There were two organs in the Thomas Church, the larger of which dated from 1525. In 1721 it was enlarged by Scheibe, a builder of whom Bach had a very good opinion. In 1730 it was again improved, by giving the choir organ a keyboard of its own, instead of its being acted on by the great key-board as was formerly the case.

The organ contained:—

Great

• 1. Principal (open diapason), 16 ft.
• 2. Principal (open diapason), 8 ft.
• 3. Quintadena, 16 ft.
• 4. Octave (our principal), 4 ft.
• 5. Quinta, 3 ft.
• 6. Superoctava (our fifteenth), 2 ft.
• 7. Spiel-Pfeiffe, 8 ft.
• 8. Sesquialtera gedoppelt,
• 9. Mixture, 6, 8 and 10 ranks.

Brustwerk[80]

• 1. Grobgedackt, 8 ft.
• 2. Principal (open diapason), 4 ft.
• 3. Nachthorn, 4 ft.
• 4. Nasal, 3 ft.
• 5. Gemshorn, 2 ft.
• 6. Cymbal, 2 ranks.
• 7. Sesquialtera,
• 8. Regal, 8 ft.
• 9. Geigenregal, 4 ft.

RÜckpositiv[81]

• 1. Principal, 8 ft.
• 2. Quintadena 8 ft.
• 3. Lieblich Gedacktes, 8 ft.
• 4. Klein Gedacktes, 4 ft.
• 5. Traversa, 4 ft.
• 6. Violino, 2 ft.
• 7. Raschquint gedoppelt,
• 8. Mixtur, 4 ranks.
• 9. Sesquialtera,
• 10. SpitzflÖt, 4 ft.
• 11. SchallflÖt, 1 ft.
• 12. Krumbhorn, 16 ft.
• 13. Trommet, 8 ft.

Pedal

• 1. Sub-bass von Metall, 16 ft.
• 2. Posaune Bass, 16 ft.
• 3. Trommeten Bass, 8 ft.
• 4. Schalmeyen Bass, 4 ft.
• 5. Cornet, 3 ft.

There were also Tremulant, Vogelgesang, Zimbelstern-Ventils and ten bellows. The organ loft has been twice enlarged, first in 1802, and afterwards in 1823. It now accommodates the whole of the large double chorus and double orchestra employed in performance of the Passion music on Good Friday.

The smaller organ was built in 1489. In Bach’s time it stood in a gallery opposite the large organ. It was of very little use, and in 1740 was sold to St John’s Hospital. It had three manuals, pedal, and twenty-one stops, and was only employed on high festivals. As it was at a considerable distance from the other organ, difficulty was felt in keeping the two choirs together. This gallery remained, and was used for musical purposes, till 1886.

The organ of the Nicolai Church was built in 1598, repaired in 1692, and in 1725 was thoroughly renewed by Scheibe at a cost of 600 thalers.

The organ at the University Church was the best in Leipsic at that time. It consisted of:—

Great

• 1. Principal (open diapason), 16 ft.
• 2. QuintatÖn, 16 ft.
• 3. Principal (open diapason), 8 ft.
• 4. Schalmei, 8 ft.
• 5. German Flute, 8 ft.
• 6. Gemshorn, 8 ft.
• 7. Octave, 4 ft.
• 8. Quinte, 3 ft.
• 9. Quintnasat, 3 ft.
• 10. Octavina, 2 ft.
• 11. WaldflÖte, 2 ft.
• 12. Mixture, 5 and 6 ranks.
• 13. Cornet, 3 ranks.
• 14. Zink, 2 ranks.

Brustwerk

• 1. Principal, 8 ft.
• 2. Gamba, 8 ft.
• 3. Grobgedackt, 8 ft.
• 4. Octave, 4 ft.
• 5. RohrflÖte, 4 ft.
• 6. Octave (fifteenth), 2 ft.
• 7. Nasat, 2 ft.
• 8. Sedesima, 1 ft.
• 9. Schweizer Pfeife, 1 ft.
• 10. Largo (No. of feet not stated).
• 11. Mixture, 3 ranks.
• 12. Clear Cymbal, 2 ranks.

Third Manual

• 1. Lieblich Gedackt, 8 ft.
• 2. QuintatÖn, 8 ft.
• 3. FlÛte douce, 4 ft.
• 4. Quinta Decima, 4 ft.
• 5. Decima Nona, 3 ft.
• 6. HohlflÖte, 2 ft.
• 7. Viola, 2 ft.
• 8. Vigesima Nona, 1½ ft.
• 9. Weitpfeife, 1 ft.
• 10. Mixtur, 3 ranks.
• 11. Helle Cymbal, 2 ft.
• 12. Sertin (perhaps serpent), 8 ft.

Pedal

• 1. Principal, 16 ft.
• 2. QuintatÖn, 16 ft.
• 3. Octave, 8 ft.
• 4. Octave, 4 ft.
• 5. Quinte, 3 ft.
• 6. Mixtur, 5 and 6 ranks
• 7. Quinten-bass, 6 ft.
• 8. Jubal, 8 ft.
• 9. Nachthorn, 4 ft.
• 10. Octave, 2 ft.
• 11. 2nd Principal, 16 ft.
• 12. Sub-bass, 16 ft.
• 13. Posaune, 16 ft.
• 14. Trompete, 8 ft.
• 15. HohlflÖte, 1 ft.
• 16. Mixtur, 4 ranks.

The organ had been tried by Bach on its completion in 1716, who wrote a very elaborate report.[82] It may be of interest to quote some of Bach’s remarks, 1. He says that the space occupied is too confined to admit of easy access to some of the parts, in case of repairs being required. This was, however, not the fault of the builder Scheibe, as he was not allowed the space he asked for.

2. The wind must be made to come more equally, so as to avoid heavy rushes of wind.

3. The parts quite fulfil the description in all respects; and the contract, with the exception of the Schallmey and Cornet, which were changed by order of the college for a 2 ft. Octave (15th) and 2 ft. HohlflÖte, is completed.

4. The defects of intonation must be done away with; and the lowest pipes of the Posaune and Bass Trumpet made to speak less roughly and harshly. The instrument to be frequently and thoroughly tuned in good weather.

5. The keys have too great a fall, but this cannot be helped, owing to the narrowness of the structure.

6. Finally, the window behind the organ should be built up as far as the top of the organ, or covered with an iron plate, to prevent damage by weather.

The above list of 54 stops is given by Spitta, who quotes from the “Acta” of the university; but a MS. chronicle of Leipsic, discovered after 1880, of which the references to musical matters are quoted in the “Musikalisches Centralblatt” for 1884, has the following entry:—“1716, June. This summer the beautiful Pauliner organ, which consists of 67 stops, was finished.” A complete list of the stops follows, but is not given in the “Musikalisches Centralblatt.”

During the concerted music, the organist had to accompany from figured bass, and the voice part was rarely given him, as the cantor would not trouble to write it out, though Bach, with his characteristic thoroughness did so in many cases.

There exists a specimen of Bach’s method of playing from figured bass in a MS. accompaniment to a violin sonata of Albinoni, by H. N. Gerber, a pupil of Bach.[83] It contains a few autograph corrections by Bach himself, and it may be taken, therefore, as an example of the manner which Bach approved of. It is described by Spitta as of no melodic character, as being in four parts throughout, and as not adhering strictly to the harmonies given by Albinoni where an improvement was possible. The adornment of a figured bass accompaniment by a melody in the right hand was only possible to the greatest artists, such as Bach himself; and it soon went out of fashion.

During the seventeenth century it was the custom for performers to elaborate the melody written by a composer, and naturally Bach’s were treated in this way. But it was complained that he left little for the performer to add, for he “indicated all the manieren, the small ornaments, and everything else that is understood by ‘Method’ in playing, by actual notes,” and the performer could therefore not impress his own individuality on the piece.[84] Bach was particular to show exactly what he required; and it is evident that there was at this time a school of musicians rising, who objected to superfluous ornaments on the part of the performer. J. S. Petri objects to extemporised shakes and right hand melodies. Scheibe objects to contrapuntal accompaniment. Kirnberger says that the accompanist should aim at simplicity, and only add such ornaments as were absolutely necessary.

If the pedal was employed, the left hand helped with the harmonies. But if the bass moved rapidly the pedals only played short notes to mark the essential harmonic progressions; or the bass was even omitted, as the other instruments played it. For accompanying the solo voices in arias and recitatives the Gedact 8 feet was usually used alone, and was sometimes therefore called the “Musik gedact”: it is the same as the English stopped diapason. The chords in a recitative were not held long, even if the bass notes were. They were played arpeggio, as on a harpsichord. But Petri considers that if there is a very soft stopped flute, the chords may be held in the tenor register and the changes of harmony indicated by a short pedal note.

Staccato playing was universal on the organ, but Bach and his pupils insisted on a legato style, and gradually eliminated the staccato, though in accompanying they still kept to it. The tradition of Bach’s style of accompaniment was carried on by Kittel a pupil of Bach, who spread the knowledge of it through Thuringia, and one of Kittel’s pupils, M. G. Fischer of Erfurt, continued it. He died in 1829, and was heard by Grell of Berlin (b. 1800, d. 1886), who described the performance to Spitta. He played the bass with considerable power, and accompanied it by short chords in the right hand on another manual, thus agreeing with Petri’s direction that the organist is to accompany in as short a style as possible, and to withdraw the fingers after striking the chord.

But this was by no means Bach’s only method of accompanying, for he demands in the majority of cases a legato accompaniment, and sometimes a “melodic” manner. In his Matthew Passion and some of his cantatas the organist is to play short chords in recitativo secco.

He considered the Gedact peculiarly adapted for purposes of accompaniment; and in many passages he dispensed with part or the whole of the bass instruments.

In order not to drown the voices, or make the organ too prominent, no reeds or mixtures were allowed to be used in accompanying. They were reserved for solo organ work, in which Bach made use of astonishing combinations of stops. Orchestral effects were produced by the contrasts of tone-colour in the different groups of instruments, string, brass, reeds and flutes. To these the organ, making use of diapason work only, formed a background, and it was not allowed to predominate over them.

Bach, in 1730, fixed the number of voices requisite for the performance of a cantata at twelve, and of instrumentalists, excluding the organist, at eighteen. His sympathies were so much more with instrumental than vocal music, that he treated the voice merely as an instrument capable of expressing words. The influence of Handel’s works, in which the voice parts were of more importance than those of the instruments, brought about the change of arrangements by which the singers outnumbered the instrumentalists.

Students and admirers of Bach’s music have often wondered how he could have got boys to overcome the immense difficulties of its execution. They certainly complained of the difficulties, but execution was at that time, owing to the Italian influence, more studied than now. Boys were made to practise shakes diligently every day. They were not expected to enter very much into the spirit of the music; it sufficed if they sang the notes correctly. Moreover there were plenty of falsetto sopranos and altos, and these could, of course, take the upper parts. The tenor voice became a soprano, the bass an alto. A falsetto soprano could sing up to E and F above the treble stave.

The pitch question at Leipsic must have caused considerable difficulty. The organ at St Thomas’ Church was a tone higher than that of St Nicholas,[85] and many of the cantatas have the organ (continuo) parts in two keys, for the two organs. There must have been a separate set of string and wind instruments for each church; for the frequent alterations of strings by so great an interval as a tone would hardly conduce to good intonation.

There were in fact two recognised pitches in use, called chorus pitch and chamber pitch. Of these the chamber pitch was used for ordinary orchestral performances, and was a tone lower than the chorus pitch, to which the organ was usually tuned. This would cause no inconvenience if the orchestras were not used in the churches; but it is very strange that such a troublesome arrangement should have been allowed to continue after it had become the custom to employ the orchestra every Sunday.