This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received 67-6327 JACKISCH, Frederick Frank, 1922- ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS’ SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (1619) TO ADLUNG’S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1768). The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1966 Music University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (I619) TO ADLUNG'S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1?68) DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Frederick Frank Jackisch, B.S. Ed., M. Mus ****** The Ohio State University 1966 Approved by Advise] Department of Music ORGAN BUILDING IN GERMANY DURING THE BAROQUE ERA ACCORDING TO THE TREATISES DATING FROM PRAETORIUS' SYNTAGMA MUSICUM (l6l9) TO ADLUNG'S MUSICA MECHANICA ORGANOEDI (1768) By Frederick Frank Jackisch, Ph.D. The Ohio State University, I966 Dr. Herbert Livingston, Adviser In recent years a number of important studies of extant Baroque organs have been made in an effort to gain a fuller understanding of those instruments. Although most of these organs have long since undergone numerous alterations, they nevertheless disclose much of the world of the organ builders of that past age. Such disclosures, however, form only a part of what may be learned of Baroque organ build­ ing. The processes, the concepts, the ideas, and ideals which led ultimately to the finished product may be known more fully by an examination of the contemporaneous treatises on organ building. 1 Two definitive treatises, Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum (1619) and Adlung’s Musiea Mechanics, Organoedi (1768), have long occupied important positions among the historic writings on Baroque organs. In the century and a half between these two definitive treatises, however, a sizeable body of literature on organ building was published. Included among these writings are: Johann Philipp Bendeler, Organopoeia (I690); Andreas Werckmeister, Orgel-Probe (1698); Werner Fabricius, Unterricht (1756); Johann Caspar Trost, Ausfiihrliche Beschreibung des neuen Orgelwerks auf der Augustus-Burg zu Weisenfels (1677); Christian Ludwig Boxberg, Ausfiihrliche Beschreibung der Orgel zu St. Petri und Paul zu Gôrlitz (1704); Friedrich Niedt, Musikalischer Handleitung, Dritter Theil, "Anhang" (1717); Johann Biermann, Organographia Hildesiensis specialis (1738); and Jacob Adlung, Anleitung zu der musikalischen Gelahrtheit (1758). This intervenient body of literature forms an im­ portant bridge between the treatises of Praetorius and Adlung because it provides a great deal of information about the craft of organ building of its own time, and clarifies the stages of development in organ building which occurred during that period. The purpose of this dissertation is to examine the treatises which lie between Praetorius and Adlung, to dis­ close and collate the data provided by the various writings. to analyze the theories and practices contained therein, and to structure this information into a systematic deline­ ation of the craft of organ building as it relates to the musical milieu of that particular time in history. In this study, consideration is given to such aspects of organ con­ struction as the wind distribution system, the wind chest, the pipes (with particular attention to Bendeler's system o f ’scaling), the organ case, tonal design (with an analysis of the eighty-three organ specifications of Niedt and Biermann), tuning, and temperament. In addition, some attention is devoted to certain aspects of performance practices as they relate to the organs of this period. Not only do the treatises disclose a wealth of important information regarding the methods employed by builders in the construction of the various portions of the organ, but they also reveal that organ building and organ playing underwent a number of significant changes throughout the Baroque era. In the latter part of this era organists tended to forsake older registrational practices, such as the combination of stops of broad and narrow scale, while organ builders designed their instruments to be consider­ ably different both in concept and construction from earlier Praetorian models. PREFACE In recent years a numlDer of important studies have been undertaken in an effort to gain a fuller understanding of the organs of the Baroque era. Included among such studies are those which have grown out of the now forty- year-old Orgelbewegung in Germany, a movement that has fostered continuing research in the tonal and construc­ tional aspects of Baroque organs, as well as in the music written for those instruments. Many of the Orgelbewegung studies are based on direct and detailed examinations of the extant organs dating from the Baroque era. Although most of these organs have long since undergone numerous alterations, they never­ theless disclose much of the world of the organ builders of that past age. These disclosures, however, form only a part of what may be learned of Baroque organ building. The processes, the concepts, the ideas, and ideals which led ultimately to the finished product may be known more fully by an examination of the contemporaneous treatises on organ building. A number of these treatises were published con­ currently with the vigorous renewal of interest in the building and renovation of organs following the devasta­ tions of the Thirty-Years War. ii Christhard Mahrenholzj viewing the writings of this period; observes: What the second volume of Praetorius' Syntagma Musicum [1619] is to the knowledge of organs of the early seventeenth century, Adlung's Musica Mechanica Organoedi [1768] is to the under­ standing of organs of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.1 In the century and a half between these two defini­ tive treatises a sizeable body of literature on organ building was written. This intervenient body of literature forms an important bridge between the treatises of Praetorius and Adlung because it provides a great deal of information about the craft of organ building of its own time, and clarifies the stages of development in organ building which occurred during that period. No study has yet been made of the German treatises which form this intervenient body of literature. The purpose of this dissertation, therefore, is to examine these treatises, to disclose and collate the data provided by the various writings, to analyze the theories and practices con­ tained therein, and to structure this information into a systematic delineation of the craft of organ building as it relates to the musical milieu of that particular time in history. In this study, consideration is given to such aspects of organ construction as the wind distribution ^Ghristhard Mahrenholz, "Nachwort" to the facsimile edition of Jakob Adlung's Musica Mechanica Organoedi (Berlin, 1768), Kassel: Bârerireiter, I961, p. H 111 system, the wind chest, the pipes, the case, as well as tonal design, tuning, and temperament. In addition, some attention is devoted to certain aspects of performance practices as they relate to the organs of this period. The present study could not have been completed without the direct aid of certain individuals and agencies. The writer therefore proffers his deep gratitude to the Lutheran World Federation for a study grant awarded him in the spring and summer of 1964, and to the Lutheran Brother­ hood Insurance Company of Minneapolis. Both agencies provided assistance which made possible the acquisition of microfilms needed for this study. In spite of countless removals and relocations of library resources occasioned by the deprivations of World War II, several needed documents were obtained through the special efforts of Ruth E. Froriep, librarian of the Kirchenmusikschule in Hannover, and Dr. Hedwig Mittringer, librarian of the Archiv der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna. To them is extended a deep debt of gratitude. Acknowledgment is also accorded Dr. Herbert S. Livingston of the graduate music faculty of The Ohio State University, whose direction of this study has proven at all times to be of great value. Finally, the writer proffers a profound debt of gratitude to his wife not only for her aid in typing the finished document, but for her uncommon patience as well as iv her countless and timely expressions of encouragement throughout the course of this study. V VITA November l6, 1922 Born - Chicago, Illinois 1944 ............ B.S. Ed., Concordia Teachers College, River Forest, Illinois 1944 - 1948 . Teacher and Director of Music, St. John Lutheran Church, New Orleans, Louisiana 1948 - 1957 . Teacher and Director of Music, Eiranaus Lutheran Church, Port Wayne, Indiana 1950 ............ M. Mus., Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 1957 - 1966 . Professor of Organ and Church Music, Wittenberg School of Music, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio 1966 ............ Director of Graduate Study, Wittenberg School of Music, Wittenberg University, Springfield, Ohio PUBLICATIONS Articles in The Journal of Church Music: "Music to Sleep By?," Vol. 2, No. 3j pp. 2-4, March I96O "On Preludes," Vol. 3, No. 5, pp. 9-13, May I96I "Service Music for Organ," Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 1-3, January I962 "Those Short Responses," Vol. 7, No. 4, pp. 5-8, April 1965 Book Reviews in The Lutheran Quarterly; E. S. Brown, "Living the Liturgy," Vol. 15, No. 1, pp. 95-98, February I983 H. Grady Davis, "Why We