Organ building is the profession of designing, building, restoring and maintaining pipe organs .
7-797: Carl Alexander Schuke (14 August 1870 – 16 November 1933) was a German organ builder and from 1894 to 1933 owner and manager of the Alexander Schuke Potsdam Orgelbau [ de ] . The company still exists today. Born in Stepenitz [ de ] Landkreis Ostprignitz [ de ] , Kingdom of Prussia , Schuke was the son of the pastor Karl Schuke, who officiated in Stepenitz from 1867 to 1886, and Charlotte Margarethe Alexandrine Anna von Wulffen . In 1885, he came to Potsdam and attended
14-475: A particular disposition of stops , manuals , and actions , creates a design to best respond to spatial, technical and acoustic considerations, and then constructs the instrument. The profession requires specific knowledge of such matters as the scaling of organ pipes and also familiarity with the various materials used (including woods, metals, felt, and leather) and an understanding of statics, aerodynamics, mechanics and electronics. However, although in theory
21-464: Is then usually partly or wholly assembled in the workshop, dismantled, and reassembled on-site, after which the pipes receive a final tuning and voicing. Organ builders also provide regular maintenance, which includes adjustment of pipes and maintenance of the action, and repairs necessitated by wear and tear, unforeseen problems or rough treatment (including inappropriate temperature and humidity). A complete overhaul of an organ consists of disassembly of
28-596: The Viktoria-Gymnasium, today Helmholtz-Gymnasium Potsdam [ de ] . After graduating from high school, he learned the organ building trade from master organ builder Carl Eduard Gesell . After Gesell's death in 1894, Schuke bought the company and thus took over the business. Through his temporary work at the organ building company Sauer from Frankfurt (Oder) , he was able to gain experience in contemporary modern organ building techniques, which he brought into his company and thus made his workshop one of
35-553: The best known organ building companies. After his death in Potsdam at the age of 63, his sons Karl Schuke and Hans-Joachim Schuke continued to run the company together. Approximately 140 organs were built during Alexander Schuke's tenure. For example, Schuke built the organ at the Dorfkirche Ketzür [ de ] . Organ builder The organ builder usually receives a commission to design an organ with
42-428: The builder is responsible for all facets of construction, in practice organ-building workshops include specialists in pipes, actions, and cabinets; tasks such as the manufacture of pipes, metal casting , and making rarely-used components are often delegated to outside firms. After manufacture of all parts of a new organ, the pipes must be pre-tuned and voiced to the desired pitch and sound characteristics. The instrument
49-401: The pipes and thorough cleaning of all components and maintenance where needed; changes and additions may also be made to the instrument at the same time. Older organs may also be restored to a previous state, including re-creation of damaged and missing parts using historically accurate materials and techniques. In some countries, including Germany, Switzerland , and Norway, organ building is
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