Point d’intérêt
Small organ
An instrument above the altar, donated as a reserve for the unreliable large organ.
Langue du contenu
The small organ was installed above the altar in 1695. It faces the large instrument at the western end of the church. Having two organs is no accidental duplication: each has its own history and place in the church’s musical life.
The donor was the minister Sigismund Ebersbach. The earlier large organ frequently broke down, so he gave the parish a second instrument. The small organ served as a reserve, allowing music to continue during services when the larger instrument was not working.
The donor’s coat of arms survives, having been moved from the small organ’s façade to one of the church pillars. Like the heraldry and memorial tablets elsewhere, it linked a gift to a particular person. This musical donation also left a mark on the interior decoration.
Both instruments are sometimes used in concerts, answering one another from opposite sides of the church. Their positions allow a musical dialogue across the space occupied by the audience. The small instrument is among the oldest surviving organs in Świdnica.
Pour les enfants
There is a second, smaller organ above the altar. It was installed in 1695. A minister called Sigismund Ebersbach gave it to the church because the large organ often broke down. With a second instrument, music could still accompany services.
The two organs stand on opposite sides of the interior. At some concerts they take turns, as if having a musical conversation. The donor’s coat of arms was moved from the organ’s decorative case to a pillar in the Altar Hall. It remembers the person who paid for the instrument.
Question 1 sur 2
Who donated the small organ?
- Emplacement
- Uppermost gallery above the altar; viewed from the ground floor.