Organ in the Starnberg parish church of St. Maria: The queen of instruments is moldy

Created: 12/28/2021 Updated: 12/28/2021, 3:26 PM

From: Tobias Gmach

Financial help for the organ: Nadine Wackerl, director of the Catholic kindergarten St. Nikolaus, gave Pastor Dr.

Andreas Jall (left) and church musician Andreas Haller recently received a donation box for the organ.

© Kita

The organ in the Starnberg parish church of St. Maria is a problem child.

Most recently, mold spread over a large area.

A new acquisition would cost more than a million euros, but it could be worthwhile.

Starnberg - The queen of instruments is doing badly. She is tired of old age, she is running out of air, her back is against the wall. And what she had to experience in November is like trying to fall. We are talking about the organ in the Starnberg parish church of St. Maria. “The mold was everywhere. It has expanded explosively, ”reports church musician Andreas Haller. The infestation is well documented photographically: the white spores coated the pipe stem, populated the wooden pipes and penetrated the wind chests, the air supply to the pipes. The parish called an organ builder who hurried over with a first aid kit for 3000 euros. Haller says: “The mold has been pushed back, but it will come back.” As in the past. Correct elimination is only possible “if the organ is completely dismantled”.

Parish wants to obtain expert opinion on whether organ operation is still economical

The maintenance costs are high, the organ is checked once a year.

That is important for the mood, says Haller.

The question is inevitable: how much longer will it be profitable?

"We are in the process of obtaining an expert opinion as to whether the company is still profitable," says the church musician.

The result could be that buying a new organ would make sense.

"That would be very expensive, but in the long run you would save money," says Haller.

Parish fellowship and church foundation would have to reckon with more than one million euros in any case.

The problem: Support from the diocese is not to be expected.

The white spores had populated the pipe stick, among other things.

© Parish

Haller and Pastor Dr.

Andreas Jall the view to Weilheim.

Since June 2018, the parish community has collected almost 900,000 euros in donations for a new organ in the city parish church of the Assumption, thanks to generous donors, benefit concerts, sponsorships for the new organ pipes or the sale of "organ wine".

The goal: 1.1 million euros.

Because it was foreseeable, the Weilheim-based company signed the organ building contract with a Freiburg company in September 2020, and the organ should be ready by summer 2024.

All handwork.

The white spores had populated the wooden pipes, among other things.

© Parish

That cannot be said of the Starnberg organ in St. Maria.

In 1935 it was not built in tailor-made, but delivered by the organ builder Zeilhuber by carriage and then by train from the Allgäu.

According to church musician Haller, the parish ran out of money after the church was built, and industrial production made it possible to manufacture the queen of instruments at relatively low cost.

At the expense of quality.

“There is a lot of room for improvement in terms of sound,” says Haller.

“It loses its brilliance in the high and low registers.” A basic problem: the organ is anchored in the wall - if it is damp, so is the instrument.

Parents, children and employees donated 300 euros for the organ

For Haller, the organ is “the voice of the church.

I do think that it is worth something to the people ”.

This applies to the Catholic day care center St. Nikolaus, where Haller makes music with children.

When parents, children and employees found out about the organ diseases, they started a fundraising campaign.

300 euros have been received so far.

The white spores had populated the windchests, the air supply for the pipes, among other things.

© Parish

German organ building has been a World Heritage Site since 2018, and off-the-shelf products like those in 1935 are no longer popular.

The successor to the Weilheim organ should last for at least 200 years.

Haller could well imagine a big charity project like there in Starnberg.

But if this happens, it will still take some time: From the parish's point of view, the renovation of the church is even more urgent than a new organ.

Donations for the organ can be made to the account of the Catholic Church Foundation St. Maria, password: Orgel, IBAN: DE60 7025 0150 0027 9431 17.