On Hungarian Organ Building in the 18th Century

Abstract

Hungarian history of musical instruments has not yet attained the level where a monograph may be expected to be written on any instrument used in Hungary whether by popular or highly cultivated circles which could be regarded as complete or as approaching completeness. This applies particularly to the organ, which as regards its construction, repert-ire and player is a typical instrument representing high culture in most instances of its use; however, being employed at divine service, it has served the people; as the most typical semi-popular representative, it has given voice to the spirit of the age under review. The history of Hungarian organ building is still unwritten, and only old journals yield a few data concerning certain mediaeval organs.1 In the first comprehensive work,2 a separate chapter was devoted to summing up the subject under the title Organ Building in In brief repetition of its data it may be stated that organs existed in Hungary as early as the 13th century although we possess no incontrovertible proof confirming thb fact. The author came to this conclusion on the basis of Zarlino's information that the pneumatic organ produced in Greece had reached Germany, Bavaria, and Italy by way of Hungary. This mediation must have taken place before the year 1298 when an organ of this type was destroyed by fire in Strassbourg Cathedral3. From the 15th century reliable data have come down to us of organs at the towns of PWcs, Zagreb, and Visegrad (1437 to 1452), while an organ builder is known to have been resident at K6rm6cbanya. Bence Szabolcsi claims the existence of organs at Buda, Szekesfeh6rvar, LScse, Eger,