Nuremberg has two beautiful, late Gothic churches: St. Sebald and the towering St. Lorenz Church, both adorned with treasures created by the Bavarian sculptor Veit Stoß. His art mostly survived the Second World War despite the heavy damage the city otherwise suffered.

The churches themselves were partially destroyed, though, and with them the historic Traxdorf organ in St. Sebald. It was one of the oldest in Europe, constructed between 1440 and 1443, and the organ's facade was considered the world's oldest.

But shortly after the war, reconstruction of the organs began. In 1951, the main organ in St. Lorenz could be played once more, prompting the first International Organ Week in Nuremberg. The event was initiated by the cantors of St. Lorenz and St. Sebald.

Now in its 60th year, it is perhaps the world's oldest festival of sacred music.

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A reputation regained

The International Organ Week Nuremberg served as a meeting point right from the start - including for the two halves of a then-divided country. Günther Ramin, the Leipzig-based cantor of St. Thomas' Church, brought the church's famed boy choir to Nuremberg, but listeners were also treated to some new sounds, like those of French composer and organist Olivier Messiaen.

"In those first years, a visit by Andre Marchal from Paris left a huge impression on me. He was blind and played a piece by Messiaen called 'Apparition de l'eglise eternelle,' which was a revolution for the audience," recalled Hubert Schaffer, for 40 years cantor at Nuremberg's Church of Our Lady.

Nuremberg's reputation as a city of organ music dates back to 17th century composer Johann Pachelbel, who lived and worked there. It had begun to fade after its famous instruments were destroyed in the war until the International Organ Week initiated a highly renowned contest for organists.

Austrian conductor Martin Haselböck came to Nuremberg in 2011 to conduct the ensemble he heads, the Wiener Akademie, in the festival's opening concert.

"After the war, Nuremberg was a center for organ music with people like Werner Jacob, cantor at St. Sebald, who rebuilt many things and had a lot of vision," said Haselböck. "The German approach to organ music as it is now taught in Stuttgart or Munich - it's all very tied up with Nuremberg."

Original instruments, original sounds

Haselböck is considered an expert on Franz Liszt's body of work, and with the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth falling in 2011, Haselböck conducted Liszt's Dante Symphony at St. Lorenz. For the concert, Haselböck managed to collect instruments for the Wiener Akademie of the kind that Liszt himself would have used in his time.

Along the way, Haselböck discovered that Liszt's orchestras consisted of fewer members than was common in the late Romantic era, and the horns projected a darker sound.

"Liszt wanted valved instruments to evoke a very specific mood with fine nuances and colors. The tonality of the organ in his work emphasizes the modernity and the groundbreaking compositional technique evident in many of these pieces," Haselböck said.

Musica sacra

Since 2009, the program has expanded to include music traditions of other religions, thanks to the head of programming, Wilfried Hiller.

"For years, I was responsible for presenting music of other cultures for a Bavarian radio station, so it was clear to me that 'musica sacra' meant all kinds of spiritual music - that it's not just limited to Catholic and Protestant music but music of all religions," noted Hiller.

In 2011, listeners were treated to performances on Japanese instruments like an end-blown flute called the shakuhachi and a reed pipe known as a sho. Whirling dervishes of the Sufi tradition from Turkey also took the festival stage.

The closing evening of the festival was held under the motto, "Arabic Passion," and brought the Islamic and Christian worlds together for a special performance. It included selections from both of Bach's major Passions alongside Arabic vocal and instrumental arrangements.

It's a necessary cultural encounter - conducted eye to eye, reflected Wilfried Hiller.

Author: Tim Koeritz / gsw
Editor: Rick Fulker