The "If Only Walls Could Talk: Part II" Story

The 1793 single-keyboard Tannenberg Organ.

It was an ordinary day.  Followed my guide Josh through the door into the west gallery of the Single Brothers' House in Lititz, Pennsylvaia.  My trip to the Lititz Moravian Church today was two-fold: to see where General George Washington had set up a Military Hospital during the Revolutionary War as well as learn about one of the 18th century's best  Master organ builders, David Tannenberg.  I recently saw a co-worker of mine when we both worked at Manheim Township High School.  I found she volunteers in the office at the Lititz Moravian Church and after a request to make a visit, I am being shown both of my requests by her nephew, both in the same location.  

Organ pipes are beautiful.

My story yesterday told of Washington's Military Hospital in the Brothers' House while today I will tell you about Mr. Tannenberg and give you a closeup view of a few of his famous organs while standing in the same Brothers' House.  The first of the two Tannenberg organs is in the west gallery of the Brother's House or what is also called the Brethren's House.  The second Tannenberg organ is in the first floor chapel and is a beautiful masterpiece of 18th century technology.  David Tannenberg, born on March 21, 1728 in Berthelsdorf, Upper Lusatia, was schooled in Moravain communities and traveled to the Moravian community in Zeist when he was 20 years old.  Shortly he made a decision to join a group of Moravians who were bound for the New World.  

This photograph shows black keyboard and four stops.

The group set out on February 20, 1749 and arrived in New York on May 12.  Wasn't long before he headed to Bethlehem, Pennsyl- vania and on July 15 of the same year was married to Anna Kern in what came to be called the "Great Wedding", since 27 other couples were married at the same time.  He became a joiner, which is an artisan who builds things by joining pieces of wood, and began to build homes in Bethlehem.  

This photo shows the foot pedal that can me manually
pumped to play the organ.On August 8, 1752 he and his family moved to nearby Nazareth, PA, but returned to Bethlehem a few months later due to the possibility of attacks by the native American tribes that lived nearby.  In late 1757 David began to train with renouned organ builder Johann Gottlob Clemm who was from Germany, but moved to Pennsylvania in 1733.  In 1759 Clemm moved with the Tannenbergs back to Nazareth.  Mr. Clemm died on May 5th 1762 so Tannenberg was now on his own.  

The 1765 4 stop organ can be seen from floor level.  Part
of the second floor had to be lowered to make room for it.

He learned more about the trade from Georg Andreas Sorge who was using more modern organ building techniques and eventually David combined both the old and new techniques to make some of the best organs in the New World.  On August 16, 1765 Tannenberg moved with his family to Lititz, a Moravian Community, where he remained for the rest of his life.  

Some of the pipes can be seen from above the organ.

As Tannen- berg's fame as an organ builder spread, he needed an assistant and hired 30 year old Johann Philip Bachmann. With Bachmann's help, Tannenberg was able to build fourteen or fifteen organs in the last ten years of his life.  He died May 19th, 1804 two days after suffering a stroke while installing the organ he had built for Christ Lutheran Church in York, PA.  

A view from the second level.

His last organ was said to be his 42nd organ he had constructed.  He was buried in Lititz at the Moravian God's Acre Cemetery, but has since been moved to Prospect Hill Cemetery on North George Street in York, PA.  The organs I am photographing today are some of his earliest treasures.  My first subject is the smaller of the two organs and was originally made for the Moravian Church in Graceham, Maryland in 1793.  It was used continuously until 1957 when it was sold for $3,000 to the Lititz Moravian Church.  It is totally original, but was reconditioned in 1984 and again in 2011.  The keyboard is beautiful as is the entire pipe structure.  

The beautiful organ pipes.

The pitch of the organ is nearly one whole tone lower that modern pitch.  The organ can be manually pumped by the player using a metal foot pedal on the right side or by another person using a leather pull-strap located on the left side of the case.  I'm sorry to say I didn't have a chance to hear it.  The second Tannenberg, built in 1870, is located in the Chapel of the Brothers House.  It was moved to the Moravian Church in South Bethlehem, but returned once again to Lititz in 1910 where construction was needed to make it fit.  It stands about a half-level higher than the Chapel floor.  A majestic sight it is when entering the Chapel.  

Reverse keyboard with foot pedals and stops.

The keyboard is reversed color keys, as is the other organ.  Complete restoration took place on this organ in 1980-83.  The contrast between what appears to be mahogany and the white wood is beautiful.  It has 10 stops as well as a full foot keyboard.  I did not get to hear this organ either, but will make an effort to hear both being played in the near future.  My guide Josh gave me some of the basic facts about both which made it easier to understand the workings of both historic organs.  I left the Brother's House with the knowledge I had hoped to gain by my visit today.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.

A closer look at the keyboard.

Hand-carved finials on the top of the music rack add the extra touch to the organ.

Stops are hand-turned.

The brass tops of the organ pipes reach to the heavens.

David Tannenberg's nameplate can be found on all his organs.

     PS - A side note to my story comes from a small pamphlet that Josh handed to me as I departed the church office after my tour.  In the pamphlet it tells that the landmark church spire was also designed by David Tannenberg.  A disastrous fire in 1957, which I have written about in an earlier story, destroyed the spire and belfry which had been used by the famous Lititz Trombone Choir to announce the deaths of church members, church festivals and significant days of the church year.