Erfurt Predigerkirche
Predigerkirche in Erfurt, Germany
Keyboards
3+P
Stops
57
Built by
Alexander Schuke Potsdam (1977)

Erfurt is the capital city of the Thuringia region in Germany. The Predigerkirche (Preachers’ Church), located in the city centre, is one of the oldest churches in the city, built in the 14th century in gothic style. The magnificent organ case dates back to 1648, when Ludwig Compenius built a Baroque organ. It is worth noting that in the years between 1678 and 1690 Johann Pachelbel, the famous Baroque composer, was the organist in the Predigerkirche. The organ had two manuals and a pedal but was quite prone to failures, resulting in several rebuilds of the instrument.

While retaining the beautiful casework, the interior was replaced by a new organ in around 1898, built by Walcker with tubular action and kept in a romantic aesthetic. In the 1950s its condition continued to get gradually worse, so the idea of building a new organ surfaced. In the end a new organ was built by Schuke from Potsdam (Germany) in 1977. It was conceived in a neo-baroque style, corresponding much better with the phenomenal baroque case.

The organ has 4 divisions: Hauptwerk, Schwellwerk, Positiv and Pedal. We can find the Hauptwerk in the upper floor of the main organ case. Its principal chorus (Plenum) builds up from a Principal 16′, with two Quinte stops (5 1/3′ and 2 2/3′) and is crowned with two mixtures: Groß Mixtur at 2’ pitch and Klein Mixtur at 1 1/3’ pitch. With two Trompete stops at 16′ and 8′, the Hauptwerk makes for a solid foundation of the organ.

Looking at the Schwellwerk division, which is the largest division of the organ, we find a large variety of stops. It is located in the main organ case at the bottom. The box shutters (it is enclosed) are covered by the Positiv section, so they’re not visible from the nave. With its unusually high amount of foundation stops for that time, it is possible to create a warm and full tone, while still not overshadowing its neo baroque spirit. Typical for that time is the stop Oberton 2 fach, which consists of a seventh and a third, allowing for more modern and experimental sounds. Two reed stops complete the division: Dulcian 16′ and Oboe 8′, which can give the division some nice and rustic sound when used appropriately.

The Positiv division isn’t a Rückpositiv division as you may think judging from its case. Originally the console was built into the main organ case (in the place of the current Schwellwerk). As the current console is located below the organ case on a lower level, the former Rückpositiv becomes a “regular” Positiv. Usually, a Rückpositiv section is controlled by the lowest keyboard because of mechanical advantages (easier to build with mechanical action). Here it is operated by the highest manual. Its stoplist, as in most baroque organs, reflects the Hauptwerk division, but in a smaller form. Fulfilling its purpose adequately, which speaks directly into the church, it complements the Hauptwerk very well and functions as the crown of the whole instrument.

The Pedal division is highly developed. It has three 16′ stops, giving the instrument a solid foundation. Thanks to the Quinte 10 2/3′ an acoustical 32′ can be formed. Moreover, this division also offers higher-pitched stops, perfectly suited for playing the cantus firmus part. With five reed stops, from Posaune 32′ (which was artificially created from the Posaune 16′ stop) to Clairon 4′, it makes the pedal sound powerful and voluminous. It also contains two mixture stops: Baßaliquote 4f. which boosts the natural harmonics of the lower ranks, and Mixtur 6 fach – crowning division’s principal chorus. Thanks to a big variety of stops, the pedal section can work independently (without couplers) as it was originally conceived in historic baroque organ pedal divisions.

The Schwellwerk and Positiv divisions were also sampled with tremulants, resulting in a much more realistic sound. Tremmed samples take around 30% percent of the required memory. However, it is also possible to disable them and use the artificially generated tremulant. It can be enabled in the Settings tab.

Overall, the organ has a noble and clean sound. Its reeds don’t dominate the sound, but they complete the sound design and compliment the clean and bright mixture sounds. Together with the gorgeous acoustics of this gothic church, it is one of the rarer examples of a good neo baroque organ, which really took up the spirit of old baroque organs while adding “newer” features like the more unusual mutations or high-pitched mixtures. It really stands out as a fantastic instrument of its time.

HauptwerkPrincipal 16'
Principal 8'
Koppelflöte 8'
Viola di Gamba 8'
Quinte 5 1/3'
Oktave 4'
Gemshorn 4'
Quinte 2 2/3'
Oktave 2'
Groß-Mixtur 6f.
Klein-Mixtur 4f.
Trompete 16'
Trompete 8'

II / I
III / I
Schwellwerk Gedackt 16'
Principal 8'
Holzflöte 8'
Spitzgedackt 8'
Salicional 8'
Oktave 4'
Nachthorn 4'
Rohrnassat 2 2/3'
Waldflöte 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Spitzquinte 1 1/3'
Sifflöte 1'
Oberton 2f.
Mixtur 5f.
Cymbel 3f.
Dulcian 16'
Oboe 8'

Tremulant
PositivGedackt 8'
Quintadena 8'
Principal 4'
Rohrflöte 4'
Sesquialtera 2f.
Oktave 2'
Spitzflöte 2'
Quinte 1 1/3'
Scharff 5 f.
Spillregal 16'
Trichterregal 8'

Tremulant
PedalPrincipal 16'
Offenbaß 16'
Subbaß 16'
Quinte 10 2/3'
Oktave 8'
Spitzflöte 8'
Baßaliquote 4f.
Oktave 4'
Pommer 4'
Flachflöte 2'
Mixtur 6f.
Posaune 32' extension
Posaune 16'
Trompete 8'
Dulcian 8'
Clairon 4'

I / P
II / P
III / P

Listening perspectives

Using this audio player you can listen to different audio channels the sample set is made of.
Use the sliders corresponding for each audio group to modify its volume.

Close
15%
Solo
Front
100%
Solo
Rear
40%
Solo

0:00

Technical details

General
Sample rate 48 kHz
Bit resolution 24 bit
Channel count 6 (3 × Stereo)
Tremulant model sampled
Compatible software Hauptwerk v. 4.2 or higher
Memory requirements
24 bit, 6 channels 62 GB
24 bit, 6 channels without sampled tremulants 44 GB
16 bit, 6 channels 31 GB
16 bit, 6 channels without sampled tremulants 22 GB
24 bit, 2 channels 20 GB
24 bit, 2 channels without sampled tremulants 16 GB
16 bit, 2 channels 10.0 GB
16 bit, 2 channels without sampled tremulants 8.0 GB
Please note, that these values mean how much of free RAM you need to run the sample set. Usually you should add to them around 3-6 GB to see how much total RAM you should have installed on your computer. The values were given for Loseless compression setting turned on. Please note that this doesn't refer to free disk space.
For multichannel sample sets, the requirements for not all channels loaded are only approximated. Closer audio groups (close, front) have slightly lower requirements than further ones (middle, rear), so it depends which audio groups you will choose to load.
This sample set allows for disabling tremmed ranks (ranks sampled with a tremulant engaged) from loading. If you don't want to load these ranks, disable ranks with tremmed in its name from loading.

Video: How to load only selected audio groups

Order

Choose which version you want to order. If you want to try the demo first, use the Add to cart button close to Demo version label and proceed to the checkout to get the download link. The only limitation of demo versions is the number of available stops. Click Show demo version button under the stoplist to see the available stops.

Full version

359 €
Demo version

Free

Please note that these prices don't include taxes. The correct VAT rate for your order is calculated inside the cart after you provide the information about your country.
If you want to order multiple licenses, after adding to cart you can change quantities in the Cart page.

Updates

Last update: 17th December 2022
Downloads: Full version 1.02   Demo version 1.02
Release notes:
1.02 - Now when right-clicking a stop, you can quickly access Rank voicing window (for the close audiogroup).
1.01 - Fixed wrong sampled tremulant behavior. The transition when switching the tremulant on and off wasn't smooth.