Johann Michael Röder

Johann Michael Röder was a German organ builder in Berlin and Silesia from the first half of the 18th century. He was a pupil of Arp Schnitger.

Life

Röder's year of birth and death are unknown. He was apprenticed to Schnitger for four years as a journeyman carpenter. In 1712, Vincent Lübeck described him in a letter to the Tangermünde council as a "big talker" who "greatly despises and contempts Herr Schnitger".[1] In Röder's works, the influence of his teacher can be clearly heard, but he went his own way in the external design of the organs and moved further away from Schnitger than any of his students. Thus, he abandoned the Werkprinzip, did without a Rückpositiv and built the pipe organ rather flat. His special technical skills earned him the name "Mechanicus" and led to all kinds of late Baroque such as kettledrum-beating angels, eagles, stars of orders, suns and others.[2]

Johann Mattheson commented positively on Röder's organ in Breslau: "All emperors, kings and princes would be astonished if they saw the engraving of it and it consists of 56 sounding parts: 4 principals, as one a 32, one a 16 and two a 8 feet, a glockenspiel, which is tracted by the angels moving in the Gloria with their hammers in their hands with the help of the pedal as well as a pair of küpferner (visible) timpani, on which likewise two angels perfectly present everything that can be had on natural timpani with their mallets and can be played with the trumpet as well as intros and lifts.[3]

List of works (selection)

New organs by Röder are known in Orgellandschaft Brandenburg and Lower Silesia. Some are partially preserved.

New organ buildings
YearLocationChurchPictureManualCasingNotes
1713 Berlin Alte Garnisonkirche II/P 23 Transferred to the Potsdam church St. Nikolai in 1724; burnt in 1795
1716 Sydow near Bernau Dorfkirche I 8 Positive, later replaced by Lütkemüller.[4]
1717 Berlin-Dorotheenstadt Dorotheenstädtische Kirche I/P 19 Transferred to the Stadtkirche Wesenberg in 1833, later redisposed several times; front, wind chests and pipes from 4 stops preserved. – Orgel[5]
1720 Berlin Alte Schloss- und Domkirche II/P 32 not preserved[6]
1720–1722 Krosno Odrzańskie St. Marien, heute St. Hedwig III/P 55 Front preserved, in 1930 new construction by Sauer.[7][8][9]
1721–1725 Breslau St Mary Magdalene Church, Wrocław III/P 56 In the course of a new organ building in 1889-1891, the Röder organ was removed, the front went to the Silesian Museum (Katowice) and was lost after the Second World War.
1726–1729 Hirschberg (Jelenia Góra) Gnadenkirche, today Kreuzerhöhungskirche III/P 50 Front and about 40 complete stops preserved, in 1905 Schlag & Söhne rebuilt the organ pneumatically and extended the disposition to 70 stops, in this form the organ is completely preserved and restored in 1998[10][11][12]
1729–1730 Großburg (Borek Strzeliński) Dorfkirche II/P 22 Front preserved.[13]
1733–1737 Liegnitz (Legnica) Ev. Marienkirche (Liebfrauenkirche)
II/P 34 1914 New construction by Friedrich Weigle with preservation of 5 stops, afterwards alterations and restorations, front and some pipes preserved[14][15]
1740 Burg Stargard Reformierte Kirche I/P 29 not preserved[16]
1742 Greiffenberg Dorfkirche I/P 7 (oder 13?) Attribution, 1842 reconstruction by Morgenstern, (I/P, 13), 1967 restoration by Schuke on I/P, 12.[17][18]
1743–1744 Prenzlau Heilig-Geist-Kapelle I/P 15 for 400 thalers, converted around 1899, today housing the Schlosskirche Buch.[19]
1745 Prenzlau Marienkirche II/P 20 Replaced by Buchholz organ in 1847, destroyed in 1945
1746 Groß Schönebeck Dorfkirche I/P 12 New building offer by Joachim Wagner of 1746 not implemented, in the same year contract signed with Röder, who apparently resigned (or died) afterwards, completed by Gottlieb Scholtze in 1749, afterwards several rebuilds, case and some parts of the baroque organ preserved.[20]

Further work and offers
YearLocationChurchPictureManualRegisterNotes
1708 Bernau St. Marien Offer to repair and rebuild the Scherer organ of 1572 (III/P, 41), not considered, but carried out by Arp Schnitger instead.[21]
1711–1716 Tangermünde St. Stephan III/P 32 Repair and rebuilding of the organ from Hans Scherer d. Ä. (1624); received half of this – Orgel

References
  1. Fock: Arp Schnitger, p. 212.
  2. Fock: Röder, p. 607.
  3. Mattheson: Grundlage, p. 141.
  4. Karl Richter: Orgelhandbuch Brandenburg. Vol. 3. Barnim. Freimut & Selbst, Berlin 2014, also Introduction Barnim. Institute for Organ Research, with disposition, according to Pfarrarchiv Grüntal, Orgelakten
  5. Orgel in Wesenberg, Mecklenburgisches Orgelmuseum, mit Foto, Geschichte und Disposition, retrieved 24 February 2021.
  6. Orgel Organ database, with disposition (Dutch)
  7. Orgel Musicam Sacram (Polish)
  8. Sauer-Orgel organy.pro, (Polish)
  9. Foto des Crossener Orgelprospektes fotopolska, retrieved 14 February 2021.
  10. Organ in Hirschberg Organ database, history, organ description as well as current stoplist (Dutch), retrieved 14 February 2021.
  11. copperplate of the organ in Hirschberg fotopolska, retrieved 8 January 2019.
  12. Organ Wirtualne Centrum Organowe, with history and current disposition (Polish).
  13. Borek Strzelinski organy Photo, no information at Wirtualne Centrum Organowe and Musicam Sacram
  14. Orgel in Liegnitz mit Disposition (Memento vom 26. Juli 2008).
  15. Heutige Orgel Musicam Sacram,with history and photo (Polish)
  16. Orgel Organ database, with disposition (Dutch); a Reformed church apparently no longer exists in Burg Stargard, nor does the Mecklenburg Organ Inventory mention such a church with an organ.
  17. Hannes Ludwig: Orgelhandbuch Brandenburg. Vol. 2. Uckermark (Ostteil). Freimut und Selbst, Berlin 2008, the attribution was made by Wolf Bergelt in the 1980s.
  18. Geschichte der Orgel Orgeldatabase (niederländisch)
  19. Sanierung der Heilig-Geist-Kirche, 2012, nach Joachim Theil, Chronik
  20. Orgel Institut für Orgelforschung
  21. Uwe Pape: Röder, Johann Michael. In Ludwig Finscher (ed.): Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Second edition, Personenteil, Volume 14 (Riccati – Schönstein). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel among others 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1134-9 ([Repair and rebuilding of the organ from Online-Edition], subscription required for full access)

Further reading
  • Ludwig Burgemeister (1973). Der Orgelbau in Schlesien. Frankfurt: Wolfgang Weidlich. pp. 251–256.
  • Gustav Fock (1974). Arp Schnitger und seine Schule. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des Orgelbaues im Nord- und Ostseeküstengebiet. Kassel: Bärenreiter. pp. 211–213. ISBN 3-7618-0261-7.
  • Gustav Fock: '"Röder, Johann Michael". In Friedrich Blume (ed.): Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart (MGG). First edition, volume 11 (Rasch – Schnyder von Wartensee). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel among others 1963, DNB-IDN 550439609, Sp. 606–608
  • Johann Mattheson (1969). Grundlage einer Ehrenpforte. Kassel: Bärenreiter.
  • Uwe Pape: Röder, Johann Michael. In Ludwig Finscher (ed.): Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Second edition, personal part, volume 14 (Riccati – Schönstein). Bärenreiter/Metzler, Kassel among others 2005, ISBN 3-7618-1134-9 (Online-Edition, subscription required for full access)
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