Basic Information

Participant(s)：6 students majoring in organ in the Department of Instrumental Music (both graduate and undergraduate students)
Location：Thuringia (Thüringen) and Saxony (Sachsen), Germany
Period：March 15, 2015 – March 23, 2015

Achievements

Under this program, we – a group of six students led by Associate Professor Rie Hiroe and Mr. Munetaka Yokota, an organ builder – visited the central German states of Thuringia and Saxony to see the organs either played or inspected by J. S. Bach, one of the composers of the world’s most important organ repertoires, or the ones made by organ builders who had personal interactions with Bach. In total, we saw 12 organs by 6 organ builders; Sterzing, Wender, Trost, Volckland, Silbermann, and Hildebrant.

The organs built by Sterzing, Wender, Trost, and Volckland, which we saw in Thuringia, can be characterized by the deep, thick, yet sparkling sounds they produce. Above all things, the 16 foot “Violone” stop in the pedal division is a noteworthy feature of the pipe organs found in this region, and it seemed very suited for playing continuo. The organ built by Silbermann in Freiberg, Saxony, had reed pipes, just like a French-style organ, through which we heard a vigorous sound. We also visited a church in Naumburg to see the organ made by Hildebrant. The church was very spacious inside with a high ceiling, and the organ sounded as if it was being played in the sky.

Japanese churches, in general, have a shorter reverberation time, causing the organs to sound more flat and direct. We felt that the organs we saw and heard in German churches produced smooth and resonant tones that reverberated throughout the hall. Each note sounded independent and thick, and the tunes that we must have heard before sounded completely different as if we heard them for the first time.

Before actually hearing the performances by the organists on site, we did some research on the organ builders and the instruments, and it helped us a lot to better understand the characteristics of the organs in Central Germany. It also helped us relearn the original purpose of the organ music written by Bach, who had strong ties with the Church and the religion.

What is more, we were given the opportunity to try out the tones as described in the documents on the 18th century registration. What struck us most was how difficult it was, physically, to play the instrument. For those who are short in height (like 150 cm, or 5 ft), it would be hard to reach an octave in the pedals, so they would have to move their body every time they wanted to hit a key far away from the center. Besides, the bench is so high that they would have to stand up most of the time while playing. It is a common saying that any keyboard instrument will produce a sound if a key is pressed. Never did we realize that an octave was that far, and it was a good experience for us to learn about it.

Through this program, we realized how important it was to not only learn interpretations of works, but also acquire versatile techniques to play notes, depending on the instrument and sound reverberation. We also learned that it was essential to decide which piece of music to play based on the kind of the instrument, as each instrument has a different range of sound and varies in tuning methods. From how to select organ stops to understanding the structure and history of the instrument, there are so much more we need to learn.

The organ by Trost in Walthershausen, ThuringiaTrost

The organ by Wender in Arnstadt, Thuringia, which was played by Bach as an organist

The organ by Silbermann in Freiberg, Saxony