Arnstadt, 1703 – Bach organ [Hauptwerk]

Arnstadt, Bach organ (Wender 1703)

The New Church in Arnstadt was where the young Johann Sebastian Bach has got his first job as an organist at the age of 18. He served there from 1703 to 1707. After Johann Friedrich Wender erected the new organ in 1703, it was Johann Sebastian Bach who inspected and inaugurated it. The Weimar consistory had sent the young, talented musician to Arnstadt, and the church committee, thrilled by his skills, immediately offered him the position as the organist. However, Bach was not completely happy there and he often had conflicts with other musicians and students of the local school. The situation became even worse when he disappeared for several months in 1705 after being granted leave for only 4 weeks. During this time he traveled to Lübeck to hear and study with Dietrich Buxtehude. In 1707 he left Arnstadt for Mühlhausen, and a year later he started to work for the Duke of Weimar.

Although Bach stayed in Arnstadt for only a few years, it was where he composed many of his famous organ works. The Wender organ may seem surprisingly limited for the great Bach and this set of pieces. With it, you have the chance to practice Bach pieces on the organ he had at his disposal in Arnstadt. The instrument is a two-manual organ with 21 stops. All divisions share a single case. 

The organ has not survived until the present intact. Changed considerably several times in history, only about 25% of the original pipes exist today, although the facade of the organ case is original.