summary of the history of the Bonn Schloss- kirche and its organs. Orgelpunkt (”Pedal point”) is beautifully produced and a credit to the publisher, au- thors, photographers, and the Klais organ it- self. This excellent book is indispensable for students of Beethoven and the organ but will also attract those interested in the organs of Bonn and the work of the Klais firm.
WISDOM AND BEAUTY: THE GREAT OR- GANS OF ZACHARIAS HILDEBRANDT. Cambridge, Mass.: ConstellationCenter, 2008. [99] pp., ill. $65. Available from the publisher via
Amazon.com. The ambitious plans of ConstellationCenter include “the only authentically reproduced Bach organ outside Eastern Europe” for its Great Hall. To be built by Taylor & Boody Organbuilders of Staunton, Va., as the firm’s Opus 50, the in- strument will be modeled after the 1746 or- gan of Zacharias Hildebrandt (1688–1757) in the Stadtkirche St. Wenzel in Naumburg, Germany. More information can be found at the websites of ConstellationCenter (Con-
stellationcenter.org) and the organbuilder (
Taylorandboody.com). Normally, one is for- tunate to have this kind of online material for a project not yet built, but to have an over- sized 99-page book filled with stunning color photographs is exceptional and testifies to the seriousness of the ConstellationCenter endeavor. At 111
/2 inches tall by 143 /4 inches wide,
the size of Wisdom and Beauty as a book is its most apparent characteristic. After an in- troduction by William Porter, the book con- sists of photographs of Hildebrandt organs in Naumburg, Störmthal (1723), and Langhen- nersdorf (1722), and the Gottfried Silber- mann instrument in the Hofkirche, Dresden (1754), built under the direction of Hilde- brandt. George Taylor writes a short essay ti- tled “About the Four Organs” and provides short histories and stoplists of the four in- struments. The photographs by André Costantini and Robbie Lawson are excellent and benefit from full-color reproduction in a large format. Hildebrandt’s life is reflected in all four of
these instruments. The organ in Langhen- nersdorf (II/P, 21 stops) was his first com- mission and earned him praise as an organ- builder. (The stoplist in Wisdom and Beauty omits the Pedal, no doubt an editing error: 16' Sub-Bass, 16' Posaunenbass, 8' Trom- pete.) Störmthal (I/P, 14 stops) is the best preserved of Hildebrandt’s instruments. The newly appointed cantor in Leipzig, J.S. Bach, dedicated the new organ at Störmthal. If the master-apprentice relationship between Sil- bermann and Hildebrandt deteriorated after the latter married in 1722 and produced his first instrument, the organist-organbuilder affiliation between Bach and Hildebrandt apparently began the following year in Störmthal. It is widely assumed that Bach’s influence is felt in the Naumburg organ (III/P, 53 stops), an instrument tested by Bach and Silbermann. For his large organ in Dresden (III/P, 47 stops), Silbermann’s most prestigious (and lucrative) contract, the Saxon organbuilder must have recognized he needed assistance, and so the master called upon Hildebrandt, his old apprentice and colleague. Silbermann did not live to see the completion of this instrument, and it is cer-
AUGUST 2013
tainly not inappropriate to include this mas- terpiece in a book devoted to the organs of Hildebrandt. Not only are the organs and their keydesks,
pipes, and case details lovingly photo- graphed, but so are the churches in which they stand. As such, the reader receives a good impression of the organs and the spaces they occupy. Taylor’s brief essay and his de- scriptions of the instruments provide the necessary information and are among the
few published materials in English on Hilde- brandt, although the book is not a compre- hensive survey of the
organbuilder.No doubt, Taylor and his organbuilding team will have the last word on Hildebrandt when Opus 50 is finally built. In the meantime, Wisdom and Beauty offers a beautiful look at four in- struments by or associated with Hildebrandt and hints at the organ to come at Constella- tionCenter.
JAMES L.WALLMANN 71
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