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Description
The organ is in a continued state of evolution, tonally and mechanically, designed by the builder to meet certain expectations related to the musical aesthetics of the time. Organ building in the United States has been influenced by both European organ building traditions and American innovations. During the early twentieth century, Ernest M. Skinner emerged as one of the greatest organ builders in America. Throughout his life, Skinner's quest was to create an "ideal organ," capable of playing a variety of music. Skinner's vision was rooted in the Romantic Movement and influenced by the dynamic gradations and rich, colorful sonorities of orchestral and operatic music of the era. A number of technological developments were applied to the design of the organ which made the romantic organ possible. The prominent European organ builders of the nineteenth century created organs that defined the romantic-style instrument in their respective countries. By the end of the century, American organ builders were creating their own versions. Skinner traveled to Europe to learn what he could from the foreign builders. Skinner built organs that synthesized European and American elements, along with his own innovations, as continuation of nineteenth-century trends that brought the romantic-symphonic organ to its fullest realization. Additionally, Skinner developed many new organ timbres, including a number of stops that imitate various orchestral instruments. The result of Skinner's creative work is the the American symphonic organ. This paper attempts to illustrate how the tonal designs of organs built by Walcker, Cavaillé-Coll, and Willis influenced the work of Skinner and the American symphonic organ. The work of each builder is discussed with descriptions of their designs. The designs and innovations of Skinner are examined as related to these European builders. A number of organ specifications are provided to supplement the information presented here. Today, American symphonic organs, particularly those built by Skinner, are revered for their warmth and charm and are inspiring the work of present day organ builders who are incorporating elements of this style into their own designs.
ContributorsGerber, James Theodore (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Pagano, Caio (Committee member) / Ryan, Russell (Committee member) / Rogers, Rodney (Committee member) / Rockmaker, Jody (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
When one thinks of the great German Romantic organs of Ladegast, Walcker,
Schulze, and Sauer, visions of the large colossus organs of the cathedrals of Merseburg,
Schwerin, and Berlin come to mind. These instruments were rich in power but also in
timbre and dynamic contrasts, able to crescendo from barely audible to thundering and
back. On the other hand, their eighteenth-century predecessors in the Southern and
Central German regions of Baden-Württemburg, Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony showed
a softer side characterized by few reeds and mixtures, generally small size, and gentle
voicing and winding. However, many of the traits found in these earlier instruments,
including an abundance of 8’ registers, a focus on color rather than contrapuntal clarity,
tierce mixtures, and a relatively low proportion of mixtures and reeds to foundation stops
are carried over to the early Romantic organs.
Especially interesting are the transitional instruments around the turn of the
nineteenth century. The end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth, the
time between the death of J. S. Bach in 1750 and E. F. Walcker’s construction of the
Paulskirche organ in Frankfurt in 1833, often appears as a sort of “Dark Ages” for the
organ in which little happened to advance the organ into the new century. Modern
scholarship has largely overlooked these instruments. However, the Central and Southern
German states were among the few areas that saw a continuation of organ building
through the economic and political disaster resulting from the Napoleonic Wars, the
secularization of many institutions including the grand abbeys of Swabia, and a rapid
change in musical aesthetic toward the symphonic and the virtuosic.
In this document, I examine organs of the Southern and Central German territories
of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony. I focus on organs that show
development from the late Baroque to the early Romantic Period, culminating in the
organs of Eberhard Friedrich Walcker in Baden-Württemberg and Friedrich Ladegast in
Thuringia. These little-known transition instruments provide intriguing insight into the
genesis of the famous German Romantic organs, giants in stature and sound.
Schulze, and Sauer, visions of the large colossus organs of the cathedrals of Merseburg,
Schwerin, and Berlin come to mind. These instruments were rich in power but also in
timbre and dynamic contrasts, able to crescendo from barely audible to thundering and
back. On the other hand, their eighteenth-century predecessors in the Southern and
Central German regions of Baden-Württemburg, Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony showed
a softer side characterized by few reeds and mixtures, generally small size, and gentle
voicing and winding. However, many of the traits found in these earlier instruments,
including an abundance of 8’ registers, a focus on color rather than contrapuntal clarity,
tierce mixtures, and a relatively low proportion of mixtures and reeds to foundation stops
are carried over to the early Romantic organs.
Especially interesting are the transitional instruments around the turn of the
nineteenth century. The end of the eighteenth century and beginning of the nineteenth, the
time between the death of J. S. Bach in 1750 and E. F. Walcker’s construction of the
Paulskirche organ in Frankfurt in 1833, often appears as a sort of “Dark Ages” for the
organ in which little happened to advance the organ into the new century. Modern
scholarship has largely overlooked these instruments. However, the Central and Southern
German states were among the few areas that saw a continuation of organ building
through the economic and political disaster resulting from the Napoleonic Wars, the
secularization of many institutions including the grand abbeys of Swabia, and a rapid
change in musical aesthetic toward the symphonic and the virtuosic.
In this document, I examine organs of the Southern and Central German territories
of Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Thuringia, and Saxony. I focus on organs that show
development from the late Baroque to the early Romantic Period, culminating in the
organs of Eberhard Friedrich Walcker in Baden-Württemberg and Friedrich Ladegast in
Thuringia. These little-known transition instruments provide intriguing insight into the
genesis of the famous German Romantic organs, giants in stature and sound.
ContributorsBurns, Brandon Lee (Author) / Marshall, Kimberly A (Thesis advisor) / Ryan, Russell R (Thesis advisor) / Saucier, Catherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019