle
Joh: Sebast: Bach
4. St. Augustine’s Church, Erfurt, 1716

Testimonial of the Examiners:

Whereas we, the undersigned, have tested the new organ built by Herr Johann Georg
Schröter for St. Augustine’s, the Lutheran church in Erfurt, having been appointed ex-
aminers for this purpose, and have found, after sufficient investigation, that it has been
built correctly and diligently according to the contract; moreover, the said Herr Schröter
also has requested us not to fail to give testimony to his diligence. Now, therefore, we
have sought herewith, as is fair, to gratify his wish, and must add, to his credit, that (as
has already been mentioned) he has faithfully fulfilled the terms of the contract drawn
up for this work; what is more, it is only proper that he be congratulated on the fact that
the first organ he has completed as a master builder has turned out so well, and thus there
is no doubt that with respect to any further work he may undertake, that he will likewise
complete it diligently and untiringly, applying the knowledge that God has given him.
This we neither could nor would refuse him, out of respect for the truth.
Dated Erfurt, July 31, 1716.
(L.S.) Johann Sebastian Bach,
Concertmaster and Court Organist to the Prince of Saxe-Weimar
(L.S.) Johann Anton Weise,
Organ builder of Arnstadt
5. St. Paul’s Church, Leipzig, 1717

Since at the desire of Your Most Noble Magnificence Dr. Rechenberg, currently rector
of the Most Worshipful University of Leipzig, I have undertaken the examination of the s
partly newly built and partly renovated organ in St. Paul’s Church, I have done this to the n

best of my ability, noting any faults, and in general as regards the entire organ project,
would like to put in writing the following:
1.) As concerns the case, it clearly cannot be denied that it is very tightly confined,
and it is thus difficult to reach each part in the event that, with time, something needs
repair. Herr Scheibe, builder of said organ, offers as excuse that, first, he did not build
[design?*] the case himself and he has had to accommodate the internal layout to it as
best he could, and second, he was not granted the additional space he had desired in
order to arrange the layout more capaciously.
2.) The usual main parts of an organ—wind chests, bellows, pipes, roller boards and
other parts—have been well and carefully built, and there is nothing to call attention to,
other than that the wind must be made more steady throughout, so that the occasional
wind surges might be avoided. The roller boards should indeed have been secured in
frames, in order to avoid ciphering in bad weather, but since Herr Scheibe built roller
boards [without frames], as is his custom, and guarantees that this is as good as using
frames, this was allowed to pass.
3.) The stops listed in the disposition, as well as everything included in the contract,
have been provided, in both quality and quantity, except that two reeds—namely, Schalmey
4' and Cornet 2'—had to be left out at the order of the Worshipful University, and in their
place an Octava 2' in the Brustwerk and a Hohlflöte 2' in the Hinterwerck were added.
4.) The various faults revealed in the uneven voicing must and can be improved im-
mediately by the organ builder—that is, that the lowest pipes in the Posaunenbass 16' and
the Trompetenbass 8' do not speak so roughly and with such a rattle, but with a pure and
firm tone; and then the remaining pipework that is uneven must be diligently corrected
and made even, which can be conveniently done when the entire instrument is once
again tuned—and indeed, this should happen when the weather is better than it has been
recently.
5.) To be sure, the organ’s playing action should be somewhat lighter and the keyfall
should not be so deep. The very narrowly confined case made it impossible to build the
action in any other way, so one must let it go this time, and in any case, it is still possible
to play in a manner that one need not fear a key will stick while playing.
6.) The organ builder had to build a new wind chest for the Brust over and above the
contract—because the old wind chest that was to have been used instead of building a new
one was, firstly, made with a table, and thus twisted and warped, and secondly, was also
built in the old manner, with a short-octave bass, missing the remaining notes, which
could not be added to it in order for all three keyboards to be the same, and using the
old chest would have created inequality (deformitè [sic]), so it was highly necessary that a
new one be built, both to avoid the problems that would soon become troublesome and to
keep a fine uniformity (conformitè [sic]) among the manuals. Even without any reminder
s
* The verb used here, verfertigen, can mean “to build” and also “to design.”
n

from me, the organ builder is to be reimbursed for the parts newly built over and above
the contract, and therefore not lose because of them.
The organ builder also requested that I lodge a complaint with the Most Praiseworthy
University regarding various items charged to his account that were not agreed to—namely,
among other things, the carvings, gilding, and the fees received by Herr Vetter for his
oversight—for which he is not responsible, nor has it ever been customary for the builder
to assume these expenses (otherwise he would have calculated his estimate differently).
He very respectfully requests likewise not to incur any expense because of them.
Finally, it cannot go unmentioned that (1) at least as far as the window rises up behind
it, the organ should be protected from further threats of weather damage by means of
a small brick wall or a strong piece of sheet iron placed inside the window; and (2) it is
customary and most necessary that the organ builder provide a one-year warranty in
order to fully take care of any problems that may occur, which he is willing to do, as long
as he is promptly and fully reimbursed for the costs he has incurred over-and-above the
contract.
This is what I have found it necessary to make note of as regards the examination of
the organ. Placing myself entirely at the disposal of Your Most Noble Magnificence, Dr.
Rechenberg, and the entire Worshipful University, I remain,
Your most obedient and humble
Joh: Seb: Bach.
Leipzig, Capellmeister
December 17, 1717 to the Prince of Anhalt-Cöthen
6. St. Nicholas’s Church, Zschortau, 1746

Since His Highborn Lord, Herr Heinrich August Sahrer von Sahr, Hereditary Liege
Lord and Magistrate of Zschortau and Biesen, as Most Respected Patron of the Church
of Zschortau has requested me, the undersigned, to go through and examine in said church
the organ newly built by Johann Scheibe of Leipzig; and I, in the presence of said Lord of
Sahr, painstakingly went through it part by part, tried it out, and carefully compared it with
the original contract put before me, drawn up between the inspectors and Herr Scheibe
on June 30, 1744; and have found not only that the contract has been fulfilled in each and
every way, with everything soundly, diligently, and well built, and with the exception of a
few minor problems that Herr Scheibe took care of on the spot, there is nowhere a major
fault, rather there are the following stops built over-and-above the contract, namely:
1. Quinta Thön 16', of wood
s
2. Viola di Gamba 8', of wood
n

3. Fleute-Travers 4', of wood
4. Super Octava 1', metal
5. A coupler (Angehänge) between Manual and Pedal,
all of which were found and adjudged to be well made and good.
Therefore, in the interest of truth, and to the renown of the builder, I have wished to
attest to the same over my own signature and with my own seal affixed.
Dated: Zschortau, August 7, 1746.
Joh: Sebast: Bach.
Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon
Court Composer
7. St. Wenceslas’s Church, Naumburg, 1746

Since Your Most Noble and Most Wise Council of the Town of Naumburg has graciously
allowed us, the undersigned, the honor of visiting the organ thoroughly repaired and
almost completely rebuilt by Herr Hildebrandt and examining it according to the contract
made in respect of the same, which was given to us; therefore, we have conscientiously and
dutifully done so, and it was revealed that: Each and every part specified and promised in
the contract—namely, keyboards, bellows, wind chests, wind lines, pedal and keyboard
actions along with their various parts, registers, and stops, both open and stopped, as
well as reeds—is really there; also, in general each and every part has been made with
appropriate care, and the pipes have been properly built from the materials promised. At
the same time it must be mentioned that an extra bellows and a stop named Unda Maris
have been provided over the contract. Nevertheless, it will be necessary to encourage
Herr Hildebrandt to go through the entire instrument once more, stop by stop, in order to
achieve more evenness in the voicing as well as in the key and stop actions. Once again we
affirm that this is our conscientious and dutiful testimony, which we have signed with our
own hands and corroborated with our customary seals. Naumburg, September 27, 1746.
Joh: Sebastian Bach
Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court Composer
Gottfried Silbermann
Royal Polish and Electoral Saxon Court and State Organ Builder
s
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section b
Instructions for
Examining Organs
At the beginning of the last century, a manuscript was uncovered during repairs to an
organ in a church in Saxony that, according to its title, was based on an oral transmis-
sion of the organ builder to the electoral Saxon court, Gottfried Silbermann, who died
in 1753. The manuscript, privately owned, comprises sixteen numbered paragraphs and
a postscript written on eight pages in small quarto format. Even though the attribu-
tion to Silbermann remains doubtful, the instructions nevertheless provide a concise
and illuminating enumeration of the main points of an organ test in the middle of the
eighteenth century.
This translation is based on the text transmitted in “Eine Erinnerung an den Altmeister
des Orgelbaues Gottfried Silbermann,” Zeitschrift für Instrumentenbau 30 (1909–10),
1133–35.
A Proper and Thorough Guide

as to how an honest organ examiner should
examine a new organ using fundamental principles,
so that he can be justified in the sight of God and the world,
written down as heard from the mouth of the late Mr. Gottfried Silbermann,
formerly Royal Court Organ Builder in Freyberg.
1. First, an organ examiner should and must look at the gallery to determine whether
it has a firm foundation and is built so that it can carry an organ with such and such
number of registers and that over a long period of time it will not sag, thereby causing
irreparable damage to the church (of which enough tragic examples have come to light).
A well-informed organ builder will have discernment and be able to assess these matters.
2. The examiner should also pay attention to the design (Archidectur), whether the s
organ case is well proportioned, and especially should notice—as it is customary for a n
jp

drawing to be available, such a drawing being quite necessary—whether the organ itself
agrees with the depiction in the drawing.
3. When ample space is available in a gallery one should take care not to build things
too close together; everything—such as the pallets, trackers, and the pipework—should
be easy to reach. When an organ is too crowded and something quite minor occurs—as
is often the case—and one cannot reach in or only with difficulty and at great pains, then
often more harm is done than good. This would be a major fault.
4. The stopknobs must be attached to the shafts precisely and securely so they need
not be pulled out even half a foot before the stop has fully actuated the wind-chest slider,
for both the stopknob and the slider must begin to move and continue to move exactly
together.
5. The toeboards must be screwed to their wind chests neither too tightly nor loosely,
for if they are screwed in too tightly, the sliders will pull badly, at times tearing the wood.
If, however, they are screwed in too loosely, then the wind leaks from the chest through
the toeboards, causing a cipher and robbing the instrument of its power. Care must be
taken to find the middle road.
6. The keyboards also must be made in such a way that they are easy to play and do not
make a big clattering noise that sometimes is really hateful and irksome, for if the pallet
springs are too strong, then they become hard to play, something simply not permitted.
7. There must not be more than one spring for each pallet, for where there are more it
is an error attributable to the laziness and inattention of the organ builder and definitely
not permitted.
8. There is much one could say about the bellows. They must be built in proportion
to the organ; for example, an instrument with 24 to 30 stops would require 3 bellows,
7–8 feet long, 5–6 feet wide. They must be made from really good, flawless wood and
leather, and bound by strong horse veins,1 be made with one fold, and able to be raised
rather high, so that the wind lasts that much longer (this is especially advantageous for
the pumpers). It is also very good and much better when the intake valves are screwed
on beneath the bellows, so if necessary they can be unscrewed and, with the help of a
light and half of one’s body, one can look around the whole bellows and easily correct a
problem. The wood used for the bellows must have a glue solution poured on over and
1. Werckmeister refers to covering or binding the bellows with horse veins (Roß-Adern): “It is
very good when the bellows are well bound and protected with horse veins, and it is best when the
horse veins are fastened with wooden brads and glued” (Werckmeister 1698, 3; Krapf 1976, 2).
Werckmeister also claims that when horse veins are used it is no longer necessary to use coun-
terweights to ensure the wind pressure remains constant (Werckmeister 1698, 46; Krapft 1976,
37). Adlung describes horse veins as “either straps or horse skin or actual dried horse veins, leg
s tendons or sinews. They are more durable than common leather which has a tendency to crack”
n (Adlung 1768, 42; cited in Krapf 1976, 2).

over so that worms will not harm the wood. Also, the bellows must be placed in a location
where neither sun nor moon can shine on them, either within masonry walls, or at least in
a chamber that can be closed up with boards. The bellows must be placed on a framework
that stands at least four feet high that is very securely set up so that one can, if necessary,
crawl under it. However, if the bellows rest flat on the floor and not on a framework, this
is a major fault because then the bellows pull in dust, feathers, cobwebs, and other dirty
things, and blow it along with the wind into the wind-chest channels and from there
into the pipework, which causes the pipes not to be able to speak—which is absolutely
not permissible. The bellows must work at their peak in an organ, so one must give this
appropriate and scrupulous attention.
9. The wind chest is the whole heart—indeed, the primary essence—of an organ, and
it should generally be made of very good quality oak that has previously been soaked
in a large beer cauldron (so that the vapors settle better on one another),2 because the
degree of accuracy to which the boards must be fashioned cannot be described. One must
also use only one kind of wood—oak and nothing but oak—for the wind chest. That is,
toeboards, sliders, and the spacers (between the sliders) on the wind chest—everything
must be of oak. When this is not the case, the error may not be excused. One also should
not assume that a knowledgeable organ builder will necessarily do this, because one still
finds organs where the wind chests are made of oak, to be sure, but the toeboards are of
linden and the sliders are of pine, which certainly not even a bungler would do, no matter
how inexperienced he might be.
10. Now an even more difficult point: At times one finds some pretty large bleed holes
bored in the wind chests of organs, or there will be small holes bored in the toeboards next
to the pipes, or sometimes even in the metal—and also in the wooden—pipes themselves,
below where they stand in the holes of the toeboards. (Mr. Silbermann and Mr. Trost in
Altenburg call them “rogue’s holes” [Schelmlöcher].3) Certain unscrupulous organ build-
ers make such holes so the “false” wind [i.e., wind leaked through the bad construction]
that results from laziness and inattention to their work will escape through these bleed
holes, because if this did not happen there would be a terrible cipher—indeed, such an
instrument would be unplayable. But an instrument loses its energy and full power in this
way. An organ examiner must be on guard here so such careless people do not fool him.
Indeed, it is impossible to describe how carefully one must look at and pay attention to
every little thing if one does not want to be deceived.
11. The examiner should push off all the stops, have the bellows pumped, and then he
should lay both arms on the keyboard so all pallets are opened at the same time. When this
2. Adequate moisture content inhibits fungi and insects and also can render wood more permeable.
3. “Rogue’s holes” is a rough translation. Schelmisch or schelm-like means “impish,” “mischie-
vous,” “roguish”; a Schelm is a “devil.” The term is also used for carrion and can mean a depraved s
or profligate person. n
Instructions for Examining Organs 151 jp

happens and one hears no run or cipher—that is, no pipes are making a gentle sound—
then the wind chest is very good and not to be faulted and the organ builder cannot be
praised enough. If one discovers the opposite, however, and there is a run, it is one of
the most serious faults, and such an organ builder must know nothing about the bleed
holes discussed above, or else he would quickly have seen to it. One can also carry out this
test right at the beginning, because when there is nothing heard, then the wind chest is
good, but an instrument that has a run, where pipes quietly sound that shouldn’t sound,
can never ever be brought perfectly into tune. Further,
12. one can pull out all the stops and with doubled chords play continuous sixteenth
notes, and if one observes a gulping in the wind, again, it is a fault and the gulping results
from a problem in the bellows—in particular, from valves being too small that are inside
at the front where the wind goes from the bellows into the channel, a place where one
cannot get to, though, without removing the bellows.
13. One also must put neither too little nor too much weight on the bellows; the amount
must be established by using the wind gauge. An organ builder or examiner will know
how these are made, but to describe all this here would be very complicated.
14. An examiner must have a good understanding of temperament. If it is correct,
then all of the stops are checked, one at a time, for accuracy. Normally the temperament
is set on the 4-foot Principal, and all the other pipes are tuned to it. In this way one can
easily hear what is pure and what is impure, for if a pipe beats, it is not in tune.
15. The Principal must be nicely cleaned and polished like silver. It must also be
sharply voiced (eine scharfe Intonation haben)—indeed, all the pipework should be. Mr.
Silbermann uses the same material for the inner pipes as he does for the Principal in
the facade, which of course costs more but also has a better effect than if one uses three
parts lead and one part tin—that is, common metal. Finally,
16. the speech of the reeds, such as Regal, Vox humana, and Posaunen-Baß, should not
be primitive (grausam), but nicely elegant (fein lieblich)—especially the Posaunen-Baß,
which should speak promptly, not somewhat delayed, which is extremely annoying.
If the shallots of the Posaunen-Baß are made from wood, they must be treated inside
with a glue solution so that woodworms do not get in, but if the shallots are metal, this is
not necessary, and they are much better, although costlier. The same glue solution must
be poured into the Subbaß pipes, also on account of worms, and because the pipes will
sound much brighter. If there is a Violdigamben-Baß 16'—which is something incom-
parably beautiful—then the languids must have a tin lining; the mouth labia, on the other
hand, should be made of good pear wood. The same pear wood mouth labia must be used
on other pedal stops, such as Violon 16' and Principal 16', in order for them, too, to be
properly built.
Certainly the scaling of instruments in large cities must be somewhat wide, especially
s in the large churches, but of course this will demand more wind. In sum, an organ builder
n can build a lasting reputation, but he also can discredit himself if he does not consider

his conscience. If he has done his best, then it is only right he should be paid well for his
work, and also the examiner should be given a nice gratuity.
Note:
As to the bellows, the following is also to be kept in mind: When they are placed below—
where this is at all possible—then the wind is always much stronger than when the wind
is brought into the organ from above, on the side, or behind the organ.
s
n
Instructions for Examining Organs 153 jp

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part three
Organ Builders
Sections A and B give short biographies of organ builders to whom Johann Sebastian Bach
had a personal connection or whose organs he came into contact with. Other organ build-
ers and organ-building firms are listed without comprehensive information in Section C.
As far as possible, dates of birth and death or of years of business are provided. Under
“Organs” in Sections A and B, organs associated with Bach are listed first, followed by
additional, complementary instruments. Dates in parentheses relate to the completion
of the organ. There has been no attempt to make this directory complete.
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section a
Organ Builders with a
Personal Connection to Bach
Albrecht, Johann
(d. January 22, 1719, in Coburg)
Presumably journeyman with Christoph Junge, whose organ in Erfurt’s Merchants’
Church he completed after Junge’s death in 1687. Moved his workshop to Coburg. His
best-known student was Johann Sebastian Ehrhardt, with whom he built the organ in
Langewiesen.
Organs: Part I. A: Langewiesen (new organ, 1706).— Coburg, St. Moritz (rebuild).
Literature: BDOK II, no. 18; Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 14.
Becker, Johann Nikolaus

(b. before 1700)
Son-in-law of Johann Friedrich Wender, who presumably trained him to be an organ
builder. Becker appears also to have had a close association with Johann Friedrich Stertz-
ing, whose successor he became; in 1724 he took over work in Merseburg Cathedral. In
the baptismal book in St. Mary’s, Mühlhausen, Becker is called “Royal Hesse Privileged
Organ Builder” in 1720.
Organs: Part I. A: Kassel, St. Martin’s (rebuild, 1732).— Oberteutschenthal, St. Lau-
rence’s (translocation from St. Maxim, Merseburg, 1723; case preserved).
Literature: BDOK II, no. 316; Stüven 1964, 85; Kröhner 1995, 84.
Contius (Cuncius, Cuntzius), family of organ builders

• Christoph (b. 1676 in Wernigerode, d. November 8, 1722, in Halle)
According to Gerber, Contius lived in Halberstadt and renovated the Grüningen organ
built 1595; he later moved his workshop to Halle.
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Organs: Part I. A: Halle, Market Church (new organ, 1716).— Tharschengen (new
organ, 1706). Abbenrode (new organ, 1708; restored 1975). Glaucha, St. George’s (new
organ, 1720).
Literature: Werckmeister 1705; Adlung 1768, 231 (Glaucha disposition); Gerber I,
775; Stüven 1964, 92.
• Heinrich Andreas (d. March 27, 1795, in Valmiera, Latvia)
Son of Christoph C., apprenticed with Joachim Wagner, and in 1748 became Christian
Joachim’s successor as organ examiner in Halle (Saale). He left Halle in 1763, was in Reval
(now Tallinn) from 1768 to1771, and was working in Riga in 1783. Johann Sebastian Bach
wrote a recommendation for Contius in 1748.
Organs: Part I. B: Frankfurt/Oder (proposal, 1749).— Löbejün, St. Peter’s (repairs,
1737). Giebichenstein near Halle, St. Bartholomew’s (new organ, 1743). Dieskau, St.
Anne’s (new organ, 1750). Glaucha near Halle (new organ, 1751). Niemberg, St. Ursula’s
(various repairs, 1756–61).
Literature: Adlung 1768, 230–31 (Giebichenstein disposition); Stüven 1964, 100,
107, 109, 114, 116, 118; BJ 1977, 137; Grosmane 2003, 43.
Ehrhardt, Johann Sebastian

(baptized October 6, 1676, in Gehren)
As an apprentice, built the organ in Langewiesen with Johann Albrecht, and thereafter
was active as an independent builder in Heldburg; he also worked in the area of Coburg.
Organs: Part I. A: Langewiesen (assisted building new organ, 1706).— Gauerstadt
(new organ, 1723).
Literature: Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 80.
Finke (Fincke, Finck), Johann Georg

(b. ca. 1685, buried May 26, 1749, in Saalfeld)
It is probable that he learned organ building from Peter Herold, Apolda, and that he
was working in his workshop before 1700. In Jena after 1707, then in Saalfeld; he became
citizen of Neustadt/Orla in 1726. After his death, the Saalfeld workshop apparently was
carried on by his son Johann Georg Jr. On the basis of the renovations (enlargements) to
the St. Johan’s organ in Gera, Kümmerle proposes that Finke took joy in experimentation
and was “in multiple ways ahead of his time.” Fischer assumes that Johann Christoph
Wiegleb was his student.
Organs: Part I. A: Gera, St. John’s (new organ, 1725). Gera, St. Salvator’s (new organ,
1722). Gera, Castle Chapel (new organ, 1721?). Part I. B: Buttstädt, St. Michael’s (new
organ, completed 1701?; preserved).— Schwarzburg, parish church (new organ, 1713).
Gera, city church, small organ (new organ, 1715).
s Literature: Adlung 1768, 271–72; Gerber II, 123; Kümmerle I, 405; Fischer 1969, 39;
n Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 93–94; Friedrich 2001a.
jp 158 part three. organ builders

Hildebrandt, family of organ builders
• Zacharias (b. 1688 in Münsterberg/Silesia, d. November 10, 1757, in Dresden)
Probably learned joinery from his father; it is not known where he learned organ building.
On December 9, 1713, he began working in the workshop of Gottfried Silbermann. They
worked together on a number of instruments and both signed the contract in 1718 for the
new organ for St. George’s Church in Rötha. In 1722 Hildebrandt became a citizen of Frei-
berg, and he married on September 14 in Langhennersdorf. In the same year there erupted a
quarrel with Silbermann, after Hildebrandt, in defiance of their agreement, repaired the St.
Peter’s organ in Freiberg, and in Störmthal contracted to build a new organ by undercutting
Silbermann’s quoted price. In 1727 he moved to Sangerhausen, where he stayed for four
years; in 1730 he was named “Royal Saxe-Weißenfels Court Organ Builder.” In addition to
organs, Hildebrandt earned a reputation for his harpsichords and lute-harpsichords built
in the years 1738–40. A reconciliation with Silbermann occurred before the examination
of Hildebrandt’s organ in Naumburg at the latest. In 1750, Silbermann conferred oversight
to Hildebrandt of the new organ in Dresden’s Court Church. Silbermann’s sole heir and
nephew, Johann Daniel, took over this position in 1753, and Hildebrandt submitted his
disposition for the Church of the Three Kings in Dresden. Hildebrandt became Johann
Scheibe’s successor as university organ builder in Leipzig in 1749.
Organs: Part I. A: Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s (new organ, 1746; preserved). Sanger-
hausen, St. Jacobi (new organ, 1728; preserved). Störmthal (new organ, 1723; preserved).
Part I. B: Liebertwolkwitz (new organ, 1725). Rötha, St. George’s (new organ, 1721; contract
co-signed with G. Silbermann; preserved).
Literature: Dähnert 1962; Schrammek 1983a, 60–61; Friedrich 2002.
• Johann Gottfried (b. 1724 in Störmthal or Liebertwolkwitz, d. 1775 in Dresden)
Son of Zacharias Hildebrandt, pupil of his father and Joachim Wagner, worked with his
father (among other places in Naumburg) and was his father’s successor. His workshop
was in Dresden.
Organs: Hamburg, St. Michael’s (new organ, 1762–71).
Schäfer, Conrad Wilhelm

(b. before 1670, d. after 1737)
Organ builder in Kindelbrück (Thuringia). The earliest reference to his work is from
1685, when he repaired the bellows in the organ in Sömmerda.
Organs: Part I. A: Weißensee, St. Peter and Paul’s (enlargement, 1735–37).
Scheibe, Johann
(b. 1680, probably in Zschortau, d. September 3, 1748, in Leipzig)
Married Anna Rosine Hesse in 1705 and from that date was citizen of Leipzig. As
s
university organ builder he was responsible for all the organs in the city; he carried out
n
Organ Builders with a Personal Connection to Bach 159 jp

major renovations at the New Church, St. Thomas’s, and St. Nicholas’s, and built a new
organ for St. John’s. He was contracted to renovate and enlarge the organ in the univer-
sity’s St. Paul’s Church in 1710 even though proposals had been received from Christoph
Donat Jr. (whose workshop he later took over) and Gottfried Silbermann; Adam Horatio
Casparini consulted on the project. From that point he lived in St. Paul’s College, the rent
for which the university paid in his last years. His organ facades are composed of concave
and convex surfaces, crowned with volutes, and give no hint as to the arrangement of the
various divisions. According to Johann Friedrich Agricola, Zacharias Hildebrandt and
Johann Sebastian Bach gave Scheibe’s organ for St. John’s in Leipzig one of the most
exacting examinations of a new organ ever undertaken (NBR, no. 306; BDOK III, nos.
666 and 740). According to Rubardt, Scheibe was “a particularly characterful individual,
a right thinking and articulate man who had justly earned J. S. Bach’s high esteem.”
Johann Adolph, Scheibe’s son, launched an attack against Bach and other musicians in
1737 (NBR, no. 343; BDOK II, no. 400; Maul 2010).
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Paul’s Church (renovation and enlargement, 1710–16;
examination, 1717). Leipzig, St. Thomas’s (renovation, 1720–22). Leipzig, New Church
(renovation, 1721–22). Leipzig, St. Nicholas’s (renovation, 1724–25). Leipzig, St. John’s
(new organ, 1741–43). Zschortau (new organ, 1746; preserved).
Literature: Schering 1926, 257; Rubardt 1963; Klotz 1980a; Dähnert 1980, 308; Henkel
1986, 44–50; Theobald 1986, 81–89; Kaufmann 2000, 404–9; Rubardt 2005; Butler
2011, 87–101.
Schröter, Johann Georg

(b. August 20, 1683, in Berlstedt [Thuringia], d. ca. 1750)
Pupil of J. C. Vockeroth in Berlstedt; from 1712, citizen and organ builder in Erfurt.
Became privileged organ builder on October 24, 1716, which gave him the right to repair
all “organs in the city and province.” Some twenty-two of his organs can be documented
in and around Erfurt, of which ten dispositions have been transmitted by Adlung. In 1716
he completed the organ begun by Stertzing Sr. in Erfurt’s St. Augustine’s Church (which
led Löffler to posit a relationship to Stertzing’s workshop). Johann Sebastian Bach wrote
a recommendation for Schröter in 1716 (NBR, no. 62; BDOK I, no. 86).
Organs: Part I. A: Erfurt, St. Augustine’s (new organ, 1716).— Kerspleben near Erfurt
(new organ, 1720). Erfurt, All Saints’ Church (new organ, 1724). Wandersleben (new
organ, 1724). Erfurt, Hospital Church (new organ, 1735). Andisleben (new organ, 1735).
Literature: Adlung 1768; Löffler 1928, 131; Klotz 1980b; Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 377.
Schweinefleisch, Johann Christian Immanuel

(b. May 16, 1721, in Mockern, near Altenburg; d. April 15, 1771)
s Attended the St. Thomas’s School in Leipzig until 1731. Nephew of Tobias Heinrich
n Gottfried Trost, with whom he apprenticed in 1737–42; he helped build the organ in Alten-

burg’s palace church. In 1742–43, as a journeyman with Heinrich Nicolaus Trebs, he took
part in building the organ in Bad Berka. He later worked with Zacharias Hildebrandt. After
Scheibe’s death in 1748, Schweinefleisch took care of the organs in Leipzig’s principal
churches. In 1770–71 he installed a new organ in Böhlitz’s town church (it had apparently
been used as an interim instrument in St. Thomas’s, Leipzig, during the rebuild of the
main organ by Mauer).
Organs: Part I. A: Altenburg, palace church (assistant on new organ, 1739; preserved).
Bad Berka (assistant on new organ, 1743). Leipzig, St. Thomas’s (renovation, 1755).
Literature: BDOK II, no. 515. Löffler 1926; Löffler 1931; Friedrich 1989, 69.
Silbermann, Gottfried
(b. January 14, 1683, in Kleinbobritzsch near Frauenstein, d. August 4, 1753, in Dresden)
Son of a court carpenter. His brother Andreas (1678–1743) worked in Alsace from
1699. Werner Müller disproved the story told by Joseph Krömer (under the pseudonym
Ludwig Mooser) that Andreas Silbermann had studied with Eugenio Casparini in Görlitz.
Gottfried Silbermann received his training from his brother between 1701 and 1705
and ran his brother’s Straßburg workshop during his absence in Paris in 1705–7, after
which Gottfried himself traveled throughout France. In 1710, in Frauenstein, he signed
the contract to build an organ for the cathedral in Freiberg. Friedrich August I (August
the Strong), elector of Saxony, named him “Privileged Court and State Organ Builder” in
1723. The only documented meeting with Johann Sebastian Bach is at the examination of
the Hildebrandt organ in Naumburg in September of 1746. In 1750, suffering from age
and illness, he named his former student Zacharias Hildebrandt as the project manager
of the new organ for the catholic Court Church (Hofkirche) in Dresden (the organ was
completed under Johann Daniel Silbermann in 1755). He adopted Hildebrandt’s idea of
building space-saving Hinterwerk divisions. In addition to organs, Gottfried Silbermann
built harpsichords, fortepianos, and clavichords.
Organs: Part I. A: Dresden, St. Sophia’s (new organ, 1720). Dresden, Our Lady’s (new
organ, 1736). Part I. B: Freiberg, cathedral (new organ, 1714; preserved). Freiberg, St.
Peter’s (new organ, 1734; preserved). Rötha, St. George’s (new organ, 1721; preserved).
Rötha, St. Mary’s (new organ, 1722; preserved).— Forchheim, parish church (new organ,
1726; preserved). Ponitz, parish church (new organ, 1737; preserved). Dresden, catholic
Hofkirche (new organ, 1755; partly preserved).
Literature: Adlung 1768; Flade 1926, 1953; Müller 1982; Greß 1989; Schaefer 1994;
Schaefer 1995; Müller 1999; Greß 2001; Schaefer/Greß 2001; Silbermann 2006.
Stertzing, family of organ builders

• Georg Christoph (b. ca. 1650, buried February 21, 1717, in Eisenach)
Married Anna Dorothea Schnabel, of Gotha, on November 23, 1686, in Ohrdruf, and s
settled in Ohrdruf in 1690. On April 22, 1691, he was advised by Eisenach’s city council of n

his appointment as overseer of the organs at St. George’s, St. Nicholas’s, and St. Anne’s.
From 1696, he was engaged in building a new organ for St. George’s. Flade has pointed out
that among Stertzing’s contemporaries, only Andreas Silbermann in Straßburg, Christian
Förner, and Matthias Schuricht also built organs with a low C ♯.
Organs: Part I. A: Arnstadt, Upper Church (enlargement, 1708). Eisenach, St. George’s
(new organ, 1707; case survives). Erfurt, St. Augustine’s (new organ, 1716; completed
by Johann Georg Schröter).— Craula/Wiegleben (new organ, 1687). Berka/Werra (new
organ, 1697). Obersuhl (new organ, 1701). Erfurt, St. Peter’s (new organ, 1702; since
1811 in Büßleben; partly preserved). Jena, City Church (new organ, 1706). Udestädt (new
organ, 1710).
Literature: Adlung 1768, 275–76; Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 404; Oefner 1996; Butler
2008, 229–69.
• Johann Georg (b. 1690 in Ohrdruf)
Son of Georg Christoph, whose Eisenach workshop he took over.
Organs: Part I. A: Eisenach, St. George’s (assisted with new organ, 1696–1707; case
survives). Eisenach, St. Nicholas’s (new organ, 1718).
Literature: Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 404; Oefner 1996, 64.
• Johann Friedrich (b. 1681, d. 1731)
Son of Georg Christoph. In his application to the Kassel court in 1714 he referred to
work done in Eisenach churches. Married November 26, 1711, in Eisenach, where his
son, Johann Friedrich Bernhard, was baptized on November 13, 1712. In 1715 he was
living in Kassel, where the previous year he had been named court organ builder. After
his death, the organ project in St. Martin’s Church in Kassel was completed by Johann
Nikolaus Becker.
Organs: Part I. A: Kassel, St. Martin’s (enlargement, 1730–31). Hannoversch Münden,
St. Blasius’s (new organ, 1719–20). Lauterbach (new organ, 1727).
Literature: Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 404; Oefner 1996, 63.
Trebs (Tröbs, Trebes), Heinrich Nicolaus

(b. August 10, 1678, in Frankenhausen, buried August 18, 1748, in Weimar)
Son of a cabinetmaker; according to Walther he studied organ building in 1698 with
Christian Rothe in Salzungen. After working in Mühlhausen he settled in 1709 in Weimar,
where he married the mayor’s daughter, Catharine Elisabeth Aulepp, in 1713. Already on
February 16, 1711, Bach had provided a recommendation (BDOK I, no. 84) in support of
his application to become Weimar “Privileged Court Organ Builder.” On November 27,
1713, Bach stood as godfather at the baptism of Johann Gottfried Trebs in Weimar’s City
Church of St. Peter and Paul’s. In Weimar records from 1716, Trebs is described as “court
organ builder.” According to Walther, he built some twenty organs. Christian Immanuel
s Schweinefleisch was his journeyman in 1743.
n

Organs: Part I. A: Bad Berka, St. Mary’s (new organ, 1742–43). Taubach, St. Ursula’s
(new organ, 1709–10). Weimar, palace church (renovations, 1714 and 1738). Weimar, St.
Jacob’s (new organ, 1723).
Literature: Walther 1732, 614; Gerber IV, 383; Löffler 1926; NBR, no. 42; BDOK I, no.
84; BDOK II, no. 61.
Trost, family of organ builders

• Tobias Heinrich Gottfried (b. ca. 1680, perhaps in Halberstadt, buried August
15, 1759, in Altenburg)
Learned handcraft of organ building from his father, Johann Tobias Gottfried; first
documented as independent organ builder in 1711. Moved in 1718 to Altenburg, where
he was named “Privileged Court Organ Builder” on November 23, 1723. His organs show
the change from seventeenth-century dispositions rich in reeds to dispositions rich in
the sound produced by flues and multiple 8' stops. In Waltershausen a two-ranked Flöte
douce 4' has been preserved that has one rank of conical, open wooden pipes, the other
of cylindrical, stopped metal pipes.
Organs: Part I. A: Altenburg, court church (new organ, 1739; preserved). Part I. B:
Waltershausen, Church “Zur Gotteshilfe” (new organ, 1735; preserved).— Großengottern,
Upper Church (new organ, 1717; preserved). Eisenberg, palace chapel (renovation, 1733;
preserved).
Literature: Kümmerle III, 668; Klotz 1980d; Friedrich 1989, 18–20; Friedrich 2009,
102–6.
• Johann Tobias Gottfried (b. 1651, apparently in Halberstadt, d. 1721)
Brother of the organist Johann Caspar Trost Jr., who wrote a booklet on the Förner
organ in the Augustusburg Castle, Weißenfels. Son of the theologian Johann Caspar Trost
Sr., he worked in the workshop of Christian Förner for around ten years, taking part in
Förner’s new organs in Weißenfels and St. Ulrich’s, Halle. Trost may have learned to play
the organ from his father.
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. John’s (new organ, 1695). —Belgern (new organ, 1684).
Mutzschen (new organ, 1689). Cannewitz (new organ, 1696). Langensalza, Church on
the Hill (new organ, 1701). Tonna, parish church (new organ, 1704). Siebleben, parish
church (new organ, 1717).
Literature: Adlung 1768, 250; Gerber IV, 395; Friedrich 1989, 13–18.
Wagner, Joachim
(b. April 13, 1690, in Karow near Genthin [Saxony-Anhalt], d. May 23, 1749, in Salzwedel)
His father was a pastor; his brother studied theology (Friedrich Wagner was pastor
at St. Michael’s, Hamburg, from 1736 to 1760). Wagner learned organ building with
Christoph Treutmann, a Schnitger student best known for the organ (III/42) he built in s
n

1734–37 for the monastery church of St. George in Grauhof. Wagner worked two years for
Gottfried Silbermann and in 1741 became acquainted with Silbermann’s nephew from
Straßburg, Johann Andreas Silbermann, when he examined Wagner’s organ in St. Mary’s
Church in Berlin. Wagner settled in Berlin and married Anna Elisabeth Canzer (d. 1739
in Magdeburg). According to Kitschke, Wagner had such a favorable position vis-à-vis
contracts that he was able to build primarily new organs, leaving repairs and rebuilds
to the numerous members of his profession who were less accomplished. Wagner died
while working on the St. Mary’s organ in Salzwedel. Among his students were Heinrich
Andreas Contius, Halle (Saale), and Johann Gottfried Hildebrandt, Dresden.
Organs: Part I. A: Potsdam, Old Garrison Church (new organ, 1722; since 1730 in
Berlin’s Jerusalem Church). Part I. B: Berlin, St. Mary’s (new organ, 1723; partly pre-
served). —Brandenburg, Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul’s (new organ, 1725). Berlin, Old
Garrison Church (new organ, 1726). Brandenburg, St. Catherine’s (new organ, 1727).
Berlin, St. George’s (new organ, 1727). Potsdam, Holy Ghost Church (new organ, 1730).
Potsdam, New Garrison Church (new organ, 1732). Treuenbrietzen (new organ, 1741).
Literature: Mundt 1928; Steves 1939; Schulze 1968; Kitschke 1993, 197–202; Kitschke
2011, 200.
Wender, family of organ builders

• Johann Friedrich (baptized December 6, 1656, in Dörna near Mühlhausen,
d. June 12, 1729, in Mühlhausen)
In 1676, assisted an unknown organ builder in renovating the St. Mary’s organ in Mühl-
hausen, where he settled, probably in 1687 when he was given the contract to renovate
the organ at St. Blasius’s. His students include his son Christian Friedrich and probably
also his son-in-law Johann Nikolaus Becker, and Johann Christoph Dauphin.
Organs: Part I. A: Ammern, St. Vitus’s (1708). Arnstadt, New Church (new organ,
1703). Eisenach, St. George’s (enlargement, 1725). Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s (repair of
organ after lightning strike, 1720). Mühlhausen, St. Blasius’s (partially new organ, 1691
and 1708). Mühlhausen, Brückenhof Church (new organ, 1702). Part I. B: Merseburg,
cathedral (enlargement, 1716). —Bollstedt near Mühlhausen (new organ, 1688–89).
Mühlhausen, St. Peter’s (new organ, 1710). Mühlhausen, St. Martin’s (new organ, 1719).
Mühlhausen, St. George’s (new organ, 1714).
Sources/Literature: Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen, Chronik, Sign. 68/18—. Adlung 1768;
Gerber IV, 543; Großmann 1968; Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994, 464; Kröhner 1995, 85.
• Christian Friedrich (baptized March 7, 1694, in Mühlhausen, d. 1740 in Erfurt)
Son of Johann Friedrich, whose workshop in Mühlhausen he took over.
Organs: Part I. A: Mühlhausen, St. Mary’s Church (new organ, 1738).
Sources/Literature: Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen, Chronik, Sign. 61/18. —Fischer/
s Wohnhaas 1994, 464.
n

section b
Organ Builders from the
Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries
Associated with Bach’s Organs
Casparini, family of organ builders

• Eugenio (b. February 14, 1623, in Sorau, buried September 17, 1706, in
Niederwiesa/Silesia)
Baptized Johann Caspar, he changed his name while working in Italy. He returned to
Germany in 1697 to build, with his son, the “sun organ” in Görlitz.
Organs: Part I. B: Görlitz, Church of St. Peter and Paul’s (new organ, 1703).
Literature: Boxberg 1704; Flade 1952; Reichling/Janka 2000.
• Adam Horatio (b. 1676 in Padua, d. August 11, 1745, in Breslau)
Son of Eugenio. After completion of the Görlitz organ, in 1703 he settled in Breslau.
Brought Italian influences into German organ building.
Literature: BDOK I, commentary to no. 87; Flade 1952, 892; Reichling/Janka 2000.
Compenius (Cumpenius), family of organ builders

• Heinrich Cumpenius (b. ca. 1530–35, in Fulda, d. May 2, 1611)
Lived in Eisleben, Erfurt, and Nordhausen. Part 1. A: Erfurt, Prediger Church (new
organ, 1527–79). —Fritzlar, Cathedral (new organ, 1588–90).
• Heinrich II (b. before 1560, d. September 22, 1631, in Halle [Saale])
Son of Heinrich Cumpenius; organist and organ builder in Eisleben; lived in Halle
with title of “Organ Builder and Brewer by Authority of the Prince and Archbishop.”
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, small organ (enlargement, 1630).
Literature: Schneider 1937; Klotz 1952; Schlepphorst 2000; Rehm 2002; Aumüller
2010, 67, 78, 103.
• Ludwig (b. after 1608 in Halle [Saale], d. February 11, 1671) s
Son and student of Heinrich II; became citizen of Naumburg in 1632 and was a citizen n
of Erfurt from 1652. Also built stringed keyboard instruments.

jp

Organs: Part I. A: Arnstadt, Upper Church (repairs, 1666). Kassel, St. Martin’s (reno-
vation, 1664). Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s (renovation, 1662). Weimar, Palace Church
(partly new organ using parts of the organ from Erfurt’s Church of the Barefoot Friars,
1658). Part I. B: Erfurt, Prediger Church (rebuild, 1649). —Naumburg, Cathedral (renova-
tion, 1632). Gera, St. John’s (repairs and enlargement, 1647).
Literature: Klotz 1952; Henkel 1985, 20 (fn. 15); Schlepphorst 2000.
Donat(i), family of organ builders

• Christoph Sr. (b. September 30, 1625, in Marienberg, buried August 17, 1706, in
Leipzig)
Became citizen of Leipzig in 1662. Trained eight sons as organ builders, including
Christoph Jr. and Johann Jacob Sr. (b. June 27, 1663, he later called himself Donati and
was active in Zwickau and Altenburg). Approximately twenty organs and some clavichords
are documented as being made in his workshop.
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, main organ (enlargement, 1671). Leipzig,
St. Thomas’s, small organ (enlargement, 1665). Leipzig, New Church (new organ, 1704).
—Brandis (near Leipzig; new organ, 1705; partially preserved).
Literature: Schering 1926, 256; Dähnert 1980, 301; Hüttel 1980a, 541; Glöckner 1990,
19–20.
• Christoph Jr. (b. December 2, 1659, d. June 15, 1713)
Documented as working with his father on the organ for the New Church in Leipzig
(1704) and in Brandis (1705).
Literature: Schering 1926, 256; Dähnert 1980, 301; Glöckner 1990, 19–20; Hüttel
2001.
• Johann Jacob Jr. (baptized October 15, 1715, still active in 1767)
Son of Johann Jacob Donati. Organ builder in Zwickau.
Literature: BDOK V, no. B586b.
Dressel (Dreßler), Christoph

(b. ca. 1640, d. August 6, 1686)
Resident of Leipzig from 1679; for a time associated with Christoph Donat.
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, main organ (repairs, 1681). Leipzig, St.
Thomas’s, harpsichord (1675). Weißenfels, palace church (new positive, 1682).
Literature: Gerber I, 937; Schering 1926, 256; Hüttel 1980b; Fischer 2001.
Dropa, Mathias
(b. ca. 1656 in Sienbenbürgen, buried September 25, 1732, in Lüneburg)
Journeyman with Arp Schnitger; founded his own workshop in 1692 in Hamburg;
s moved the workshop to Lüneburg in 1705.
n

Organs: Part I. A: Lüneburg, St. John’s (enlargement, 1715; preserved). Lüneburg, St.
Michael’s (new organ, 1707).
Literature: Fock 1974, 120–22.
Förner, Christian
(b. ca. 1609 in Wettin [Saale] oder Löbejün, d. ca. 1678)
Taught by his brother-in-law, Johann Wilhelm Stegmann, mayor of Wettin (grandfa-
ther of Johann Caspar Trost Jr.). “Royal Organ Builder in Magdeburg” in 1667. Students
included Johann Tobias Gottfried Trost, Johann Caspar Trost Jr., and Bernhard Schmidt
(later active in England as Bernard Smith). Trained in the sciences, in 1667 Förner in-
vented the wind gauge as a means of precisely measuring wind pressure in organs.
Organs: Part I. A: Weißenfels, palace church (new organ, 1673; case preserved).
Literature: Trost 1677; Dreyhaupt 1755; Adlung 1768; Kümmerle II, 413–14; Serauky
1935, 271 and 273; Friedrich 2001b.
Fritzsche, Gottfried
(b. 1578 in Meißen, d. March 10, 1638, in Ottensen)
Apparently a student of Johann (Hanß) Lange in Kamenz. He was “Electoral Saxon
Court Organ Builder.” From 1619 to 1627 he was in Wolfenbüttel, then in Hamburg, where
he took over contracts of the deceased Hans Scherer II. His son-in-law Friedrich Stell-
wagen was organ builder in Lübeck.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (rebuilds, 1633 and 1636).
Literature: Gurlitt 1913; Gurlitt 1937; Gurlitt 1938, 163; Hackel/Klotz 2002.
Greutzscher (Grützscher, Groitzscher, Gretzscher), Ezechiel

(b. ca. 1575/80, d. after 1625)
Along with his son of the same name, he was organ builder in Erfurt, Stadtilm, and
Eisleben.
Organs: Part I. A: Arnstadt, Church of the Barefoot Friars (new organ, 1611). Arnstadt,
Our Lady’s (new organ, 1624). Sangerhausen, St. Jacobi (new organ, 1603). Gera, Palace
Chapel (new organ, 1610).
Sources/Literature: Stadt- und Kreisarchiv Arnstadt, Nr. 394–02–1: Organist u. Orgelb.
Georg Raabe. —Maul 2006, 197–200.
Hantelmann, Hans
(b. ca. 1655 in Celle, d. April 15, 1733, in Lübeck)
Was working in 1682 with Arp Schnitger; built, among other instruments, the cathedral
organ in Lübeck in 1696–99, and became a citizen of Lübeck in 1697. In 1707 he became
privileged organ builder to the court of Mecklenburg. s
n
Organ Builders from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries 167 jp

Organs: Part I. A: Lübeck, St. Mary’s, “Totentanz” organ (repair, 1701). Part I. B:
Lübeck, Cathedral (new organ, 1699; key desk survives).
Literature: Fock 1974, 185–86.
Held, Johann Balthasar

(b. ca. 1640 in Lüneburg, d. 1710 in Stettin)
Apprenticed with Arp Schnitger in 1682–90. According to Buxtehude, in 1685 he
repaired and tuned the St. Mary’s organ in Lübeck, which was “so very unreliable, out-
of-tune and false” (Snyder 2007). He settled in Stettin, where he received a “concession
and freedom throughout Swedish Pomerania.”
Organs: Part I. A: Lüneburg, St. Michael’s, choir organ (new organ, 1701).
Literature: Fock 1974, 186–87; Snyder 2007, 468.
Herbst, Heinrich Gottlieb

(b. May 1, 1689, d. after 1732)
Member of a Magdeburg organ-building family, known because of his work in Lahm/
Itzgrund (new organ, 1732; preserved).
Literature: Adlung 1768, 237–39; Gerber II, 639.
Hering, Bartold (Berlt?)

(b. ca. 1480, d. October, 1556)
An organ builder named Berlt Hering was active in Lübeck in ca. 1530 who also was
active between 1500 and 1508 in and around Nordhausen as well as in Erfurt. Whether
he built the organ in the St. Catherine’s Church in Hamburg is unclear.
Organs: Nordhausen, Prediger Church (new organ, ca.1500–1506). Monastery
Church Himmelpforten (new organ,1506–1508). Erfurt, Merchants’ Church (new organ,
1508–1512).
Literature: Praetorius 1619, 165; Stahl 1931; Ortgies 2004, 70–74; Lobenstein 2003,
216–17.
Herold, Peter
(d. 1700)
Organ builder in Apolda. His only known instrument: Buttstädt, St. Michael’s (new
organ, 1700; completed by Finke).
Literature: Schmidt-Mannheim 2004, 156.
Hohlbeck (auch Holbeck, Hollbeck), Severin

(b. ca. 1640 in Fredericia, Denmark, d. 1700 in Zella-Mehlis)
s Became citizen of Zwickau in 1687; his daughter, Maria Margaretha, married Johann
n Jacob Donati Sr., who himself became a citizen of Zwickau in 1711.

Organs: Part I. A: Gotha, palace church (new organ, 1692; case preserved).
Literature: Dähnert 1980, 304; Ernst 1983, 13–14.
Hoyer, Dirk
(Sixteenth century, no dates known)
Son-in-law of Jacob Scherer. In 1576, built a Rückpositiv for the St. Jacobi organ in
Hamburg, and was the first to put pedal stops in independent towers beside the Rückposi-
tiv (the so-called Hamburg facade). He cannot be documented in Hamburg after 1582.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Jacobi (enlargement, 1570 and 1576; partly preserved).
Lüneburg, St. John’s (enlargement, 1576; partly preserved). Lüneburg, St. Michael’s
(repairs, 1580).
Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 17 and 30–33.
Johannsen, Jasper
(d. 1558)
Partner in 1544 with Hendrik Niehoff; together they built the organ in Lüneburg’s St.
John’s Church, which was built in the latest style with a Rückpositiv. (Niehoff/Johannsen
stops that survive: Rohrflöte 8', Nasat 3', Gemshorn 2' in Oberwerk; in Rückpositiv,
pitches g1–c2 of the Principal 8').
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (enlargement, 1552). Lüneburg, St. John’s
(new organ, 1553; partly preserved).
Literature: Vente 1958, 64–67; Fock 1967, 14; van Biezen 1995.
Junge, Christoph
(b. ca. 1610 in Schweinitz, d. 1687 in Erfurt)
Organ builder in Weimar. Identified as “organ builder born in Schwei[d]nitz in Silesia”
in the 1675 contract for a new organ in Sonderhausen’s Trinity Church. From 1674 he
was active in Merseburg; in 1683 he settled in Erfurt. He died while building the organs
in Erfurt’s cathedral and Merchants’ Church (the organs were completed, respectively,
by David Merker and Johannes Albrecht).
Organs: Part I. A: Arnstadt, Church of the Barefoot Friars (rebuild, 1678). Weimar,
City Church of St. Peter and Paul’s (new organ, 1685).
Literature: Gerber II, 820; Kümmerle II, 700; Orth 1972, 1697–98; Lobenstein 2003,
220–21; Kirchner 2006, 267–69.
Lange, Johann (Hanß)

(b. 1543 in Wesselburen, d. November 17, 1616, in Kamenz)
Became a citizen of Kamenz (Lausitz) in 1578. Dähnert suggested Jacob Scherer and
his son Hans Scherer I as teachers. Lange was Saxony’s most important sixteenth-century s
organ builder. n

Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Nicholas’s (new organ, 1598). Leipzig, St. Thomas’s,
main organ (enlargement, 1599).
Literature: Rubardt/Jentsch 1952, 12–16. Dähnert 1980, 305. Kuhlmann 1981, 197–98.
Lehmann, Blasius
(d. ca. 1543 in Bautzen)
In 1499 he worked with Burckhardt Dinstlinger on the cathedral organ in Bautzen.
His workshop was at first in Bautzen, then in Leipzig. Last known work was a new organ
in Zwickau in 1542.
Organs: Part I. A: Leipzig, St. Thomas’s (new organ, 1511).
Literature: Dähnert 1980, 306.
Lehmann, Kaspar (Caspar)

(d. 1679 in Suhl)
Student of Johann Georg Künzinger, organ builder in Suhl.
Organs: Part I. A: Ohrdruf, St. Michael’s (new organ, 1679).
Literature: Fischer/Wohnhaas 1994.
Müller, Johann Heinrich

(ca. 1700, dates unknown)
According to Hartmann, Müller “lived in Köthen at the expense of the prince, proving
his skill with, among others, the organs in Kalbe and Könnern.”
Organs: Part I. A: Köthen, St. Agnus’s (new organ, 1708).
Literature: Hartmann 1799, 19; Rust 1878, vi; Fock 1974, 127; Henkel 1985, 22 (fn. 35).
Niehoff, Hendrik
(b. ca. 1495, d. December 1560)
He was an apprentice with Johann von Koblenz (Jan van Covelen) ca. 1520 in Amster-
dam, independent from 1533, and from 1538 in s’Hertogenbosch. His partner after 1544
was Jasper Johannsen; together they built a number of organs in Hamburg and Lüneburg.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (enlargement, 1552). Lüneburg, St. John’s
(new organ, 1553; partly preserved).
Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 10–18; Vente 1958, 63–67 and 76–91; Fock 1967, 14;
Peeters 2004, 1079.
Oehme, Georg
(b. ca. 1646, d. October 24, 1708, in Gatzen)
From 1669, school attendant in Gatzen; 1693 also cantor and organ builder.
s Organs: Part I. A: Stöntzsch (new positive, 1678).
n Literature: Dähnert 1980, 306; BDOK II, commentary to no. 298; Schrammek 1983, 42.

Reichel, Georg
(b. ca. 1628 in Glashütte, d. 1684 Halle [Saale])
Became citizen in Halle (Saale) in 1655 and was given “Privilege of his learned art
of organ building for the district of Saal” by Duke August. He was active as organist in
Glaucha.
Organs: Part I. A: Halle (Saale), Market Church (enlargement, 1654/55). Halle (Saale),
Market Church (new organ, 1664; preserved).
Literature: Serauky 1935, 288–90, 296–97, 382; Stüven 1964, 45–46 and 89.
Röder, Johann Michael

(b. ca. 1670, d. ca. 1750)
From 1713, organ builder in Berlin and Potsdam. In 1688–94 he apprenticed with Arp
Schnitger; in 1711 he undertook repair of the Scherer organ in St. Steven’s, Tangermünde;
according to Vincent Lübeck, he had left the Schnitger workshop “through the back door.”
Organs: Part I. B: Potsdam, Garrison Church (new organ, 1713).
Literature: Kümmerle III, 88; BDOK II, 435; Fock 1967, 20; Fock 1974, 211–13.
Rücker, Georg (Johann) Bernhardt

(seventeenth century; no dates known)
Organ builder in Weimar, Jena, and Naumburg. In 1683 built an inferior organ for
the City Church of St. Peter and Paul’s in Weimar and fled before it was finished. Parts
were reused in 1685 by Christoph Junge for the new organ that Johann Gottfried Walther
later played.
Literature: Smets 1931, 70.
Scherer, family of organ builders

• Hans I (the Elder) (b. ca. 1525 in Hamburg, d. 1611 in Hamburg)
Son and student of Jacob Scherer; active in Hamburg and its environs. The Scherers
expanded the manual compass from F–g2a2 to C–c3, the pedal compass to CD–d1, thereby
creating a new standard.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (major renovation, 1605–6). Hamburg,
St. Jacobi (renovations, 1592 and 1605; pipes preserved). Lüneburg, St. John’s (rebuild,
1587; pipes preserved). Lüneburg, St. Michael’s (various rebuilds).
Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 35–48; Fock 1963a, 1674–75; Fock 1967, 13; Grapenthin
2007, 174–81.
• Hans II (b. before 1580 in Hamburg, d. 1631 or 1632)
Son of Hans I, first documented working with his father in 1593 on the rebuild of
the organ in Bergedorf. Became citizen of Hamburg in 1606 and was working in Kassel
between 1607 and 1612 for landgrave Moritz of Hesse. His last documented work was in s
1631 in Itzehoe. n

Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Jacobi (rebuild together with his father, 1605). Kassel,
St. Martin’s (1612).
Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 49–56; Fock 1963a, 1675; Fock 1967, 12–13.
• Friedrich (sixteenth to seventeenth centuries; no dates known)
Son of Hans Scherer I; worked together with his brother Hans II between 1603 and
1606 in Kassel.
• Jacob (d. 1574 in Hamburg)
Organ builder in Hamburg. Worked with his son and Hans Bockelmann in north Ger-
many. He purchased land in Hamburg in 1543 and a house in 1555. A further house was
given as a dowry to his son-in-law Dirk Hoyer, with whom he worked from 1556.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (repairs, 1559). Hamburg, St. Jacobi
(various repairs). Lüneburg, St. Michael’s (various repairs). Lübeck, St. Mary’s, main
organ (renovation, 1561). Lübeck, St. Mary’s, “Totentanz” organ (various repairs).
Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 19–30; Fock 1963a, 1674–75; Fock 1967, 13.
Schnitger, Arp
(Baptized July 9, 1648, in Golzwarden, buried July 28, 1719, in Neuenfelde (Hamburg-
Neuenfelde)
Learned joinery with his father; from 1666 he learned organ building with his cousin
Berendt Huß in Glückstadt/Holstein. He moved to Hamburg in 1682 in order to build the
new organ there for St. Nicholas’s and became a citizen. His four sons worked with him.
Schnitger built or substantially rebuilt some 170 organs, some of which he delivered as
far away as Moscow, England, Spain, and Portugal. Schnitger’s pew and coat-of-arms
can still be seen behind the altar in the church in Neuenfelde.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Jacobi (new organ using some stops from previous
organ, 1693; partly preserved).
Literature: Niedt 1721; Adlung 1768; Rubardt 1928; Fock 1939/1997; Fock 1963b,
1913–17; Pape 1971; Fock 1974; Reinitzer 1995; Edwards 2001; Ortgies 2005; Edskes/
Vogel 2009.
Stellwagen, Friedrich
(d. ca. 1660)
Moved with Gottfried Fritzsche ca. 1630 from Halle (Saale) to Hamburg, where he
married Fritzsche’s daughter. In 1635 he established himself as an independent builder
in Lübeck. He carried on the tradition of the Scherers and Fritzsche, adopting new color
into the disposition by building, among other stops, the Tierce Zimbel.
Organs: Part I. A: Hamburg, St. Catherine’s (rebuild, 1647). Lübeck, St. Mary’s, main
organ (enlargement, 1641). Lübeck, St. Mary’s, “Totentanz” organ (repairs, 1655). Lüne-
s burg, St. John’s (enlargement, 1652).
n Literature: Fock 1939/1997, 68–71; Klotz 1980c, 115.

Thayßner (Deißner, Tayßner, Teißner), family of organ builders
• Zacharias (b. between 1640 and 1655 in Löbejun, d. after 1705)
Son of Hans Thayßner, organ builder in Quedlinburg. In Merseburg from 1695, when
he was named “Electoral Saxon Architect and Organ Builder.”
Organs: Part I. A: Köthen, St. Jacob’s (new organ, 1676). Leipzig, St. Nicholas’s (re-
build, 1694). Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s (rebuild, 1705). Part I. B: Merseburg, Cathedral
(enlargement, 1705).
Literature: Gerber IV, 330; Engel 1855; Stüven 1964, 89; Fock 1974, 190; Henkel
1985, 8–9.
• Andreas (baptized July 28, 1652, in Löbejün, d. 1708 in Halle [Saale])
Son of Hans Thayßner; worked with his brother Zacharias on larger organ projects; in
1684 succeeded Georg Reichel as organ examiner for the city of Halle.
Organs: Part I. A: Köthen, St. Jacob’s (new organ together with his brother Zacharias,
1676). Leipzig, St. Nicholas’s (rebuild together with his brother Zacharias, 1694). Na-
umburg, St. Wenceslas’s (rebuild together with his brother Zacharias, 1705).
Literature: Gerber IV, 330; Stüven 1964, 89; Henkel 1985, 8.
Weißhaupt, Johann Conrad

(b. 1657, d. 1727 in Seebergen)
Organ builder in Seebergen near Gotha; built organs in the Gotha, Erfurt, and Weimar
area.
Zuberbier (Zoberbier), family of organ builders

• David (b. before 1700 in Bernburg, d. before 1743)
Became citizen in Bernburg in 1716, and was named “Privileged Organ and Instrument
Builder” by the Anhalt court in Köthen. From 1730, active in Köthen, where he took care
of the organ in the St. Agnus’s Church until 1742.
Organs: Part I. A: Köthen, St. Jacob’s (various repairs). Köthen, Palace Church (new
organ, 1733).
Literature: Stüven 1964, 57–71; Henkel 1985, 9.
• Johann Christoph (b. ca. 1713, d. ca. 1780)
Son of David; from 1745 to 1746 was paid annually for maintaining the organs in Köthen.
In 1748 he became citizen of Köthen, and after 1743 he was privileged “Court Instrument
and Organ Builder in Köthen.” He became responsible for organs in Halle; in 1770, with
another commission, he moved his workshop to Neumarkt.
Organs: Part I. A: Köthen, St. Jacob’s (rebuild, 1768). Köthen, St. Agnus’s (rebuild,
1742). Thurau/Anhalt (new organ 1754; since 1991 in the palace church in Köthen).
Literature: Hartmann 1799, 29; Stüven 1964, 66–71; Henkel 1958, 9 and 26 (fn. 82);
s
Pape 2003, 81–82.
n

section c
Other Organ Builders and
Organ-Building Firms
Ahrend, Jürgen (b. 1930), Leer-Loga. Firm founded 1954 with Gerhard Brunzema;
single proprietorship from 1972; in 2005, direction taken over by Hendrik Ahrend.
Beckerath, Hamburg. Founded 1949 by Rudolf von Beckerath (1907–1976).
Besser, Johann Friedrich (ca. 1655–1693), Braunschweig.
Böhm, Gerhard, proprietor of organ-building firm Rudolf Böhm. Founded 1888; in
Gotha since 1900.
Brunner, Heinrich, Sandersleben. Second half of seventeenth century.
Damm (Thamm), Frankfurt/Oder. Middle of eighteenth century.
Decker, David, Jr., Görlitz. First half of eighteenth century.
Eule Orgelbau, Bautzen. Founded 1872 by Hermann Eule (1972–1990, VEB Eule-
Orgelbau Bautzen).
Flentrop Orgelbouw, Zaandam. Founded 1903. Since 2009, directed by Frits Eishout.
Förster & Nicolaus, Lich (Oberhessen). Founded 1842 by Johann Georg Förster; Karl
Nicolaus became partner in 1889.
Führer, Alfred (1905–1974), Wilhelmshaven. Founded 1933, closed 2004.
Furtwängler & Hammer. Founded 1822; in Arnum (Hannover) since 1962.
Gesell, Carl Ludwig, Potsdam. 1847, takeover of organ-building workshop of Gottlieb
Heise; taken over by Alexander Schuke in 1894.
Große, Johann Friedrich, Mühlhausen (Thuringia). Mid-nineteenth century. Stu-
dent of Schulze (Paulinzella).
Haseborg, Martin ter, Uplengen (Ostfriesland). Apparently founded in the 1990s.
Helfenbein, Wiegand, Gotha. In 1919 took over the business of his father-in-law,
Alwin Hickmann.
Hoffmann Orgelbau, Ostheim (Rhön). Founded 1848 by Johann Georg Markert.
s Holland, Schmiedefeld. Johann Caspar Holland took over the Wagner workshop in
n 1790; family workshop closed in 1872.
jp

Ibach, Josias (d. 1639), Grimma, Leipzig, and Altenburg.
Iversand, Jacob (d. ca. 1537), Hamburg.
Jacobus, Andreas, Gottsbüren. 1717, official city organ builder; probably an associate
of Christoph Heeren.
Jehmlich, Dresden. Founded 1808 by Carl Gottlieb, Friedrich Gotthelf, and Johann
Gotthold Jehmlich (1973–1989, VEB Orgelbau Dresden).
Johannsen, Gottschalk, also Borchert (d. 1597 in Lübeck), Husum. According to
Praetorius, he was from the Netherlands.
Kaltschmidt, Joachim Christoph (ca. 1717–1806), Wismar.
Kemper, Lübeck. Founded 1868 by Emanuel Philipp Kemper; closed in 1978.
Kern, Alfred (1910—1989), Straßburg. Founded 1953; since 1977 under direction of
his son Daniel; in 2003, merger with “Manufacture d’Orgues Alsacienne” (Gaston Kern),
Hattmatt (Alsace).
Kretzschmar, Franz Theodor, Hamburg. Student of Gottfried Fritzsche, middle of
seventeenth century.
Kröger, Henning, Wismar. Student of Arp Schnitger ca. 1700.
Ladegast, Friedrich (1818–1905), Weißenfels.
Lehnert, Johann Jacob, Hamburg. Middle of eighteenth century.
Mahn, Matthias, Buxtehude. Late sixteenth century.
Marcussen & Son, Aabrenaa, Denmark; founded 1806 by Jürgen Marcussen.
Mare, Marten de (d. 1612), Bremen.
Mathis Orgelbau, Näfels (Switzerland). Founded 1960 by Manfred Mathis, since 1977
a family business.
Mauer, Johann Gottlieb, Leipzig. Son-in-law of Johann Christian Immanuel
Schweinefleisch, from 1771 university organ builder in Leipzig.
Mende, Johann Gottlieb (1787–1850), Leipzig.
Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt, Bad Liebenwerda. Founded 1905 by Arno Voigt
(1876–1930).
Müller, Johann Georg, Köthen. First half of eighteenth century.
Offenhauer, Eduard (1825–1904), Delitzsch.
Orgelbau Waltershausen. Founded in 1991 by Bernhard Kutter, Stephan Krause,
Joachim Stade, and Dietmar Ullman.
Ott, Paul (1903–1991), Göttingen. Student of Steinmeyer and Carl Giesecke (Göt-
tingen), founded 1930.
Pape, Jost, Göttingen. Second half of sixteenth century.
Petersilie, Otto, Langensalza. Closed ca. 1914/18.
Poppe, Gebr., organ-building family in Stadtroda. Oldest known member of this
family is Christian Friedrich Poppe (1751–1812). Made organs until 1897; business closed
in 1917. s
n
Other Organ Builders and Organ-Building Firms 175 jp

Ratzmann Gebr., Ohrdruf. Founded by Georg Franz Ratzmann (1771–1846); in 1841
Wilhelm August Ratzmann (1812–1880) established a branch in Gelnhausen. Since 1921,
Orgelbau Richard Schmitt (now Andreas Schmidt).
Richborn, Joachim (known to be active 1663–84), Hamburg.
Röver, Ernst (1857–1923), Hausneindorf. Took over the Adolf Reubke workshop in
1884.
Rühlmann, Wilhelm (1842–1922), Zörbig. Took over his father’s workshop in 1866,
closed sometime after 1945.
Sauer, Wilhelm (1831–1916), Frankfurt/Oder. Founded 1857 by Wilhelm Sauer; taken
over in 1916 by Oscar Walcker. Since then it has been known as Wilhelm Sauer (Oscar
Walcker, owner); Frankfurter VEB Orgelbau Sauer, 1972–90; Orgelbau Sauer (Werner
Walcker-Mayer, owner), 1990–99. Since 1994, located in Müllrose. 2000, founding of
W. Sauer Orgelbau Müllrose GmbH.
Schäfer (Schaeffer), Jost Friedrich (b. between 1642 and 1656, d. after 1706),
Kirchheiligen/Langensalza.
Schauenberg, Georg. Second half of sixteenth century, between Thuringian Woods
and the Harz Mountains.
Scheffler, Christian (b. 1954), Frankfurt/Oder. Certified Restorer (FH); shop founded
1990.
Schlag & Söhne, founded by Christian Gottlieb Schlag (1803–1889). Since 1834 in
Schweidnitz; closed in 1923.
Schmieder, Johann Christoph, Möllis. First half of eighteenth century.
Schubert, David (1719–1772), from 1747 apprentice with Gottfried Silbermann.
Schuke Orgelbau, Potsdam. Alexander Schuke (1870–1933) took over the workshop
of Carl Ludwig Gesell in 1894. 1972–1990, VEB Potsdamer Schuke-Orgelbau; since 1990,
Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau GmbH; moved to Werder/Havel in 2004.
Schulz, Carl (d. 1870), Crossen/Oder. Apprenticed with Carl Ludwig Gesell of Potsdam
in 1848, then became independent.
Schulze, Johann Friedrich (1793–1858). Business founded in 1815; in Paulinzella
since 1825; closed in 1880.
Silbermann, Johann George (1698–1749), nephew and apprentice of Gottfried
Silbermann.
Steinmeyer Orgelbau, Oettingen. Founded by Georg Friedrich Steinmeyer; taken
over by Karl Göckel (b. 1957) in 2003.
Stephani, Johannes, Lübeck. Second half of fifteenth century.
Stephani, Johann Gottlieb Ehregot, Leipzig. University organ builder at the end of
the eighteenth century.
Stüven, Harmen, Hamburg. First third of sixteenth century.
s Trampeli, Gebr., Adorf. Johann Paul Trampel (1708–1764) took over the workshop
n of Adam Heinrich Gruber in 1734; his sons Johann Gottlob and Christian Wilhelm con-

tinued the business; at death of Johann Gottlob in 1812, business carried on by Friedrich
Wilhelm, son of Christian Wilhelm; business closed in 1832.
Treutmann, Christoph (1673/74–1757), Magdeburg. Student of Arp Schnitger; active
as organ builder from 1710. Joachim Wagner was one of his students.
Vogel, Gregorius (b. in Brabant, d. 1549 in Hamburg), Magdeburg, Braunschweig,
and Hamburg.
Volckland, Franciscus (1696–1779), Erfurt. Student of Johann Georg Schröter.
Wagner Bros. (Johann Michael and Johann Christoph Wagner), Schmiedefeld.
Firm taken over in 1790 by J. C. Holland.
Walcker, E.F., & Cie, Ludwigsburg. Founded in 1820 by Eberhard Friedrich Walcker
(1794–1872). Bankruptcy in 1999; dissolved in 2004.
Wegscheider, Kristian (b. 1954), Dresden. Certified restorer (FH); shop founded
1989.
Weise, Johann Anton (1672–1750), Arnstadt. Took over the workshop of his father,
Johann Moritz Weise.
Werner, Andreas, Wittenberg. Middle of seventeenth century.
Wilhelmi, Johann Christoph, Dörna. Middle of nineteenth century.
Woehl, Gerald (b. 1940), Marburg. Firm founded 1966.
Zippelius, Johann Georg, Halberstadt. First half of eighteenth century.
Zschugk, Joachim (d. after 1632), active in Plauen (Vogtland) from 1600. Student of
Johann Lange.
s
n
Other Organ Builders and Organ-Building Firms 177 jp

s
n
jp

sources and literature cited
abbreviations
BJ Bach-Jahrbuch, ed. Alfred Dürr and Werner Neumann (1953–74); Hans-Joachim
Schulze and Christoph Wolff (1975–2004); Peter Wollny (since 2005). Leipzig: Neue
Bachgesellschaft.
BDOK Bach-Dokumente. 8 vols. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1963–2010.
BDOK I Schriftstücke von der Hand Johann Sebastian Bachs, ed. Werner Neumann and Hans-
Joachim Schulze. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1963 and 1982.
BDOK II Fremdschriftliche und gedruckte Dokumente zur Lebensgeschichte Johann Sebastian Bachs
1685–1750, ed. Werner Neumann and Hans-Joachim Schulze. Kassel: Bärenreiter,
1969.
BDOK III Dokumente zum Nachwirken Johann Sebastian Bachs 1750–1800, ed. Hans-Joachim
Schulze. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1984.
BDOK IV Bilddokumente zur Lebensgeschichte Johann Sebastian Bachs, ed. Werner Neumann.
Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1979.
BDOK V Dokumente zu Leben, Werk, Nachwirken 1685–1800, ed. Hans-Joachim Schulze and
Andreas Glöckner. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 2007.
BWV Thematisch-systematisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Werke von Johann Sebastian
Bach [Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis, BWV], ed. Wolfgang Schmieder. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden:
Breitkopf & Härtel, 1990.
Dresden Ms. Orgeldispositionen: Eine Handschrift aus dem XVIII. Jahrhundert, im Besitz der Säch-
sischen Landesbibliothek, Dresden, ed. Paul Smets. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1931.
Gerber Gerber, Ernst Ludwig. Neues historisch-biographisches Lexikon der Tonkünstler. 4 vols.
Leipzig, 1812–14.
Grove The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. London: Macmil-
lan, 1980.
Grove2 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 2nd ed. London:
s
Macmillan, 2001.
n
jp

MGG Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Allgemeine Enzyklopädie der Musik, ed. Friedrich
Blume. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1949–1986.
MGG2 Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart: Personenteil, ed. Ludwig Finscher. 2nd rev.
ed. 17 vols. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1999–2007.
SeN Sammlung einiger Nachrichten von berühmten Orgelwercken in Teutschland mit vieler
Mühe aufgesetzt von einem Liebhaber der Musik. Breslau: Carl Gottfried Meyer, 1757.
archival sources
Archiv der Superintendentur Borna, no. 5.722.
Bach-Archiv Leipzig:
Go. S. 123.
Rara II, 204.
Stadt- und Kreisarchiv Arnstadt, Bestand Nr. 394-02-1: Organist u. Orgelb. Georg Raabe.
Stadtarchiv Langewiesen, Orgel der Marienkirche, Bestand 3478.
Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen: Chronik. Fragment 1533–1802, Sign. 61/18.
Thüringisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Rudolstadt:
Bestand Konsistorium Arnstadt, Die Orgel in der Oberkirche zu Arnstadt, 1610–1713.
Bestand Unterkonsistorium Gehren, Nr.351: Die Erbauung eines neuen Orgelwerckes in der Kirche
zu Langewiesen betr., 1784–1801.
Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Gotha, Gemeinschaftliches Hohenlohisches Archiv.
Thüringisches Staatsarchiv Weimar:
Bestand B 4342: Den Bau der Orgel in der Stadtkirche zu Weimar und die deshalb entstandene Irrung
zwischen dem Oberconsistorium und dem Stadtrathe betr., 1660.
Bestand B 4351: Gutachten Johann Eschleben Organisten zu Erfurt über die Orgeln in der Schloßkirche
und in der Stadtkirche, 1678.
Bestand B 4367a: 1734, 1738 Schloßorgel zu Weimar betr.
Bestand Eisenacher Archiv, Konsistorialsachen Nr. 246: Die nöthige Reparatur und Veränderung
der Orgel in der Kirche zu S. Georgen, 1696–1724.
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s
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photograph credits
1. Bach-Archiv Leipzig
2. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, ektachrome from Tokyo, Sign. 140
3. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. A 1039; photograph: Constantin Beyer, Bodelschwinghstr.
63, 99423 Weimar
4. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. A 1040; photograph by Constantin Beyer, Bodelschwinghstr.
63, 99423 Weimar
6. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK VIII 18a/7,  Deutsche Fotothek Dresden
7. Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, Kupferstich-Kabinett, Inventar-Nr. C 4335 in
Sax top. I–IV, 28
8. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK VIII 18a/8,  Deutsche Fotothek Dresden
9. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK I
10. Evangelisch-Lutherische Superintendentur und Kirchgemeinde Eisenach
11. SLUB Dresden/Abt. Deutsche Fotothek; photograph: Dankelmann, 1926
12. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK XIII I/8, photograph: Ernst Schäfer, Weimar
13. Martin Doering, Berlin
15. Bildarchiv Hamburg
16. Hauptkirche St. Jacobi, Kirchenvorstand
17. Hauptkirche St. Jacobi, Kirchenbüro,  Thomas Helms
18. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg
19. Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie Sachsen-Anhalt
20. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK VII 2/7; photograph: Foto-Schmähmann, Köthen/Anhalt
21. Silbermann-Archiv, Vorlage: Prof. Dr. Marc Schaefer, Strasbourg
22. Stadtarchiv Leipzig, Aquarell by Karl Benjamin Schwarz
23. Archiv Ullrich Böhme, Leipzig
24. Hermann Walter, ca. 1880 s
25. Bach-Museum Leipzig, 2010 n
jp

26. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, from the Vogler-Chronik (Rara II 227, S. 111), Sign. DK VIII 11/7
27. Postcard, Archiv Markus Zepf
28. Museen für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lübeck
29. Postcard, Archiv Markus Zepf
30. Museen für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lübeck
31. St. Johannis Lüneburg
32. Stadtmuseum Lüneburg
33. Courtesy Museum am Lindenbühl, Mühlhausen
34. Sammlung Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen/Th.
35. Stadtarchiv Mühlhausen/Th. 10/X, Nr. 19, fol. 18v-18r (= Notulbuch von 1708–1709)
36. Kristian Wegscheider, Dresden
37. Bach-Archiv Leipzig; photograph: Uwe Wolf
38. Bundesarchiv, Bild 170–139/Max Bauer/CC-BY-SA
39. Werner Tonn, Sangerhausen
40. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, Sign. DK VIII 18c/34; photograph: Ernst Schäfer, Weimar
41. Hermann Eule Orgelbau, Bautzen
42. bpk/Musikabteilung, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin–Preussischer Kulturbesitz/
Mus. Tb. 64/10 R
43. Klassik Stiftung Weimar
44. Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt
45. Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt
46. Gregor Heimrich, Zschortau
47. Uwe Pape, Berlin
48. SLUB Dresden/Deutsche Fotothek/Walther
50. Stadt- und Bergbaumuseum Freiberg
51. Otto Schröder, Freiberg
52. Bach-Archiv Leipzig, DK VIII, 18a/13
53. Klaus-Peter Albrecht, Gotha
54. Orgelbaugesellschaft Waltershausen
55. Pfarramt Lahm (Itzgrund)
57. Bildarchiv Foto Marburg
58. Museum für Kunst- und Kulturgeschichte der Hansestadt Lübeck
59. Freundeskreis Musik und Denkmalpflege in Kirchen des Merseburger Landes e.V.;
photograph: Gert Mothes, Leipzig
60. Punctum, photograph: Peter Franke
63. Orgelbaugesellschaft Waltershausen
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jp 194 Photography Credits

translator’s note
An English translation of Christoph Wolff and Markus Zepf’s Die Orgeln J. S. Bachs: Ein
Handbuch (Leipzig, 2006) has allowed for corrections, additions, updates, and revisions to
the original text, so that as far as possible this revised edition represents the most recent
research in the field. Literature citations have been updated to include sources in English.
Thus the reader will find references to entries in The New Bach Reader as well as to entries
in the Bach-Dokumente series; references to Christoph Wolff’s biography of Bach are to the
English edition (or to supplemental material that appears only in the German edition);
and the bibliography includes translations of works such as Werckmeister’s Orgel-Probe
and Gustav Fock’s Hamburgs Anteil am Orgelbau im Niederdeutschen Kulturgebiet. I have
followed the translations that appear in The New Bach Reader closely but have also revised
these texts in places, especially when organ-building terms or references were unclear.
I am grateful to Martin Pasi, John and Christa Brombaugh, and Edward Pepe for as-
sisting me with a number of thorny translation questions; to Gregory Butler for reading
the first and subsequent drafts and offering numerous helpful suggestions; to Christoph
Wolff and Markus Zepf for recommending that I undertake this project; and to George
Stauffer, the American Bach Society, and University of Illinois Press for their unquali-
fied support.
Lynn Edwards Butler
s
n
jp

s
n
jp

index
Abbenrode, 10, 158 Morning Church), 13; Our Lady’s Church,

Adlung, Jacob (1699–1762), 105, 150; Musica Greutzscher organ (1624), 13, 134; Upper
mechanica organoedi (Berlin, 1768), 24, 27, Church (Church of the Barefoot Friars),
34, 70, 107, 140 Greutzscher organ (1611), 12, 134
Agricola, Johann Friedrich (1720–1774), 34, August II (August the Strong). See Friedrich
47, 140 August I
Ahle, Johann Georg (1651–1706), xxii, 68
Ahrend, Jürgen (b. 1930), 36, 174 Bach, Anna Magdalena (née Wilcke, second
Albrecht, Johann (d. 1719), xxii, 45, 135, 139, wife; 1701–1760), xxiv, 23, 39, 40, 96
157 Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel (son; 1714–1788),
Alt, Philipp Samuel (1689–1765), 91 33, 34, 101, 107, 140
Altenburg, 5–6; Bach’s service playing in, 5; Bach, Christoph (grandfather; 1613–1661), 8
Court Church, Trost organ (1739), xxiv, 5, Bach, Heinrich (great uncle; 1615–1692), 8
6–7, 133, 139 Bach, Johann (great uncle; 1604–1673), 105
Altnickol, Johann Christoph (son-in-law, Bach, Johann Ambrosius (father; 1645–1695),
1720–1759), xxv, 74 xxi, 19, 22
Ammerbach, Elias Nicolaus (1530–1597), Orgel Bach, Johann Andreas (nephew; 1713–1779),
oder Instrument Tabulatur (Leipzig, 1571), xvi 78, 79
Ammern, 8; Church of St. Vitus, 8; Church of Bach, Johann Bernhard (nephew; 1700–1743),
St. Vitus, Wender organ (1708), xxii, 8, 134 40, 78
Andreas Bach Book, 78 Bach, Johann Christoph (brother; 1671–1721),
Arnstadt, xvii, xxii, 8–13; Bach-family xxi, 8, 22, 78, 79, 105, 113
workplace(s), xxvi, 8; consistory’s repri- Bach, Johann Christoph (second cousin;
mand of Bach, 58; Court Chapel, 13; New 1642–1703), xviii, xxi, 2, 8, 19, 20, 21
Church (Johann Sebastian Bach Church), Bach, Johann Ernst (cousin; 1683–1739), 8,
xxii, 8, 9; New Church, Wender organ (1703), 58, 63
xvi, xix, xxii, 9, 10, 11, 134; New Church Bach, Johann Ernst (1722–1777), 19
Wender organ (1703), original key desk, 9, Bach, Johann Gottfried Bernhard (son;
11; Our Lady’s Church (Lower Church, also 1715–1739), xxiv, 68, 83 s
n
jp

Bach, Johann Lorenz (1695–1773), 116 18, xviii; “Gott ist mein König,” BWV 71, 68;
Bach, Johann Michael (first father-in-law; “Gott soll allein mein Herze haben,” BWV
1648–1694), 8, 45, 105 169, xvii, 47; “Great Eighteen Chorales,”
Bach, Johann Nicolaus (cousin; 1669–1753), BWV 651–68, xxiv; “Herr Christ, der ein’ge
xviii, 2, 105 Gottessohn,” BWV 601, xvii; “Höchsterwün-
Bach, Johann Sebastian (1685–1750): biography schtes Freudenfest,” BWV 194, xxiii, 88, 89;
(Forkel), 80, 140; as composer, xvii, xviii; “Ich geh und suche mit Verlangen,” BWV 49,
as innovator, xvii; and instrument building, xvii, 47; “Ich habe meine Zuversicht,” BWV
xviii; memorials, 9, 52; obituary, xv, xx, 33, 188, xvii, 47; “Ich hatte viel Bekümmernis,”
58, 78, 160; as performer at organ dedica- BWV 21, xxiii, 33, 41; Magnificat, BWV 243a,
tions, xxii, xxiii, xxiv, 23, 39, 88, 90, 95; as 54; “Mein Herze schwimmt im Blut,” BWV
performer in church service, 5; as performer 199, 41; Neumeister Collection, xxi; “Nun
in recital, xviii, xxiii, xxiv, 15, 33, 34, 39, 80 komm, der heiden Heiland,” BWV 61, xvii;
Bach, Johann Sebastian, as organ expert and “Nun komm, der heiden Heiland,” BWV
examiner, xviii–xx, xxii, xxiv, xxv, 90, 660a, xxiii; Orgel-Büchlein, BWV 599–644,
139–48; in Altenburg, 5, 139; in Ammern, xxii; Passacaglia in C Minor, BWV 582, xvii;
xxii, 8, 139; in Arnstadt, xix, xxii, 8, 139; in Prelude and Fugue in B Minor, BWV 544,
Berka, 13, 139; in Erfurt, xxiii, 22, 105, 139, xxiv; Prelude and Fugue in E Minor, BWV
145; in Frankfurt (Oder), xxv, 107–8, 140; in 548, xxiv, 42; Prelude and Fugue in G Major,
Gera, xxiii, 23, 139; in Halle, xxiii, 30, 139, BWV 541, xxiv; Prelude and Fugue in G
140, 143–45; in Kassel, xxiv, 39, 40, 139; Minor, BWV 535a, xxii; “Quoniam” (B-Minor
in Langewiesen, xxii, 45, 139; in Leipzig, Mass, BWV 232), xviii; Sechs Choräle von
St. John’s, xxv, 47, 54, 139, 140; in Leipzig, verschiedener Art (“Schübler chorales”), BWV
St. Paul’s, xx, xxiii, 46, 47, 139, 145–47; in 645–50, xxv; Six Sonatas, BWV 525–30, xvii,
Leipzig, St. Thomas’s, xxv; in Mühlhausen, xxiv; St. Matthew Passion (1736), BWV 244,
xix, xxii, 68, 139, 141–42; in Naumburg, xix, 54; Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (Dorian),
xxv, 74, 139, 148; in Sangerhausen, xxiv, 83, BWV 538, xxiv, 39; Toccata in F Minor, BWV
139; in Stöntzsch, xxiv, 86, 139; in Störmthal, Anh. 85, 23; “Tritt auf die Glaubensbahn,”
xxiii, 88, 139; in Taubach, xxii, 90, 139, 142; BWV 152, xviii; “Vor deinen Thron tret’ ich
in Weimar, xxii, 92, 139; in Weißensee, xxiv, hiermit,” BWV 668, xxv; “Was mir behagt, ist
98; in Zschortau, xxv, 98, 139, 147–48 nur die muntre Jagd,” BWV 208, 95; “Wenn
Bach, Johann Sebastian (works of): “Alles mit wir in höchsten Nöten sein,” BWV 668a, xxv;
Gott und nichts ohn’ ihn,” BWV 1127, 102; “Wir danken dir, Gott, wir danken dir,” BWV
“An Wasserflüssen Babylon,” BWV 635a and 29, 47; “Wir müssen durch viel Trübsal,”
635b, 33; “Betrachte, meine Seel” (St. John BWV 146, xvii, 47
Passion, BWV 245), xviii; Canonic Variations Bach, Maria Barbara (first wife; 1684–1720),
on “Vom Himmel hoch,” BWV 769, xvii, xxv; 33, 45
“Christ lag in Todesbanden” BWV 4, xxii; Bach, Maria Elisabeth nee Lämmerhirt (mother;
Clavier-Übung I, 63; Clavier-Übung III, xv, 1644–1694), xxi
xxiv, 24; Concerto in D Minor (after Vivaldi), Bach, Marie Salome. See Wiegand, Marie
BWV 596, xxiii; Concerto for harpsichord and Salome
strings in E Major, BWV 1053, 15; Fantasia in Bach, Wilhelm Friedemann (son; 1710–1784),
C Major, BWV 573, xxiii, 40; Fugue in C Mi- xxiv, xxv, 15, 23, 30, 80
nor, BWV 562/2, xxv; Fugue in G Minor, BWV Bach Museum (Bach-Archive Leipzig), 54
542/2, 33; Fugue in G Minor, BWV Anh. 101, Backhaus, Johann Ludwig (1715–ca. 1771), 113
s 23; “Geist und Seele wird verwirret,” BWV 35, Bähr, George (1666–1738), 16, 17, 87
n 47; “Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee,” BWV Bassventil, 16, 18
jp 198 Index

Becker, Johann Nikolaus (b. before 1700), 39, Clavier-Büchlein for Anna Magdalena Bach
40, 122, 135, 139, 157 (1722), 40
Beckerath, Rudolf von (1907–1976), 64, 174 compass, 3, 171; full bass octave, 6, 20, 23, 25,
bellows: construction of, 150; position of, 151, 45, 46, 116, 132, 133, 134, 135, 162; short-
153; protection of, 143, 151 octave bass, 3, 12, 36, 37, 60, 62, 66, 80, 94,
Berka (Bad Berka), 13–14; St. Mary’s Church, 107, 120, 133, 134, 135, 136, 146; to e1 or f1,
Trebs organ (ca. 1750), xxiv, 13–14, 134 20, 23, 44, 45, 85, 93, 96, 105, 134, 135, 136
Berlin, 101–2; Jerusalem Church, 80; St. Mary’s Compenius, Esaias II (d. after 1634), 47
Church, Wagner organ (1723), 101–2, 103, 134 Compenius, Heinrich. See Cumpenius
Besser, Johann Friedrich (ca. 1655–1693), 34, Compenius, Heinrich II (ca. 1560–1631), 47,
174 53, 135, 165
Bidermann, Samuel (seventeenth c.), 93, 136 Compenius, Ludwig (after 1608–1671), 12, 24,
bleed holes, 151 39, 75, 91, 93, 107, 135, 165–66
Blume, Johann Georg, 101 congregational singing, accompanied and
Böhm, Georg (1661–1733), xvi, xxi, 62, 63, 64 unaccompanied, xvii
Böhm, Gerhard (proprietor, firm of Rudolf Contius, Christoph (1676–1722): Abbenrode,
Böhm), 13, 95, 174 10, 158; biography, 157–58; Halle (Market
Borchert. See Johannsen, Gottschalk Church) organ, xxiii, 30–31, 134, 139; Halle
Börner, Andreas (1673–1728), 9 organ report, 143–45
Boxberg, Christian Ludwig (1670–1729), 26 Contius, Heinrich Andreas (d. 1795), xxv, 107,
Brandes, Andreas Christian (mentioned 1746), 158
98 Coudray, Clemens Wenzeslaus (1775–1845), 90
Bremser, Johann Nicolaus (documented Cumpenius (Compenius), Heinrich (ca.
1695–1742), 113 1525–1611), 107, 165
Briegel, Michel (mentioned 1683/84), 58, 62,
135 Damm (Thamm) (mid eighteenth c.), 108, 135,
Brunner, Heinrich (2nd half seventeenth c.), 174
78, 79, 83, 135, 174 Decker, David Jr. (first half eighteenth c.), 26,
Buchholz, Carl August (1796–1884), 101 174
Budde, Johann Jakob (mentioned ca. 1700), 119 de Grigny, Nicholas. See Grigny, Nicholas de
Bünting, Konrad (eighteenth c.), 58, 60 Dobenecker, Simon (mentioned 1720–1726),
Buttstädt, 102, 104–5; St. Michael’s Church, 23
102, 104; St. Michael’s Church, Herold/Finke Doles, Johann Friedrich (1715–1797), 108, 140
organ (1701), 96, 104–5, 134 Donat, Christoph Sr. (1625–1706), 2, 52, 53, 54,
Buttstedt, Johann Heinrich (1666–1727), 105 56, 135, 166
Buxtehude, Dieterich (1637–1707), xxii, 2, 58, Donat, Christoph Jr. (1659–1713), 2, 52, 56, 166
60, 62, 119; Castrum doloris and Templum Donati, Johann Jacob Jr. (b. 1715), xxv, 140, 166
honoris, BuxWV 133–34, xxii, 58; “Nun freut Dörna. See Mühlhausen, “Brückenhof” Church
euch, lieben Christen g’mein,” BuxWV 210, xxi Dresden, xxiii, 15–18; Church of Our Lady,
Buzäus, Christian Polycarp (1707–1764), 110 16–18, 108, 128; Church of Our Lady,
Silbermann organ (1736), xxiv, 15, 18, 19,
Casparini, Adam Horatio (1676–1745), 26, 134, 134; St. Sophia’s Church, xxiv, 15–16; St.
165 Sophia’s Church, Silbermann organ (1720),
Casparini, Eugenio (1623–1706), 26, 134, 165 xxiv, 15, 16, 17, 134
Chorton (also Cornettton) pitch, 2 Drese, Adam (d. 1701), 91
Christian, Duke of Saxe-Weißenfels (1682– Dressel (Dreßler), Christoph (ca. 1640–1686), s
1736), 95, 96 166 n
Index 199 jp

Dropa, Mathias (ca. 1656–1732), 64, 65, 66, (Lower Church), 107, 108; Franciscan
133, 166–67 Church, Damm organ (1754), 108, 135; H. A.
Contius organ proposal, xxv, 107, 140
Edelmann, Christian (documented 1685–1701), Frederick the Great (Friedrich II), King of
96 Prussia (1712–1786), 80, 101
Effler, Johann (1635?–1711), xvi, xxi, xxii, 2, 22, Freiberg, 108–12; Cathedral of St. Mary, 108;
91, 102, 105 Cathedral of St. Mary, Silbermann organ
Effler, Paul (documented 1666–1716), 22 (1714), 108–11, 133; St. Peter’s Church, 108,
Ehrhardt (Erhardt), Johann Sebastian (b. 111; St. Peter’s Church, Silbermann organ
1676), xxii, 45, 135, 139, 158 (1735), 111–12, 133
Eichentopf, Johann Heinrich (1678–1769), xviii Frescobaldi, Girolamo (1583–1643), Fiori
Eifert (mentioned 1908), 115 musicali (Rome, 1635), xvi, xxii
Eisenach, xvii, xxi, 19–22; St. George’s Church, Friederici, Christian Ernst (1709–1780), 23, 24
xviii, 19, 20; St. George’s Church, Stertzing Friedrich II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
organ (1707), 19, 20–22, 52, 78, 134 (1676–1732), 6
Erfurt, 22–23, 105–7; Church of the Barefoot Friedrich II, King of Prussia. See Frederick the
Friars, 91; Prediger Church, 105; Prediger Great
Church, Compenius/Volckland organ (1579, Friedrich August I, Elector of Saxony (also
1649, 1740), 106, 107, 135; St. Augustine’s August II, King of Poland) (1670–1733), 15,
Church, xviii, xxiii, 22; St. Augustine’s 161
Church, Stertzing/Schröter organ (1716), Friedrich Wilhelm I, King of Prussia
22–23, 134, 139, 145; St. Thomas’s Church, 22 (1688–1740), 80, 82
Ernst I (“the Pious”), Duke of Saxe-Gotha- Friese, Johann Paul (d. 1721), 102
Altenburg, 113 Friesen, Christian August Freiherr von
Erselius, Johann Christoph (1703–1772), 108 (1675–1737), 125
Eule Orgelbau (founded 1872), 6, 50, 76, 83, 86, Frischmuth, Heinrich Zacharias (eighteenth
87, 88, 98, 99, 122, 125, 128, 174 c.), 78
Fritzsche, Gottfried (1578–1638), 34, 36, 167
Fagotto 16,’ use of. See organ continuo Fritzsche, Hans Christoph (d. 1674), 36
Finke (Finck), Johann Georg (b. ca. 1680, d. Führer, Alfred (organ building firm,
after 1763): biography, 158; Buttstädt (St. Mi- 1933–2004), 61, 174
chael’s) organ, 104, 134; Gera (Castle Chapel) Fullen, Statz Hilmor von (1691–1751), 88, 89,
organ, xxiii, 25, 135; Gera (St. John’s) organ, 117, 118
xxiii, 23, 24, 135; Gera (St. Salvator’s) organ, Furtwängler & Hammer (organ building firm,
xxiii, 25, 135 founded 1962), 66, 174
Fiori musicali (Frescobaldi, 1635), xvi, xxii
Fischer, Michael Gotthard (1773–1829), 39 Garthoff, David Heinrich (documented
Flentrop Orgelbouw (organ building firm, 1702–1741), 96
founded 1903), 34, 174 Gehra, August Heinrich (1715–1785), 23
Fock, Gustav (1893–1974), 61 Gera, xxiii, 23–25; Chapel (Osterstein Castle),
Forkel, Johann Nicolaus (1749–1818), Ueber 23, 25; Chapel (Osterstein Castle), Finke
Johann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und organ (1721), xxiii, 25, 135; St. John’s (City)
Kunstwerke (Leipzig, 1802), 80, 140 Church, 23, 24; St. John’s (City) Church,
Förner, Christian (ca. 1609–ca. 1678), 96, 97, Finke organ (1725), 24–25, 135; St. Salvator’s
134, 167 Church, 23, 25; St. Salvator’s Church, Finke
s Förster & Nicolaus (founded 1842), 79, 174 organ (1722), xxiii, 25, 135
n Frankfurt (Oder), 107–8; Franciscan Church Gerlach, Carl Gotthelf (1704–1761), 46
jp 200 Index

Gerlach, Philipp (1679–1748), 80 (1716), 30–31, 134, 143–45; Market Church of
Gesell, Carl Ludwig (organ building firm, Our Lady, Reichel organ (1664), 31–33, 133
nineteenth c.), 81, 82, 174 Hamburg, xxi, 33–38, 67; Bach’s visits to, xx,
Gisela Agnes, Princess of Anhalt-Köthen xxiii, 33, 63; Johanneum, 34; St. Catherine’s
(1722–1751), 43 Church, 33, 34, 63; St. Catherine’s Church,
glockenspiel, 6, 20, 23, 93, 107, 116, 141 Niehoff/Johannsen/Stellwagen organ, 34, 35,
Glöckner, Johann Georg (first half eighteenth 63, 134, 140; St. Jacobi Church, xx, xxiii, 33,
c.), 108 34, 36, 37; St. Jacobi Church, Schnitger organ
Gloger, Christoph (1665–1733), 122 (1693), 36, 37, 38, 134
Goericke, Johann (first half eighteenth c.), 75 Händel, Georg Friedrich (1685–1759), 30, 96
Goethe, Christiane von (née Vulpius; Hantelmann, Hans (ca. 1655–1733), 60, 119,
1765–1816), 95 134, 167–68
Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von (1749–1832), 95 Harmonologia Musica (Werckmeister, 1702), 58
Görlitz, 26–27; Church of St. Peter and Paul’s, Hartmannsdorf, xxv, 140
Casparini organ (1703), xxiv, 26–27, 28, 134 Hartung, Johann Michael (mentioned
Görner, Johann Gottlieb (1697–1778), 46, 108 1764/66), 104
Gotha, xxiii, 27, 29, 113; Castle Church, 27, Haseborg, Martin ter, 67, 174
29; Castle Church, Hohlbeck organ (1692), Hasse, Johann Adolph (1699–1783), 15
27, 29, 134; St. Margaret’s Church, 113; St. Heintze, Samuel (documented 1692–1707), 91
Margaret’s Church, Hohlbeck organ (1698), Heise, Gottlieb (organ building workshop,
113, 134; St. Margaret’s Church, Hohlbeck nineteenth c.), 125
organ case, 114 Heitmann, Johann Joachim (d. 1727), 34
Götterling, Tobias (first half eighteenth c.), 66 Held, Johann Balthasar (ca. 1640–1710), 67,
Gräbner, Christian (1665–1729), 46 135, 168
Gräbner, Christian Heinrich (1705?–1769), Helfenbein, Wiegand (twentieth c.), 9, 174
15, 18 Hennig, Johann Christian (first half eighteenth
Gräbner, Johann Heinrich (ca. 1665–1739), c.), 108
15, 18 Herbst, Heinrich Gottlieb (1689–1732), 10, 116,
Gräfenroda, 114–16; St. Laurence’s Church, 133, 168
114; St. Laurence’s Church, Weise organ Hering, Bartold (ca. 1480–1556), 168
(1736/2005), 115, 134 Herold(t), Peter (d. 1700), 96, 102, 104, 134,
Gräffenhayn, Gottfried Christoph (d. 1702), 168
xxi, 83 Herthum, Christoph (1651–1720), 8, 12
Graun, Johann Gottlieb (1702/03–1771), 107, 140 Hesse-Kassel, prince of. See William VIII
gravity, xix, 140, 141 Hetzehenn, Johann Gottfried (1664–1735), 68
Greutzscher, Ezechiel (b. ca. 1575/80–after Hildebrandt, Johann Gottfried (1724–1775), 16,
1625), 12, 13, 83, 134, 167 50, 159
Grigny, Nicholas de (1672–1702), Premier livre Hildebrandt, Zacharias (1688–1757): and
d’orgue (1701), xxii Bach, xix, 46; biography, 159; as examiner,
Große, Johann Friedrich (organ builder, mid xxv, 47, 140; Leipzig (St. Nicholas’s) organ,
nineteenth c.), 8, 74, 174 50; Leipzig (St. Thomas’s) organ, 54;
Grosse General-Baß-Schule (Mattheson, 1731), Liebertwolkwitz organ, 117, 118; Merseburg
33 (Cathedral) organ, 122; Naumburg (St.
Wenceslas’s) organ, xxv, 74, 76, 133, 139,
Halle (Saale), 30–33; Bach’s audition in, xxii, 148; Rötha (St. George’s) organ, 125, 126;
30; Market Church of Our Lady, xxv, 30; Sangerhausen organ, 83, 133, 139; Störmthal s
Market Church of Our Lady, Contius organ organ, xxiii, 88, 89, 133, 139 n
Index 201 jp

Hille, Johann Georg (eighteenth c.), 47 Kauffmann, Georg Friedrich (1679–1735), 121
Hoffmann, Johann Christian (1683–1750), xviii Kayser, Bernhard Christian (1705–1758), 40, 41
Hoffmann Orgelbau (founded 1848), 9, 116, 174 Kayserlingk. See Keyserling
Hohlbeck, Severin (ca. 1640–1700), 27, 113, Kegel, Emanuel (1655–1724), 23
134, 168–69 Kegel, Ludwig Heinrich (1705–after 1732), 23
Hohnstein. See Stöntzsch Kellner, Johann Peter (1705–1772), 79, 114, 115
Holland Gebr. (organ building firm, Kemper (organ building firm, founded 1868),
1790–1872), 20, 21, 174 34, 36, 58, 60, 62, 175
Homilius, Gottfried August (1714–1785), 15 Kern, Alfred (1910–1989), 175
Hopp and Jäger (architecture firm, mid Kern, Daniel (b. 1950), 18, 101
twentieth c.), 34, 36 keyboard touch, 143, 146, 148, 150
Hoppenhaupt, Johann Michael Sr. (1709– keyfall, xx, 146
1750), 44 Keyserling, Count Hermann Carl von
horse veins (Roß-Adern), 150 (1696–1764), 15
Hoyer, Dirk (sixteenth c.), 64, 66, 169 Kirchhoff, Gottfried (1685–1746), 30
Kirnberger, Johann Philipp (1721–1783), 114
Ibach, Josias (d. 1693), 47, 175 Kittel, Johann Christian (1732–1809), 39, 105
improvisation: by Bach, xvii, 5, 33; by “Figural- Klemm, Johann Christoph (1711–1774), 108
Organisten,” xvii Knobelsdorff, Georg Wenzeslaus von
Iversand, Jacob (d. ca. 1537), 34, 36, 175 (1699–1753), 124
Kobelius, Johann Augustin (1674–1731), 83
Jacobus, Andreas (mentioned 1717), 39, 175 Körner, Nicolaus (mentioned 1652), 113
Jahn, Johannes (1868–1933), 18 Köthen, xxiii, 40–45; Heimatmuseum, 42;
Jahnn, Hans Henny (1894–1959), 36 Historical Museum, 45; Palace Church, 44;
Jehmlich Orgelbau (organ building firm, Palace Church, Zuberbier organ (1733),
founded 1808), 16, 110, 111, 175 44–45, 135; St. Agnus’s Church, 40, 41, 42,
Jena, Collegiate Church organ, 2 43; St. Agnus’s Church, Müller organ (1708),
Jentz, Johann Hinrih (mentioned 1745), 100 43, 44, 135; St. Jacob’s Church, 40, 41, 42;
Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar St. Jacob’s Church, Thayßner organ (1676),
(1664–1707), xxi 42, 43, 134
Johann Georg, Duke of Saxe-Weißenfels Krause, Johann (mentioned 1624), 13
(1677–1712), xxi, 83 Krebs, Johann Ludwig (1713–1780), 5, 102
Johannsen, Gottschalk (d. 1597), 58, 175 Krebs, Johann Tobias (1690–1762), 102, 104
Johannsen, Jasper (d. 1558), 34, 64, 169 Kretzschmar, Franz Theodor (mid seventeenth
Junge, Christoph (ca. 1610–1687), 12, 94, 136, c.), 64, 175
169 Kreutzbach, Urban (1796–1868), 90
Kröger, Henning (ca. 1700), 60, 135, 175
Kaltschmidt, Joachim Christoph (ca. Kuhnau, Johann (1660–1722), xxiii, 2, 30, 108,
1717–1806), 60, 175 122, 140, 145
Kammerton (also Dresden Kammerton), 2, 16,
18, 25, 45, 71, 124; low (or French Kam- Ladegast, Friedrich (1816–1905), 40, 42, 50,
merton), 2, 71 122, 123, 175
Kassel, 39–40; St. Martin’s Church, 39; St. Lahm (Itzgrund), 10, 116–17; Palace Church,
Martin’s Church, Scherer/Compenius organ 116; Palace Church, Herbst organ (1732),
(1612/1664), 39–40, 41, 135; St. Martin’s 116–17, 133
s Church, Stertzing/Becker enlargement Lange, Johann (1543–1616), 50, 52, 135, 169–70
n (1731/1732), xxiv, 40, 41, 135 Langewiesen, 45–46; Church of Our Lady,
jp 202 Index

45; Church of Our Lady, Albrecht/Ehrhardt Lüneburg, 62–68; St. John’s Church, 64; St.
organ (1706), xxii, 45–46, 135 John’s Church, Niehoff/Johannsen/Dropa
lead sugar (Bleizucker), 39 organ, 63, 64–66, 133; St. Michael’s Church,
Lehmann, Blasius (d. ca. 1543), 52, 170 66; St. Michael’s Church, positive organ
Lehmann, Kaspar (d. 1679), 78, 135, 170 (1701/2000), 67–68, 135; St. Michael’s
Lehnert, Johann Jacob (mid eighteenth c.), 36, Church, Scherer/Hoyer organ (1705 disposi-
175 tion), 66–67, 134; St. Michael’s School, xxi,
Leipzig, xvii, xxiii–xxv, 46–57 33, 62
—Bach Museum (Bach-Archive Leipzig), 54 Luther, Martin (1483–1546), 22, 47
—Musical Instrument Museum (Leipzig
University), 54 Mahn, Matthias (late sixteenth c.), 64, 175
—New Church (later, St. Matthew’s), 56; Donat Mangold, Georg Caspar (mid eighteenth c.), 96
organ (1704), 2, 56–57, 135 Marchand, Louis (1669–1732), xxiii
—St. Nicholas’s Church, xxiv, 46, 47, 50; Lange/ Marcussen & Son (founded 1806), 119, 175
Thayßner organ (1598/1694), 50–51, 135 Mare, Marten de (d. 1612), 34, 175
—St. John’s Church, 47, 54; demolition of, 54; Martini, Friedrich August (eighteenth c.), 41
Scheibe organ (1742), xxv, 54–56, 134, 140; Martini, Padre Giovanni Battista (1706–1784),
Trost organ (1695), 54 xv
—St. Paul’s (University) Church, 46, 47; Mathis Orgelbau (founded 1960), 26, 28, 175
demolition of, 47; Scheibe organ (1716), xx, Mattheson, Johann (1681–1764), Grosse
xxiii, 46, 47–50, 52, 135, 145–47 General-Baß-Schule (Hamburg, 1731), 33
—St. Thomas Church, 19, 46, 47, 52, 69; Lange/ Mauer, Johann Gottlieb (eighteenth c.), 52, 175
Donat (large) organ (1599, 1670), xxv, 52–53, Maul, Johann Samuel (documented
135, 140; Mauer organ, 53; small organ, 1748–1802), 91
53–54, 135 Mende, Johann Gottlob (1787–1850), 47, 52,
Leopold, Prince of Anhalt–Köthen (1694– 56, 175
1728), 40, 41 Merseburg, 121–24; Cathedral, 121; Thayßner/
Leubing, Georg Erasmus (first half eighteenth Wender organ (1705/1716), 121–24, 134
c.), 22 Minetti, Franz Domenicus (mentioned
Lichtenstein, Adam Heinrich Gottlob von 1720/25), 102
(1693–after 1736), 116 Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt (founded
Liebertwolkwitz, 117–19; Church, 118; 1905), 96, 175
Hildebrandt organ, 118–19, 135; Hildebrandt Mizler, Lorenz Christoph (1711–1778),
signature, 118 Musikalische Bibliothek (1754), xv
Lindner, Elias (1677–1731), 108, 109 Mockwitz, Sebald (first half eighteenth c.), 22
Lorenz, Christian (first half eighteenth c.), 5 Möller, Carl (1679–1758), 39
Lübeck, 58–62, 119–21; Bach’s visit to, xxii, 58; Möller Manuscript, 78
Cathedral, 119; Cathedral, key desk, 36, 119, Mühlhausen, xvii, xxii, 68–74
121; Cathedral, Schnitger/Hantelmann organ —“Brückenhof” Church, xxii, 68, 72; J. F.
(1699), 119–20, 134 Wender organ (now in Dörna), 72, 74, 75, 134
—St. Mary’s Church, 58; main organ (1721 —St. Blasius’s Church, xxii, 68, 71; historical
disposition), 58–60, 135, 168; rood-screen organ case, 73; J. F. Wender rebuild (1708),
organ (Briegel, 1664), 62, 63, 135; Schulze xix, 71–72, 73, 135, 140, 141–42
organ in historical case, 59; small (“Toten- —St. Mary’s Church, 2, 68, 69; J. F. Wender
tanz”) organ, 60–62, 135 renovation (1720), 69, 135; Ch. F. Wender
Ludwig, Johann Caspar (documented ca. 1750), organ (1738), xxiv, 68, 70, 135 s
13 Müller, Erhardt (mentioned 1639/40), 53 n
Index 203 jp

Müller, Johann Georg (first half eighteenth c.), organ playing: art of, xv, xvi, xvii. See also Bach
42, 175 as performer
Müller, Johann Heinrich (first half eighteenth organ-recital repertoire, xviii, 15
c.), 43, 135, 170 organ-stop descriptions: Chalumeau, 49;
Müller, Johann Jacob (first half eighteenth c.), Fagotto 16’, 24, 141; Fleute Allemande,
41 49; Flöte douce 4’, 24, 163; Gedackt 8’, 24;
Musikalische Bibliothek (Mizler, 1754), xv Geigenprincipal 4’, 130; Große Hell-Quinten
Mylius, Johann Anton (1657–1724), 102 Bass, 50; Hohl Fleute 3’, 100; Jubal, 49;
Lar[i]go[t], 49; Oboe d’amore 8’, 79;
Naumburg, 74–77; City Church of St. Wences- Posaune 32’, 34, 141; Posaunen Baß 16’, 100,
las, xxv, 75; Hildebrandt organ (1746), xix, 141, 152; Principal 8’, 24; Principal 32’, 34;
xxv, 74, 75–77, 133, 139, 148 Quinta Thön 1’, 100; reeds at St. Catherine’s,
Neidhardt, Johann Georg (ca. 1680–1739), 2, Hamburg, 34, 140; Schweitzer Pfeiffe, 49;
6, 76, 112 Sertin, 49; Sordino 8’, 124; Stillgedackt 8’,
Nicolai, David (1702–1764), 26 xix, 142; tremulant, 25, 46, 142; Trompeten-
Niedt, Friedrich Erhard (1674–1708), 56, 60 bass 8’, 25; Unda maris 8’, 130; Viol di Gamba
Niehoff, Hendrik (ca. 1495–1560), 34, 64, 133, 8’, 100, 141; Violdigambenbaß 16’, 24, 152;
170 Vox humana II, 24;Weite Pfeiffe, 49
Nordtmann, Johann Jacob (d. 1724), 119 Orgel oder Instrument Tabulatur (Ammerbach,
1571), xvi
obbligato organ, in Leipzig cantatas, xvii, 47 Orgel-Probe, Erweiterte und verbesserte (Werck-
obbligato pedal, xvii meister, 1698), 141
Oehme, Georg (ca. 1646–1708), 86, 87, 170 Orgelprobe, oder kurze Beschreibung, wie . . . man
Offenhauer, Eduard (1825–1904), 98, 175 die Orgelwerke . . . annehmen, probiren, unter-
Ohrdruf, xxi, 78–80 suchen . . . solle (Werckmeister, 1681), 141
—Castle Chapel, 80 Ott, Paul (1903–1991), 116, 175
—St. Michael’s Church, 78; Lehmann/Brunner
organ (1693), 12, 78–79, 135 Pachelbel, Johann (1653–1706), xxi, 22, 78,
—Trinity Church, 78, 79; Brunner organ (1679), 105, 113
79–80, 135 Pape, Jost (2nd half sixteenth c.), 71, 175
Olearius, Johann Gottfried (1635–1711), 31 Pestel, Gottfried Ernst (1654–1732), 5, 108, 122
organ: construction of, 149–53; design and Petersilie, Otto (organ building firm, until
internal layout of, 105, 140, 143, 146, 149, 1914/1918), 98, 175
150; protection of, 147; tuning of, 34, 52, Petzold, Christian (b. 1677), 15
58, 62, 75, 142, 144, 146, 152, 168 (see also Petzold, Sebald (mentioned 1728/29), 23
temperament); use as church instrument, pipework: metal alloy of, xix, 142, 144, 152;
xvii, 5, 47, 54, 62 scaling of, 152; sound of, 144; thickness of,
organ continuo or parts, xvii, 47; transposi- 144; voicing of, xix, xx, 144, 146, 148, 152
tion of, 2, 3; use of Fagotto 16,’ 141; use of Pisendel, Johann Georg (1687–1755), 18
Stillgedackt or Lieblich Gedackt 8,’ xix, 2, 56, pitch, 1–2; lowering of, 31, 74, 88. See also
57, 142 Chorton, Kammerton
organ examinations, xix–xx, 12, 13, 18, 24, Poppe, Gebr. (organ building firm until 1917),
91, 108, 119, 139–48, 164; instructions for, 25, 175
149–53. See also Bach as organ expert and Posaune (Groß Posaune, Posaunenbass) 32’ (in
examiner dispositions), 6, 20, 31, 35, 36, 40, 65, 70,
s organists, “Figural” vs. “Choral,” xvii, xviii 117, 120, 122, 130
n
jp 204 Index

Potsdam, xxv, 80–82, 124–25 Röder, Johann Michael (ca. 1670–1750), 124,
—Bach’s visit to, 80 136, 171
—Garrison Church, 80, 125; Wagner organ Rolle, Christian Ernst (d. 1739), 41
(1732), 80–81, 82, 135 Rolle, Christian Friedrich (1684–1751), xxiii,
—Holy Ghost Church, 81; Wagner organ (1730), 30, 145
81–82, 135 roller boards, 146
—St. Nicholas’s Church, 124; Röder/Wagner Rosenkranz, Johann Christoph (eighteenth
organ (1724), 124–25, 136 c.), 41
Praetorius, Michael (1571 or 1572–1621), Rötha, 125–28, 129
Syntagma musicum (Wolfenbüttel, 1619), 3, 65 —St. George’s Church, 125; Silbermann/
Premier livre d’orgue (de Grigny, 1701), xxii Hildebrandt organ (1721), 125–27, 133;
Principal (Großprincipalbaß) 32’ (in disposi- Silbermann/Hildebrandt signatures, 126
tions), 26, 35, 36, 40, 60 —St. Mary’s Church, 128; Silbermann organ
Puppert, Friedrich Philipp (mentioned 1727), (1722), 128, 129, 133
104 Röver, Ernst (1857–1923), 25, 176
Rücker, Georg (Johann) Bernhardt (seven-
Quantz, Johann Joachim (1697–1773), Versuch teenth c.), 94, 171
einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu spielen Rühle, Wieland (1906–1993), 44
(Berlin, 1752), xv Rühlmann, Wihelm (1842–1922), 30, 43, 176
Quehl, Hieronymus Florentinus (1694–1739), Rust, Johann Peter (mentioned end of
114 seventeenth c.), 27
Rust, Johann Samuel (mentioned end of
Rabe, Jacob (active turn of seventeenth c.), 58 seventeenth c.), 27
Rahm, Johann Friedrich (d. 1736), 83 Rust, Wilhelm (1822–1896), 43, 44
Ratzmann Bros. (organ building firm, founded
ca. 1792), 12, 79, 175–76 Sahrer von Sahr, Heinrich August (1700–1754),
Rechenberg, Carl Otto (1689–1751), 145 98, 147
registration, xviii, 140 Sangerhausen, xxi, xxiv, 83–86
Reichel, Georg (ca. 1628–1684), 30, 31, 32, 133, —St. Jacobi Church, 83; Greutzscher organ
171 (1603), 83, 85; Hildebrandt organ (1728),
Reinhold, Theodor Christlieb (1682–1755), 18 xxiv, 84, 85–6, 133
Reinicke, Johann Gottlieb (documented Sauer, Wilhelm (organ building firm, founded
1731–1747), 47 1857), 12, 26, 52, 69, 80, 94, 108, 176
Reinken, Johann Adam (1643?–1722), xvi, xxi, Schäfer, Conrad Wilhelm (before 1670–after
xxiii, 33, 34, 62, 63 1737), xxiv, 98, 136, 159
Rembt, Johann Ernst (1749–1810), 114 Schäfer, Jost Friedrich (1642/1656–after 1706),
Reuß-Gera (1677–1735), Count Heinrich XVIII 71, 176
of, 23, 25 Schatz, David (1667–1750), 25
Richborn, Joachim (seventeenth c.), 34, 176 Schauenberg, Georg (2nd half sixteenth c.),
Richborn, Otto Diedrich (eighteenth c.), 36, 58 20, 176
Richter, Christoph (mentioned 1645–1649), 5 Scheffler, Christian (b. 1954), 69, 122, 176
Richter, Johann Adolf (1682–1768), 13, 94 Scheibe, Johann (1680–1748): and Bach, 46,
Richter, Johann Christoph (d. 1785), 16 160; biography, 159–60; Köthen (St. Jacob’s)
Richter, Johann Moritz Sr. (1620–1667), 91, 96 organ, 42; Leipzig (New church) organ, 56;
Ringk, Johannes (1717–1778), 114 Leipzig (St. John’s), organ, 47, 54–6, 134,
Ritter, Paul de (mentioned 1742), 101 139; Leipzig (St. Nicholas’s) organ, 50; s
n
Index 205 jp

Leipzig (St. Paul’s) organ, xx, 47–50, 135, instrument making, xviii, 161; Leipzig (St.
139, 145–47; Leipzig (St. Thomas’s), large Paul’s) organ, 47; Rötha (St. George’s) organ,
organ, 52; Leipzig (St. Thomas’s), small 125, 126, 127, 133; Rötha (St. Mary’s) organ,
organ, 54; Zschortau organ, 98, 99, 100, 133, 128, 129, 133
139, 147–48 Silbermann, Johann Andreas (1712–1783), 26,
Scheidemann, Heinrich (1596–1663), 58 48, 50, 51
Scheidt, Samuel (1587–1654), 24 Silbermann, Johann Georg (1698–1749), 16,
Scherer (organ building family), 34, 134, 171 176
Scherer, Friedrich (seventeenth c.), 39, 135, 172 Spiess, Johann Gabriel (first half eighteenth
Scherer, Hans I (ca. 1525–1611), 36, 64, 66, 171 c.), 108
Scherer, Hans II (before 1580–after 1631), 36, Stahl, Marcus (b. 1968), 54
39, 135, 171–72 Steinert, Johann Michael (d. 1731), 47
Scherer, Jacob (d. 1574), 36, 58, 60, 66, 172 Steinmeyer Orgelbau (founded 1847), 9, 10, 176
Schlag & Söhne (organ building firm, until Stellwagen, Friedrich (d. ca. 1660), 34, 58, 60,
1923), 26, 101, 176 64, 135, 172
Schmahl, Heinrich (1827–1892), 37 Stephani Johannes (second half fifteenth c.),
Schmaltz, Johann Stephan (d. 1785), 78, 79, 115 60, 176
Schmieder, Johann Christoph (first half Stephani, Johann Gottlieb Ehregot (end
eighteenth c.), xxiv, 86, 87, 133, 139, 176 eighteenth c.), 125, 176
Schneider, Johann (1702–1788), xxiv, 46 Stertzing, Georg Christoph (ca. 1650–1717):
Schnitger, Arp (1648–1719), 36, 66, 119, 134, Arnstadt (Upper Church) organ, 12; and
172 Bach, xviii, xxi, 78; biography, 161–62;
short-octave bass. See compass Eisenach (St. George’s) organ, 20, 21, 22,
Schott, Georg Balthasar (1686–1736), 46 134; Erfurt (St. Augustine’s) organ, xviii, xxii,
Schröter, Johann Georg (1683–ca. 1750), xxiii, 139; and Ohrdruf, 78; and temperament, 2
22, 134, 139, 145, 160 Stertzing, Johann Christian (1675–1735), 13
Schubart, Johann Martin (1690–1721), 91 Stertzing, Johann Friedrich (1681–1731), 40,
Schubert, David (1719–1772), 16, 176 162
Schuke Orgelbau (Potsdam), 13, 20, 30, 31, 71, Stertzing, Johann Georg (b. 1690), 162
101, 107, 113, 114, 176 Stillgedackt, use of. See organ continuo
Schulz, Carl (d. 1870), 81, 82, 176 Stölzel, Gottfried Heinrich (1690–1749), 5
Schulze, Johann Friedrich (1793–1858), 27, 30, Stöntzsch (Pegau), 86–88
45, 58, 69, 71, 73, 95, 96, 176 —Hohnstein Church (Saxon Switzerland),
Schüssler, Hartmut (b. 1930), 115 87; Schmieder organ, altered (1967) for
Schwarzenberger, Valentin (1692–1754), 83 Hohnstein, 87–88
Schweinefleisch, Johann Christian Immanuel —Stöntzsch Church, 86; Oehme organ (1678),
(1721–1771), 13, 52, 140, 160–61 86, 87; Schmieder rebuild (ca. 1730), xxiv,
Seydel, Friedrich Ludwig (mentioned ca. 1800), 86–87, 133
101 Störmthal, 88–90; Störmthal Church, 88;
Sicul, Christoph Ernst (1682–1732), 49 Störmthal Church, Hildebrandt organ (1723),
Silbermann, Gottfried (1683–1753): biography, xxiii, 88–90, 117, 133, 139
161; Dresden (Our Lady’s) organ, xxiv, 18, Straube, Karl (1873–1950), 52
19, 134; Dresden (St. Sophia’s) organ, xxiv, Streng, Johann Paul (1684–1750), 98
15, 16, 17, 134; as examiner, xix, xxv, 74, 148, Stüven, Harmen (first third sixteenth c.), 36,
149–53; Freiberg (Cathedral) organ, 108, 176
s 109, 110, 133; Freiberg (St. Peter’s) organ, subsemitones, 3
n 111, 133; and Kammerton, 2; and keyboard Syntagma musicum (Praetorius, 1619), 3
jp 206 Index

Taubach: St. Ursula’a Church, 90; St. Ursula’a Vetter, Nicolaus (1666–after 1732), 105
Church, Trebs organ (1710), xxii, 90–91, 136, Vogel, Gregorius (d. 1549), 34, 177
139, 142 Vogel, Johann Jacob (fl. turn of eighteenth c.),
Telemann, Georg Philipp (1681–1767), 34, 56 50, 52, 54
temperament, 2–3, 15, 16, 52, 58, 141, 144, Vogler, Georg Joseph (1749–1814), 101
152; equal, 16, 58, 60, 86, 111, 112, 126, 128; Vogler, Johann Caspar (1696–1763), 13, 91
meantone, 2, 3, 31, 33, 57, 68; meantone (1/5 Vogt, Theodor (nineteenth c.), 60, 62
comma), 116; modified meantone, 16, 37, 60, Voigt. See Mitteldeutscher Orgelbau Voigt
62, 112; Neidhardt I, 6, 76; Neidhrdt II, 112; Völcker, Johann Wilhelm (mentioned
Silbermann 1/6 comma, 90; unequal, 100; 1728–1737), 8
well-tempered (also irregular, unequal), xvi, Volckland, Franciscus (1696–1779), 107, 135, 177
10, 18, 57, 72, 100, 132, 141
Thalacker, Johann Christian (end of seven- Wackernagel, Johann Christoph (mentioned
teenth c./first half of eighteenth c.), 45 1722–1748), 22
Thayßner, Andreas (1652–1708), 42, 134, 173 Wagner, Joachim (1690–1749):and Bach, xxv;
Thayßner, Zacharias (between 1640 and 1655– Berlin (St. Mary’s) organ, 101, 103, 134;
after 1705), 2, 42, 50, 76, 121, 134, 135, 173 biography, 163–64; Potsdam (Garrison
Thiele, Johann Christoph (1692–1773), 46 Church) organ, 80, 82, 135; Potsdam (Holy
Trampeli, Gebr. (organ building firm, Ghost Church) organ, 81, 135; Potsdam (St.
1734–1832), 50, 52, 94, 176–77 Nicholas’s), 124, 136
transposition: of organ parts, 2, 3; of organ Wagner Bros. (organ building workshop, until
pitch, 68 1790), 45, 177
Trebs, Christian Wilhelm (mentioned 1742/43), Walcker, E. F. & Cie (organ building firm,
13, 134 1820–2004), 22, 119, 120, 177
Trebs, Heinrich Nicolaus (1677–1748): and Waltershausen, 128, 130–32; City Church “To
Bach, xix, 142; Berka organ, xxiv, 13, 14, God’s Help,” 128; City Church, Trost organ
134, 139; biography, 162–63; Buttstädt (St. (ca. 1730), 24, 128, 130–32, 133
Michael’s) organ, 104; Taubach organ, xxii, Waltershausen, Orgelbau (founded 1991), 115,
90, 136, 139, 142; Weimar (Palace Church) 128, 175
organ, 92, 139; Weimar (Palace Church) Walther, Johann Gottfried (1684–1748), xix, 91,
positive, 93; Weimar (St. Jacob’s) organ, 95 95, 102, 104
Treutmann, Christoph (1673/74–1757), 177 Weckmann, Jacob (1643–1686), 108
Trost, Johann Tobias Gottfried (1651–1721), Wegscheider, Kristian (b. 1954), 74, 110, 111,
54, 163 122, 177
Trost, Tobias Heinrich Gottfried (ca. 1680– Weimar, xvii, xxii, 91–95
1759), 6, 24, 128, 133, 139, 151, 163 —City Church of St. Peter and Paul’s, 91, 94;
Junge organ (1685), 94, 136
Untersatz (Großuntersatz, Subbaß) 32’ (in —Palace (Wilhelmsburg) Church, 91, 96;
dispositions), xix, 18, 20, 22, 24, 30, 65, 69, Bidermann positive (1658), 93–94, 136;
72, 76, 93, 109, 111, 140, 141, 144 Compenius organ (1658), 91–93; organ
Uthe, Johann Andreas (mentioned 1816–32), 16 disposition ca. 1737, 93, 136; organ rebuild
Uthmöller, Anton Heinrich (mentioned 1738), by Trebs, xxii, 92
34 —St. Jacob’s Church, 91, 95; Trebs organ (1723),
95, 136
Versuch einer Anweisung die Flöte traversière zu Weise, Johann Anton (1672–1750), 22, 115, 134,
spielen (Quantz, 1752), xv 145, 177 s
Vetter, Daniel (d. 1721), 46, 108, 147 Weise, Johann Moritz (1632–1704), 113, 177 n
Index 207 jp

Weißenfels, 95–98; Palace (Augustusburg) Wilhelm Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (1662–1728),
Church, 91, 96; Palace (Augustusburg) 68, 91, 95
Church, Förner organ (1673), 96–98, 134 Wilhelmi, Johann Christoph (mid nineteenth
Weißensee, 98; City Church of St. Peter and c.), 72, 177
Paul’s, 98; City Church of St. Peter and William VIII (prince of Sweden and regent of
Paul’s, Schäfer rebuild (1737), xxiv, 98, 136 Hesse-Kassel; 1682–1760), 39
Weißhaupt, Johann Conrad (1657–1727), 92, wind: problems with, 140, 141, 143, 146; testing
173 of, 151–52
well-tempered tuning. See temperament, wind chests: construction of, 151; testing of, 143
well-tempered wind coupler, 6, 16, 18, 76
Wender, Christian Friedrich (1694–1740), xix, wind gauge, 3, 143, 152, 167
xxiv, 2, 68, 69, 70, 135, 139, 164 wind pressure, 141, 143, 152
Wender, Johann Friedrich (1656–1729): wind supply, 3, 141
Ammern organ, 8, 134, 139; Arnstadt (New “Wir glauben all an einen Gott,” 5
Church) organ, xix, 9, 10, 11, 134, 139; and Wit, Paul de (1852–1925), 54, 55
Bach, xvi, xix, 68, 121; biography, 164; and Witt, Christian Friedrich (1665–1717), xxiii,
Dörna, 74; Eisenach (St. George’s) organ, 20; 27, 113
Merseburg (Cathedral) organ, 121, 122, 134; Woehl, Gerald (b. 1940), 52, 177
Mühlhausen (“Brückenhof” Church) organ,
72, 134; Mühlhausen (St. Blasius’s) organ, 71, Zachow, Friedrich Wilhelm (1663–1712), xxii,
73, 135, 139; Mühlhausen (St. Mary’s) organ, 30
69, 135; and temperament, 2 Zeißig, Julius (1855–1930), 118
Werckmeister, Andreas (1645–1706), xix, 2, Zippelius, Johann Georg (first half eighteenth
150; Erweiterte und verbesserte Orgel-Probe c.), 42, 177
(Quedlinburg, 1698), 141, 142; Harmonologia Zocha, Karl Friedrich von (1683–1749), 116
Musica (Quedlinburg, 1702), 58; Orgelprobe, Zorn, Wolf Christoph (1655–1721), 128
oder kurze Beschreibung, wie . . . man die Orgel- Zschortau, 98–100; St. Nicholas’s Church, 98;
werke . . . annehmen, probiren, untersuchen . . . St. Nicholas’s Church, Scheibe organ (1746),
solle (Frankfurt/Leipzig, 1681), 141 xxv, 98–100, 133, 147–48
Werner, Andreas (mentioned 1638/39), 50, Zschugk, Joachim (d. after 1632), 50, 75, 177
53, 177 Zuberbier, David (before 1700–before 1743),
Wiegand, Marie Salome (née Bach; 1690–1749), 42, 44, 135, 173
22 Zuberbier, Johann Christoph (ca. 1713–ca.
Wilhelm IV of Saxe-Weimar (1598–1662), 91 1780), 42, 43, 45, 173
s
n
jp 208 Index

christoph wolff is Adams University Professor
at Harvard University and director of the Bach-Archiv
Leipzig.
markus zepf, a musicologist and organist, is on the

staff of the Germanic National Museum in Nuremberg.
lynn edwards butler has published numerous

articles on the organ and is a practicing organist with
special familiarity with restored baroque organs in
north and central Germany.
s
n
jp

The University of Illinois Press
is a founding member of the
Association of American University Presses.
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at the University of Illinois Press
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jp

music / reference
An invaluable reference for Bach lovers everywhere
“We now have an English translation of the most
comprehensive study of the Bach organs. This is a vital
resource that will enrich the lives of many, and it provides
an enlightening and exciting venture into the Bach realm.”
—Jack Mitchener, Oberlin College
“An easily readable and usable collection of information
about organs related to Bach. This elegant and accurate
translation fills a clear and present need for scholars,
organists, musicologists, and the interested general public.”
—Joel Speerstra, author of Bach and the Pedal

Clavichord: An Organist’s Guide
Publication of this volume is supported by the American Bach Society
University of Illinois Press ISBN 978-0-252-07845-3

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christoph wolff & markus zepf

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the organs of J.S.Bach

published in cooperation with

university of illinois press

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This publication is sponsored by the American

Frontispiece: Naumburg, St. Wenceslas’s Church:

© 2012 by the Board of Trustees

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

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part one The Organs of J. S. Bach

section a Organs with a Proven Connection to Bach 5

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section b Reference Organs from Bach’s World 101

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part three Organ Builders 155

section b Organ Builders from the Sixteenth to Eighteenth

section c Other Organ Builders and Organ-Building Firms 174

Sources and Literature Cited 179

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jp xvi organist, composer, organ expert

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An Introductory Sketch xvii jp

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jp xviii organist, composer, organ expert

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An Introductory Sketch xix jp

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jp xx organist, composer, organ expert

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probable that primary activity was serving as Effler’s assistant n

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Organist at the New Church in Arnstadt

City Organist in Mühlhausen

Court Organist in Weimar

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Court Kapellmeister in Köthen

Thomascantor and Music Director in Leipzig

1725 Gera; tests the organ in St. Salvator’s Church n

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Meiningen Gehren Schleiz

Frankfurt (Main) Lahm

= places where Bach lived

Nuremberg = places with Bach-reference organs

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jp 2 part one The Organs of J. S. Bach