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ECHO FESTIVALS: FRIBOURG
ECHO festivals
European Cities of Historic Organs
6. FRIBOURG
Simon Harden is impressed by how the Swiss town
introduces its historic organs to a new generation.
PHOTOS BY RUDOLF ARNI
ECHO is an association of nine cities in nine EU countries that are
the homes of precious historic organs – cities in which organ culture
plays an important role. The main aim of ECHO is to encourage and
foster this curatorship and the historic heritage through all means
possible and across borders.
The nine ECHO cities are: Alkmaar (The Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium), Freiberg
(Germany), Fribourg (Switzerland), Innsbruck (Austria), Mafra (Portugal, having replaced
Lisbon), Toulouse (France), Treviso (Italy) and Trondheim (Norway). www.echo-organs.org
Mafra
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CHOIR & ORGAN JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015
CO_0115_R_ECHO Fribourg T.indd 58
I
t is often the case that the construction
of fine organs kindles the development and flourishing of talented
organists, and vice versa. At Fribourg, this
enviable coalescence can be traced back
through the centuries and continues to be
nurtured through the Académie d’Orgue
de Fribourg and its annual Festival
International d’Orgue de Fribourg. Ruth
Lüthi, the president of this institution,
writes: ‘Organs are not just gadgets to be
enjoyed by the incumbent organist, but
embody much more than this: they are
aesthetic and musical works of art. They
represent an important part of the cultural
heritage of the Canton of Fribourg and
their high historical value reflects the
importance of the church, church music
and sacred art in the region.’ The level of
support for the festival, particularly palpable during the evening concerts, reveals the
extent to which this gospel is preached and
believed. The long and rich history of organ
building at Fribourg has been preserved
in such instruments as the 17th-century
organs of Sebald Manderscheidt,
18th-century examples by Michael
Bihler and Johann Conrad Speisegger,
19th-century instruments by Aloys Mooser,
and some high-class modern instruments
by Jürgen Ahrend and Marco Fratti.
The largest and most imposing of the
Fribourg organs is found in the west gallery
of the Cathedral of St Nicholas. Originally
built between 1814 and 1816 by Aloys
Mooser, the instrument went through
several alterations before being restored
to its original character and temperament
in the 1970s and early 80s by the Swiss
company Neidhart & Lhôte. Mooser
was from Fribourg, learned his trade at
the Silbermann workshop in Strasbourg
and cultivated an interesting synthesis of
French and German organ building styles.
At one of the festival’s evening recitals,
Louis Robilliard chose a programme to
demonstrate this, including works by J.S.
Bach with French influences such as Allein
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SLUG
The organ (mostly 19th-century)
in the Church of the Collège SaintMichel was used in a presentation
on the history of the organ
Gott in der Höh sei Ehr BWV 663 with
the tenor cantus firmus appearing like a
tierce en taille, and Schmücke dich BWV
654 in the style of a French sarabande.
Works by Brahms and one of Jehan Alain’s
later compositions, Aria, juxtaposed
quintessentially German and French idioms.
Some of the French influences stemmed
from the performer’s own interpretational
preferences: double-dotted rhythms in
French Overture-style for Bach’s E flat major
Prelude BWV 552, and even a romantic
crescendo for the accompanying fugue!
With 61 stops, the St Nicholas organ was
the largest to be built by Mooser and also
his last. The instrument shines through
its foundation stops – demonstrated with
considerable beauty through Robilliard’s
interpretation of Brahms chorales. The
plenum, however, is rather disappointing
as it fails to fill the room, sounding muffled
and unclear. The addition of the relatively
restrained reeds adds some fullness to the
sound, but it is the mixtures (none of which
have survived in their original state) that do
not complement the roundness of the foundation chorus. The unequal temperament
adds spice to this instrument’s expressive
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CO_0115_R_ECHO Fribourg T.indd 59
capabilities, but jars in places in the E flat
major of Bach’s BWV 552, for example. The
craftsmanship displayed in the neo-gothic
façade is impressive, also in the immaculately crafted console with ivory keys and
intricately carved lions heads serving as
manual draw-couplers.
Sebald Manderscheidt, originally from
Nuremberg, was head-hunted by the
Cathedral of St Nicholas to build a choir
organ, having proved himself a competent organ builder through his previous
now situated in the Hôpital des Bourgeois
and which has survived today in an almost
original state.
The choir organ at the cathedral, built
in 1655-57, is the only remaining historic
organ in Switzerland with a mesotonic
temperament. The case is particularly finely
carved and remains in excellent condition.
The keyboards, one of which could be
retrieved from a local museum and reintegrated through the restoration by Kuhn
from Männedorf in the 1990s, have a
The positive organ at the Hôpital des Bourgeois
is in an astonishingly original state considering it
has been moved several times since 1667
work in Lucerne. After completing this
spectacular instrument at St Nicholas, he
married a Fribourg woman and converted
to catholicism. This, combined with the
respect he had earned through the success
of the choir organ, led him to be honoured
with Fribourg citizenship. Thanks to this
string of events, Manderscheidt secured the
contract for a positive organ with pedal,
shortened bottom octave and divided keys
for D sharp/E flat and for G sharp/A flat.
The specification provides a convincing
synthesis of south German and Italian
elements. The dominant Principal 8 placed
in the façade has a softer and mellifluous
counterpart in the ‘Secund Principal 8’. In
addition, the Grand Orgue incorporates
a Fiffera 8, ideal for the realisation of the
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2015 CHOIR & ORGAN
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ECHO FESTIVALS: FRIBOURG
Italian toccata per l’elevazione. According to
the original contract for the instrument, it
was to be a single-manual instrument with
nine manual stops and two in the pedal.
As enthusiasm at the Cathedral grew, the
contract was extended to include a second
manual with six stops, and Manderscheidt
himself decided to add a fourth 8ft rank to
the Grand Orgue in the form of a Coppel.
The resulting specification allows for
convincing performances of music of the
era from both north and south of the Alps.
The positive organ at the Hôpital des
Bourgeois exists today in an astonishingly
original state considering it has been sold
and moved several times – even outside
Fribourg – since its construction in 1667.
The restoration, carried out in 1979 by
Kuhn, was particulary successful, as much
of Manderscheidt’s original work could be
identified. The case, perforated with finely
carved ornament, allows the projection of
sound from the otherwise enclosed pipes.
Most of the mechanical action, the wind
chests and manually operated bellows are
original. This small, compact instrument
boasts five stops for the manual and a single
reconstructed Régale in the pedal. The division of pedal keys for D/F sharp and E/G
sharp in this instrument must represent one
of the earliest examples of this arrangement.
The condition of this instrument makes it a
gem of the Fribourg organ landscape.
The Festival International d’Orgue de
Fribourg offers much to the organ student,
the enthusiast and even young children. At
this year’s 17th festival, a hugely popular
and original spectacle for young schoolchildren was presented by two French
comedian musicians, Vincent Dubus and
Baptiste Genniaux. The young participants
gathered in the organ loft of the Eglise du
Collège Saint-Michel and experienced an
entertaining and informative 40 minutes
Manderscheidt positive,
Hôpital des Bourgeois
The Cathedral headhunted
Sebald Manderscheidt to build
a choir organ in 1655-57
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ECHO FESTIVALS: FRIBOURG
The 1814/16 organ in the
Cathedral of St Nicholas was
Aloys Mooser’s last instrument
during which the history of the organ was
presented in the most inspiring manner.
Beginning in ancient times, the artists
demonstrated how sounds can be created by
blowing into simple wooden pipes. A primitive homemade reed instrument, complete
with bellows that a child could operate,
illustrated the music of the troubadours,
while song and the use of percussion instruments added interest. Clever use of tape
and electronic effects provided colour and
atmosphere throughout the production.
Moving through the Golden Age in Spain,
some time was spent on the ‘dawning of
spring for the organ’ characterised through
the music of J.S. Bach. A recognisable theme
was played followed by its inversion, and
the technique of fugue was demonstrated
in a manner understandable for children.
A child was asked for his name, whereupon
Genniaux deftly improvised on the letters of
the name, and several children participated
enthusiastically in an improvised piece
with gongs, bells, hand drums and cymbals.
The engaging character of the moderator
Dubus held the children’s attention for the
full 40 minutes – at one point, the children
were seen clutching the sides of the resonating organ case in fascination as Genniaux
played on a full plenum. The show finished
with an intriguing piece for organ and
percussion by the recently deceased French
composer Jean-Louis Florenz, presented as
‘A piece of music of today’.
Masterclasses and lectures form an integral part of the festival, drawing students
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CO_0115_R_ECHO Fribourg T.indd 62
from the university as well as from the
nearby towns of Lausanne, Bern and further
afield. The repertoire explored this year
spanned 16th-century Italian music (led
by Maurizio Croci and Luigi Tagliavini),
the works of J.S. Bach (Olli Porthan),
the romantic era (Louis Robilliard) and
contemporary works (Pascale Rouet). Each
masterclass was held in a church in the
region with an instrument appropriate for
the repertoire.
The Fribourg region, stretching from
Payerne in the mountains to the west and
the city of Bern to the east, offers some
high quality new instruments as well as
historic ones. The Marco Fratti organ of
the Dreifaltigkeitsbasilika in Bern is an
excellent new instrument, built following historic building techniques and
lending itself to the performance of early
Italian repertoire. Similarly in Payerne,
Jürgen Ahrend’s reconstruction of the
18th-century Melchior Grob instrument
allows a convincing realisation of the works
of J.S. Bach. Pascale Rouet led a particularly
Director of Académie d’Orgue
de Fribourg Maurizio Croci
absorbing masterclass on contemporary
French works. Her passion for this music
is infectious, demonstrated also in her
work running a most novel and successful
programme of contemporary organ music
for young children.
This festival’s success is fuelled by the
quality and diversity of Fribourg’s organs
combined with a local sense of pride
and enthusiasm. The colourful range of
concerts, with programmes reflecting
the character and strengths of the instruments, showcases the riches of the regions
heritage. It is particularly admirable to see
the importance placed upon increasing
children’s and young peoples’ awareness of
the organ culture in Fribourg. Long may
these efforts continue, and may they secure
the future of the organ tradition for the
coming generations.
www.echo-organs.org/fribourg.62.0.html
Simon Harden is based in Germany and
works internationally as a concert organist,
choir director and teacher.
Organ Scholarship
The Fondation Académie d’Orgue de Fribourg is offering a scholarship of 5,000 CHF
for an organ student to study at Fribourg University of Music in the academic year
2015-16. The successful candidate will also be invited to perform a concert in the
Fribourg International Organ Festival.
Details from Jean-Pierre Chollet, +41 26 470 00 89, [email protected].
Further information on www.academieorgue.ch or contact [email protected].
Closing date for applications: 1 March 2015
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