Introduction to Arp Schnitger
Introduction to Arp Schnitger
His life and career in a nutshell.
Ausstellung Oldenburger Geistesblitze (Landesbibliothek Oldenburg Website)
| 1648 | Born in Schmalenfleth near Golzwarden on the Unterweser in the Oldenburger country (Baptized on 2. July). |
| 1662 | Learning the carpenter's trade with his father. |
| 1666 | Joining his uncle Berendt Hus' organ workshop in Glückstadt (Unterelbe) as an apprentice. |
| 1671 | Journeyman with Berendt Hus. In the early period his name was spelled with "k" and from 1695 onwards with "g". |
| 1676 | Death of Schnitger's principal Hus. |
| 1677-1682 | First independent activities from Stade. Schnitger completed the large organ in the Wilhadikirche in Stade and 7 further instruments for which Hus had been contracted. The most important organs from this early period were in Cappel and Lüdingworth . |
| 1682 | The workshop was moved to Hamburg, as a consequence of the assignment for building a 67-stop organ in the Nicolai church, his largest new instrument. |
| 1684 | Married with Gertrud Otte (1665
1707) from Hamburg. From this marriage 5 children survived: Arp der Jüngere (1665-1712) died in Hamburg from the plague epidemic. Hans (1688-1708), was drowned when trying to swim in the Elbe near Ochsenwerder. Johann Jürgen (1690 -?) co-operated for some years with his brother Franz Caspar, before we lose track of him. Franz Caspar (1693-1729) worked as an organbuilder of high reputation in the Netherlands and built the important organs of Zwolle, Alkmaar and Groningen. Catharina (1697-1736) died in Neuenfelde. |
| 1693 | Acquisition of the "Organ-builder's Farm" in Hamburg-Neuenfelde from his father-in-law Hans Otte's possessions. |
| 1707 | Death of Schnitger's first wife Gertrud Otte. |
| 1713 | Marriage with Anna Elizabeth Koch, née Diekmann, widow of the organist at Abbehausen (in the country of Oldenburg). |
| 1719 | Arp Schnitger died. Funeral service in the church at Neuenfelde on July 29th. The pew, displaying his coat-of-arms, can still be seen to the right of the altar. |
Arp Schnitger is considered the most important organbuilder of the Baroque period in
Northern Europe. His instruments in the churches of Northern Germany and Holland
were the largest of his time. Some instruments were exported even to Russia,
England, Spain, Portugal and Brazil. No other organ-builder of the past has had
so much influence on organ building in the 20th Century as Arp Schnitger. The
North German structure of spatially separated, tonally independent works (Rückpositif,
Hauptwerk, Brustpositif, Oberwerk and Pedal) have become a determining factor in
the organ building methods over the last sixty years. Schnitger took over these
principles from his predecessors, developing them to their utmost consequences.
Fantasy, artistic principles and logic merged in Schnitger's instruments on the
highest level relating to craftsmanship.
The greatest fascination,
however, is the sound of the Schnitger organs. Schnitger integrated the rich
tradition of Renaissance and Early Baroque organ building into his own style. In
many cases he integrated stops from a former instrument into his new masterpiece
and achieved a sound which enables us today to perform the North German organ
repertoire of the entire 17th century and the first decades of the 18th century
in an ideal way.
Schnitger succeeded, by his concept of brilliant mixtures and (full-length)
grounding reeds in fulfilling the novel 17th century organ task of accompanying
the congregation. The sound of the full organ, the plenum, was stronger, fuller
and firmer than its predecessors'. Schnitger's success was connected with the
homophonic quality of his plenum sound, which was quite suitable for the
accompaniment of the congregation's singing. The polyphonic quality of the
separate stops remained. His style influenced other organ-builders and his
influence was visible throughout the 18th century and even far into the 19th.
Unparallelled was the size of Schnitger's workshop and the number of large projects in the years around 1700. Apart from his Hamburg workshop there were groups of co-workers who set up instruments from Stade, Bremen, Groningen, Lübeck, Magdeburg or Berlin. In the final years of his life and after his death in the year 1719, many made themselves independent and resumed the Schnitger style. Long continuation of his school contributed substantially to the fact that many Schnitger organs were professionally maintained, remained well playable and were not replaced by new ones.
Under the prerequisite of the technology and the working conditions of organ-builders
in the late 17th and early 18th century the number of large-scale projects (new
and alterations) by Schnitger is almost unbelievable. Beside some instruments
with four manuals, we count 26 with three manuals and almost 20 larger
two-manual ones with free pedal. The workshop-list covers more than 170
instruments, among which the largest ones of his time. The list in Gustav Fock's
fundamental biography on " Arp Schnitger und seine Schule " (Kassel 1974) must
be completed with some further organs. Schnitger was highly esteemed, especially
for the quality of his reeds. His original and well-restored reeds show a
stability of intonation and pitch, which is still exemplary today. (Photo to the
right is from Gerhard W. Kluth:
www.kulturfoto-lieser.de)
At the website http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Orgelbauerhof-LF.jpg you can find a photo
of the "Orgelbauerhof" around 1900.
Memorial at the "Orgelbauerhof" in Neuenfelde
Due to many adequate restorations in the last twenty years, particularly by
Jürgen Ahrend of Leer-Loga, the artistic dimension of the Schnitger organs has
become visible. Schnitger's building methods make it possible to produce a
variety of sound with only a limited number of stops, which has never been
exceeded, neither before nor later.
Overview of the activity of Arp Schnitger by Schnitger's biographer Gustav Fock
Arp Schnitger was not born in Hamburg, but in Schmalenfleth near Golzwarden, in
the year 1648, the son of a carpenter. After young Arp had learned the
carpenter's trade from his father, he went into the organbuilder's workshop of
his cousin Berendt Hus at Glückstadt in Holstein. He learned much from building
a new organ in the Cosmaekirche of Stade .
At the request of the Hus's widow (Hus died in 1676), Arp Schnitger completed
the contractually concluded organ work, mainly concerning a new organ in the Wilhadikirche of Stade . So Schnitger was
relatively early independent. Further knowledge of organbuilding he must have
acquired in the school of life and through his occupation. For example when
changes were envisaged, he studied organs by important predecessors, such as
Scherer, Fritz and Stellwagen, which were present all around. Further he gained
expertise by exchanging views with prominent organ masters like Dietrich
Buxtehude, Vincent Lübeck, Christian Flor, Andreas Werkmeister etc., and by
studying the technical literature.
Due to the two excellent organs in Stade he was requested to build a large new
organ in the Nikolaikirche of Hamburg. This was for Schnitger a great
opportunity, as this was one of the largest churches of Nothern Germany, and
Hamburg being the centre of organ-playing and organ-building. Schnitger soon
moved completely to Hamburg, acquired there the civil rights, took on an extra
number of associates and married also.
Building of the Nikolai organ (1682 to 1687) became the crucial step in his career. In
almost five years of restless activity they built an organ with 67 stops, four
manuals and pedal for St Nikolai's.It was the largest organ in the world and
because of its solid design a triumph of organ architecture. Meanwhile Schnitger
and his assistants built ten more organs, some quite large, in the space between
Hamburg and the Dutch border. At the time the organ in St. Nikolai's excited the
same sensation as for instance a major technical achievement nowadays. The
active commercial town of Hamburg with its extensive art relations was the
suitable place to spread the name of the designer as that of the great master of
its time, both in the coastal areas and far inland. In the remotest villages of
Germany and Holland his fame penetrated. In organ documents from around 1700 one
can frequently find expressions such as: "Who also built the large and precious
organ in Hamburg".
How the professional world saw the building of this organ, we can learn from
Dietrich Buxtehude. In May 1687 he got permission from the church for a four-day
journey to Hamburg to visit the organ. After playing the instrument, Buxtehude
tried to convince the churchmasters in Lübeck that Schnitger should modify his
organ in St. Marien's. But, regrettably, the negotiations did not lead to the
result he had in mind. Unfortunately the Nikolaiorgel, Schnitger's largest
organ, was burned in the massive townfire of 1842.
Fortunately, Schnitger's second-largest instrument, the organ of St. Jacobi's in Hamburg, survived.
Already during the construction of the Nikolai organ the churchmasters of St.
Jacobi's decided to have their old and ramshackle organ thoroughly renewed by
Schnitger. Before beginning the building, Johann Adam Reinken at St.
Katharinen's was asked for advice. The envious and ambitious Reinken feared that
the new organ would place his own organ in the shadow and expressed the opinion
that a Prinzipal 32' was not necessary. A Prinzipal 16 ' of somewhat wider
mensur??? should suffice. But Arp Schnitger did not follow Reinken's advice and
stuck to his own design. In the new organ he used the good ranks of the previous
organ by Hans Scherer the Elder and Gottfried Fritsche in a new splendid
disposition, still holding us in admiration to-day. In the lay-out of the
disposition Schnitger exceeded all his predecessors. All his dispositions are
well-designed with the appropriate reeds and flue-pipes and thus form closed
unities in themselves. Very important in the structure is the large
pedal-section. In St. Jacobi's the pedal consists of fourteen stops. Reinken's
instrument at St. Katharinen's counted no less than sixteen. As well known, J.S.
Bach remembered gladly Reinken's fully occupied pedal and the clear speech of
Prinzipal 32 ' and Trombone 32 '. The pedal was filled with stops ranging from
melody-prominent flue-pipes to the Nachthorn 2 ', and with reeds up to the
Cornett 2 '. Schnitger's reeds met with the highest approval from his
contemporaries. The reeds possess great fusion abilities and on this quality the
grandiose effect of his pedals is mainly based. With these richly filled pedals
the powerful Pedal soli, characteristic of the Toccatas and Preludes by the
North German masters, become very effective. Besides these two organs in St.
Nikolai's and St. Jacobi's, Schnitger built almost twenty further organs for
Hamburg.
Already early his business expanded with amazing speed over Holland and the northern part of Germany. We find him working between Niederelbe and Niederweser, particularly in "das alte Land" (the Old Country) near Hamburg and in the cities of Stade, Buxtehude, Bremen and the country around, as well as within a wider range between Elbe and Weser to places as remote as Zellerfeld in the Harz. In this wide area the organs of Neuenfelde, Mittelnkirchen, Steinkirchen, Stade (St Cosmae's), Lüdingworth, Cappel and Grasberg are still extant to day.
Coats of arms from Schnitger in Neuenfelde
Photos above and below from Dale C. Carr
Notes:
