Famous Instruments in History: The Organ of Johann Sebastian Bach

Blogger: Amber Lemus

Johann Sebastian Bach
Public Domain

Johann Sebastian Bach is a household name today. He is known as a masterful musician and a gifted composer. But during Bach's lifetime, he was better known as an organist. 

When compiling my list of the most famous instruments in history, I figured Bach's organ had to be on the list. However, I was surprised to find that while Bach owned many instruments, he didn't own an organ, the instrument he was most known for. 

Why didn't Bach own an organ?

That was my question as well. Turns out, in those days, they didn't have the small household organs we have today, they only had the massive, piped organs you see built into the walls of churches. These were not considered personal property but rather part of the architecture and infrastructure of the building, so the organ was owned by the institution, such as the church or royalty, rather than by the musician that was hired to play them. 

Then, what is considered the Bach organ?

Bach's entire professional career was built around the organ. From his very first appointment, he was playing the organ. So there are several instruments that are attributed to Bach.

The first resides at the Bach Church in Arnstadt. When Johann first came to work there, it was known as the New Church. The previous one had burned down, so a new one had been constructed on the same site. The organ was built by Johann Friedrich Wender, and inspected by eighteen-year-old Bach upon its completion. He was hired shortly afterwards to be the church organist. However, he only served here for a short time. After his term, his cousin took over, continuing the legacy of an organist by the name of Bach. While the organ has been altered and repaired over the centuries, it is the closest to the original that Bach played out of all the organs on record. The church was renamed after Bach in 1935 to honor Bach's connection to that church.

Current version of the Wender organ in the Bach Church, Arnstadt
Mtag, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Johann Sebastian Bach Church Anstadt
By Michael Sander - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 3.0,

The second would be the organ at the court of Duke Wilhelm Ernst at Weimar. This is the organ Bach used to compose the majority of his organ compositions. It was considered his golden age as an organ composer. However this organ was later destroyed by fire, so it no longer exists. 

The third is the organ at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig Germany. This church is often referred to as "Bach's Church" although that is not its official name. Bach was the music director there from 1723 until his death in 1750. The building has been rebuilt or renovated many times and the organ from Bach's time is no longer present. However, they did build a replica of Bach's organ there in 2000. Bach's remains are now buried in the church, although they were not there originally. There is also a statue honoring Bach in front of the church. For these reasons, this is the church and organ most famous and commonly referred to as "Bach's". 

St. Thomas Church
By Dirk Goldhahn - Fotografiert von Dirk Goldhahn.,
Public Domain

Statue of Bach in front of St. Thomas Church
By Eric Pancer - I (Creative Commons)

Did Bach own any instruments?

While Bach didn't own an organ, he did own many other instruments. The inventory of his estate included five harpsichords, two Lautenwerckes otherwise known as lute harpsichords (which we will have to circle back to, because it is super interesting.), a spinet, three violins, three violas, two cellos, one lute, and several other instruments. These instruments were the ones he took with him and used at home to compose and also teach his students. 

Another fun fact is that Bach, in addition to being a masterful musician of many instruments, also had a wonderful voice. In fact, his scholarship to music school was because of his voice, not his instrument playing. 

Which of these organs do YOU think should be considered "The Bach Organ"? 

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Two-time winner of the Christian Indie Award, Amber Lemus inspires hearts through enthralling tales She has a passion for family, faith, facts and fiction. This combination results in what her readers call "historical fiction at its finest".  

She lives at the foot of the Rocky Mountains with her prince charming and two boys. Between enjoying life as a boy mom, and spinning stories out of soap bubbles, Amber loves to connect with readers.

Amber is a proud member of the American Christian Fiction Writers Association. Visit her online at http://www.amberlemus.com/  and download a FREE story by subscribing to her Newsletter!

The Piano – A Conglomeration of Music

 

By Suzanne Norquist

The mere silhouette of a piano fills our minds with various melodies. It seems like pianos have been around forever. However, the ones we recognize weren’t invented until the 1700s. After that, they went through numerous refinements.

A piano is a stringed instrument, like a harp—with strings hit by hammers, like a dulcimer—and hammers operated with keys, like a pipe organ. It produces both loud and soft sounds, which makes it unique. The piano was initially called the pianoforte, combining the Italian words for soft (piano) and loud (forte). The term was later shortened to piano.

A form of the pipe organ, which inspired the piano’s keyboard, has been around since the third century BCE. It essentially allowed someone to play more than one wind instrument at a time, each pipe representing a different instrument. Greek and Hebrew cultures as well as the Roman Empire used organs. 

On a dulcimer, strings are hit by small hammers to create sounds in a resonating box. This mechanism is used in modern pianos.

The dulcimer appears to have originated in the Middle East, perhaps five thousand years ago. People throughout the ancient world played it. The instrument evolved over time, creating a greater dynamic range. In 1690, a German musician designed an extra-large one for himself, four times the regular size, nine feet long with an extra soundboard.

Another ancestor of the piano was the clavichord. This stringed instrument used a keyboard to strike a string with a brass rod. This was considered an improvement over the pipe organ. Clavichords are small and unable to produce a big sound, making them only useful in small rooms or as practice instruments.

Clavichords appeared in the fourteenth century and were popular in the Renaissance Era.

Harpsicords, created in Italy around 1500, are shaped like pianos but function quite differently. Pressing the keys causes the strings to be plucked by a quill. They are louder than clavichords but produce sound in a limited volume range. 

Bartolomeo Cristofori, an Italian instrument maker, invented the first piano. He was employed by Ferdinando de' Medici, Grand Prince of Tuscany, as the Keeper of the Instruments. To overcome the harpsichord's shortcomings, he switched out the plucking mechanism with hammers (like the dulcimer) that would hit the strings and gently return to their original position. The strings could produce sounds at different volumes based on how hard the musician pressed the keys, the first of its kind.

It's unclear exactly when he built the first pianoforte. One appeared on an inventory made by his employer in 1700.

Other instrument makers copied Cristofori’s pianoforte, making changes along the way. Gottfried Silbermann built his own version and had Johann Sebastian Bach offer suggestions. At first, Bach criticized it, saying that the higher notes were too soft.

Silbermann made changes. Bach liked the revised piano so much that he served as an agent selling them.

Over time, others made improvements, including the number of keys and the shape. Eventually, frames were crafted from cast iron, and it became the instrument we use today.

Who knew that playing the piano involved so much history? And I love the songs that go from loud to soft and back again. Forte—piano—forte, all in one instrument. Thank you, Mr. Cristofori.

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”Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection

Four historical romances celebrating the arts of sewing and quilting.

Mending Sarah’s Heart by Suzanne Norquist

Rockledge, Colorado, 1884

Sarah seeks a quiet life as a seamstress. She doesn’t need anyone, especially her dead husband’s partner. If only the Emporium of Fashion would stop stealing her customers, and the local hoodlums would leave her sons alone. When she rejects her husband’s share of the mine, his partner Jack seeks to serve her through other means. But will his efforts only push her further away? 

Suzanne Norquist is the author of two novellas, “A Song for Rose” in A Bouquet of Brides Collection and “Mending Sarah’s Heart” in the Thimbles and Threads Collection. Everything fascinates her. She has worked as a chemist, professor, financial analyst, and even earned a doctorate in economics. Research feeds her curiosity, and she shares the adventure with her readers. She lives in New Mexico with her mining engineer husband and has two grown children. When not writing, she explores the mountains, hikes, and attends kickboxing class.