Description
The idea for this CD, recorded on the great Baroque organ of the Jakobikirche in Stralsund, was to choose repertoire of the time of Johann Sebastian Bach and the generation of his teachers and pupils showcase as many forms and registers of the organ as possible. The Chorale Variations by Daniel Magnus Gronau are recorded here for the very first time.
The organ of the Jakobikirche in Stralsund, whose original housing we can still see today, was built by Christian Gottlieb Richter of Stettin in 1741. In 1779 Ernst Marx of Berlin restored the original instrument, reusing many components from the old organ, and this happened again when Friedrich Albert Daniel Mehmel from Stralsund built another new organ in 1870. In 1945, southwestern corner of the side isle at the Jakobikirche was destroyed by a bomb. As a result of the damage, the church sanctuary became unsecure and much of the organ was stolen leaving it hugely damaged.
In 2017 the Dresden-based organ workshop of Kristian Wegscheider, also of Dresden, was commissioned to build a new, three-manual organ in keeping with the construction techniques and timbral aesthetics of the 18th century organ. As part of the restoration of the organ, which was completed in 2020, the case was completely restored and reconstructed in its old dimensions and structure with all of the old wood carvings as well.