'This heaving ocean of tones': nineteenth-century organ registration practice at St Marien, Lübeck

Sammanfattning: The dissertation deals with German nineteenth-century registration practice with the example of St Marien, Lübeck. The time investigated covers almost one hundred years, from 1834 until 1929 and the tenures of two organists, Hermann Jimmerthal, a student of Mendelssohn, and Karl Lichtwark, a student of Jimmerthal.

The aim of this study is to reconstruct the registration practice for a large nineteenth-century instrument, the Schulze organ of St Marien, Lübeck, completed in 1854 and destroyed in 1942. The dissertation uses a variety of different, such as empirical, inductive, hermeneutical, and comparative methods. Important source material includes facsimiles of Jimmerthal?s transcriptions and his registrations.

Hermann Jimmerthal (1809-1886) came to St Marien from St Aegidien in 1845. He oversaw the construction of the Schulze organ and was organist until his death. Karl Lichtwark (1859-1931), Jimmerthal?s successor, was organist until his retirement in 1929. Registration indications in their scores, especially in Jimmerthal?s organ transcriptions of works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn, give special insight into their registration practice. Information regarding Jimmerthal?s registration practice at St Aegidien also exists. Therefore, a comparison can be made between his approach to the St Aegidien organ, an organ rooted in the seventeenth-century tradition, and his approach to the St Marien organ, a sophisticated contemporary instrument. A further comparison can then be made between Jimmerthal?s and Lichtwark?s approaches to the Schulze organ. Jimmerthal?s registration practice is highlighted in this study, since his writings include especially rich descriptions of his registrations and the sound characterisations of the organ.

As part of this performance-related study, the author has recorded a CD at the Ladegast organ in Schwerin Cathedral, using registration indications for St Marien, Lübeck, adapted to the Ladegast organ.

The investigation shows that Jimmerthal?s registration practice did not change fundamentally between the two different instruments of St Aegidien and St Marien. However, his registration practice was different for original works than for transcribed works. Between Jimmerthal and his successor Lichtwark, the change of registration practice is considerable. Lichtwark aimed at an orchestral, expressive organ sound regardless what kind of organ music was performed. The sources show that the orchestral registration practice had its origin in organ transcriptions already several years before the New German School developed its aesthetics of orchestral organ sound.

The study also provides biographical information about Jimmerthal and Lichtwark, a history of the Lübeck Schulze organ, an overview on the performed repertoire, and registration charts for all music being analysed or recorded on CD.