Brasov, 1839 [Hauptwerk]

Brasov - Black Church Organ, Buchholz, 1836-1839

The instrument is the largest preserved organ by Carl August Buchholz (1796 - 1884), the prolific Berlin organbuilder. It consists of four manual console with 63 sounding stops. The Black church (Biserica neagra, Schwarze Kirche) is a Lutheran church in the heart of the Transylvania (today Romania). The importance of the instrument is underlined by frequent concerts: from spring to autumn, there are three organ concerts every week.

The type of the  instrument is sometimes called "in between the times". It has clear marks of the Romantic sound; yet it is still rooted in the baroque organ design with its "Werkprinzip" and pyramidal structure (foundational stops, aliquotes, mixtures). The core of this organ is the Joachim Wagner organ from the Marienkirche in Berlin, organ which Buchholz repaired in 1829. The purely mechanical action operates the traditional slider chests, requiring a good amount of force to play the keyboards.

The organ was built in 1839 in the early Romantic style. It was preserved without major changes until present. During the latest restoration by Ferdinand Stemmer, all the changes were puristically undone to restore the primordial state, because the original pipes were mostly available. Hence, the instrument is now in the shape as it came out of the hands of Buchholz. It is definitely the best preserved Buchholz organ ever.