A Tie That Binds
Jeannine and David Jordan with photography by
Michael Fielding.
To us, great music, practices, and instruments aren't just relative to the moment. They are ties to past centuries and with care and work will endure for centuries to come. In our recent tour to Germany, we found many obvious musical ties to the past in churches flourishing in the present and preparing for the future.
We performed our multimedia-organ concert, Bach und Söhne at Bach's Wedding Church:
St. Bartholomäus Traukirche, Dornheim Germany
The ties to the past in this church was thrilling to realize. Here we were, performing our organ and multi-media event, Bach und Söhne, sharing the story of Bach's life with our 21st-century technology in the very church where Johann Sebastian married his cousin Maria Barbara 307 years earlier. Jeannine narrated the concert in German, the language the pastor of this village church would have used to marry Johann and Maria Barbara -- another tie to the past.
The organ, in a lovely Baroque case, was built by Schoenefeld in 1996. It is a two manual and pedal tracker instrument of 19 stops and is an historic replication of instruments Bach would have played. The builder, by using techniques of the 17th century organ building, tiesthe present and future to that glorious past. The rooms and voicings of the historic organs are founded on truths of acoustics that are still applicable today. Yet another tie that is passed on for generations.
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St. Georgenkirche, Glaucau Germany
Jeannine performed repertoire from JS Bach and his eldest sons in a solo concert at this gorgeous church.
The organ is a superb Silbermann instrument from 1730. It was restored to original specifications in 1998. To hear and play the music of Bach on this historic instrument, like many in the area that Bach "tested, approved, and played," continued and furthered the tie of great music on a stunning instrument.
Guido Schmiedel, our host, is the organist and cantor of the Georgenkirche, and is responsible for the coordination of music for 50 churches in his region of Germany.
It is people like Guido who work tirelessly in many parts of the world to continue and promote the tie of great music and skills from the past to future generations.
________________________
Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Berlin Germany
Amazingly, an American organ built by E. and G.G. Hookof Boston, Massachusetts in 1870 graces the sanctuary of the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche. Originally installed in the Unitarian Church of Woburn, MA, the organ was brought to Berlin by Organ Clearinghouse in 2001. This very large 3-manual American instrument is an extremely unusual organ to find in Germany. It is the kind of organ on which we have performed many a From Sea to Shining Sea concert, well suited to the repertoire of early America.
What an interesting tie between 19th-century America and 21st-century Berlin this organ is. The organist of the church, Matthias Schmelmer, regularly performs the music of early and present-day American composers for his Berlin audiences.
___________________________________
Zur frohen Botschaft Kirche, Berlin, Germany
Experiencing the tie to a Russian princess was the reason for our visit to the Karlhorst Kirche in Berlin. Princess Anna Amalia, the sister of Frederick II, King of Prussia, was an organ student of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. It was for this Princess that the organ was built by Ernst Marx in 1755. Originally designed for a balcony room in Berlin's City Palace, after many moves has found it's useful home in a vital 21-st century musical church.
Kantorin Beate Krupke, ties the present and future to the past by not only playing this instrument weekly but by sharing and keeping alive the story of the Princess who as a patron of the arts and organ music in particular, provided a glorious tie from her present to our future.
St. Johanniskirche, Lüneburg
Sometimes carrying on the musical tie that binds churches and individuals together is not easy. Actually most of the time it is not easy. Lüneburg is the city to which Johann Sebastian Bach, as a youngster, walked 200 miles, to attend school and study the great music of his past (the scores of composers of the 15th and 16th centuries), and to hone his compositional skills, thus deepening the musical tie that has motivated so many of us throughout the intervening three centuries.
There are certain things that organists have done for centuries and still have to to do that make the tie just, well, just one of those things.
___________________________________
Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi,
Hannover, Germany
The 1780 von Fabrizio Cimino Italian organ is an integral part of the music program led by Kantor Ulfert Smidt at the Marktkirche. This glorious instrument ties people from around the world together in a unique way. The day we visited the Marktkirche, Kantor Smidt demonstrated the organ to a group of musicians that included Germans, Chinese, and Americans. What a binding tie leading from 18th century Italy through a German church and musician to those of us from far reaching places around the globe.
The grand organ of the Marktkirche was originally installed in 1957. Music Director Ulfert Smidt led the reconstruction of a new organ by Goll of Lucern, Switzerland in 2011. Housed in the original case, it is a striking moving, thrilling instrument, capable of effectively playing many styles of music - an important tie from past to present to future.
Truly we wish we could have taken all of you along on our tour of these, ancient, modern, rebuilt, reconstructed instruments to hear the music as it has been performed for centuries and for what we hope will be centuries to come. This is not an easily passed on tie, but it is powerful and deep.
Jeannine and David Jordan with photography by
Michael Fielding.
To us, great music, practices, and instruments aren't just relative to the moment. They are ties to past centuries and with care and work will endure for centuries to come. In our recent tour to Germany, we found many obvious musical ties to the past in churches flourishing in the present and preparing for the future.
We performed our multimedia-organ concert, Bach und Söhne at Bach's Wedding Church:
St. Bartholomäus Traukirche, Dornheim Germany
The ties to the past in this church was thrilling to realize. Here we were, performing our organ and multi-media event, Bach und Söhne, sharing the story of Bach's life with our 21st-century technology in the very church where Johann Sebastian married his cousin Maria Barbara 307 years earlier. Jeannine narrated the concert in German, the language the pastor of this village church would have used to marry Johann and Maria Barbara -- another tie to the past.
The organ, in a lovely Baroque case, was built by Schoenefeld in 1996. It is a two manual and pedal tracker instrument of 19 stops and is an historic replication of instruments Bach would have played. The builder, by using techniques of the 17th century organ building, tiesthe present and future to that glorious past. The rooms and voicings of the historic organs are founded on truths of acoustics that are still applicable today. Yet another tie that is passed on for generations.
____________________________
St. Georgenkirche, Glaucau Germany
Jeannine performed repertoire from JS Bach and his eldest sons in a solo concert at this gorgeous church.
The organ is a superb Silbermann instrument from 1730. It was restored to original specifications in 1998. To hear and play the music of Bach on this historic instrument, like many in the area that Bach "tested, approved, and played," continued and furthered the tie of great music on a stunning instrument.
Guido Schmiedel, our host, is the organist and cantor of the Georgenkirche, and is responsible for the coordination of music for 50 churches in his region of Germany.
It is people like Guido who work tirelessly in many parts of the world to continue and promote the tie of great music and skills from the past to future generations.
________________________
Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Berlin Germany
Amazingly, an American organ built by E. and G.G. Hookof Boston, Massachusetts in 1870 graces the sanctuary of the Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche. Originally installed in the Unitarian Church of Woburn, MA, the organ was brought to Berlin by Organ Clearinghouse in 2001. This very large 3-manual American instrument is an extremely unusual organ to find in Germany. It is the kind of organ on which we have performed many a From Sea to Shining Sea concert, well suited to the repertoire of early America.
What an interesting tie between 19th-century America and 21st-century Berlin this organ is. The organist of the church, Matthias Schmelmer, regularly performs the music of early and present-day American composers for his Berlin audiences.
___________________________________
Zur frohen Botschaft Kirche, Berlin, Germany
Experiencing the tie to a Russian princess was the reason for our visit to the Karlhorst Kirche in Berlin. Princess Anna Amalia, the sister of Frederick II, King of Prussia, was an organ student of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach. It was for this Princess that the organ was built by Ernst Marx in 1755. Originally designed for a balcony room in Berlin's City Palace, after many moves has found it's useful home in a vital 21-st century musical church.
Kantorin Beate Krupke, ties the present and future to the past by not only playing this instrument weekly but by sharing and keeping alive the story of the Princess who as a patron of the arts and organ music in particular, provided a glorious tie from her present to our future.
St. Johanniskirche, Lüneburg
Sometimes carrying on the musical tie that binds churches and individuals together is not easy. Actually most of the time it is not easy. Lüneburg is the city to which Johann Sebastian Bach, as a youngster, walked 200 miles, to attend school and study the great music of his past (the scores of composers of the 15th and 16th centuries), and to hone his compositional skills, thus deepening the musical tie that has motivated so many of us throughout the intervening three centuries.
There are certain things that organists have done for centuries and still have to to do that make the tie just, well, just one of those things.
___________________________________
Marktkirche St. Georgii et Jacobi,
Hannover, Germany
The 1780 von Fabrizio Cimino Italian organ is an integral part of the music program led by Kantor Ulfert Smidt at the Marktkirche. This glorious instrument ties people from around the world together in a unique way. The day we visited the Marktkirche, Kantor Smidt demonstrated the organ to a group of musicians that included Germans, Chinese, and Americans. What a binding tie leading from 18th century Italy through a German church and musician to those of us from far reaching places around the globe.
The grand organ of the Marktkirche was originally installed in 1957. Music Director Ulfert Smidt led the reconstruction of a new organ by Goll of Lucern, Switzerland in 2011. Housed in the original case, it is a striking moving, thrilling instrument, capable of effectively playing many styles of music - an important tie from past to present to future.
Truly we wish we could have taken all of you along on our tour of these, ancient, modern, rebuilt, reconstructed instruments to hear the music as it has been performed for centuries and for what we hope will be centuries to come. This is not an easily passed on tie, but it is powerful and deep.