Germany Goodness

I just realized that out of the five pictures I have ever posted, this is the second featuring an organ. But that doesn't give you grounds to grumble and bumble about my predilection for posting pipe panoramas. I mean, I'm an organist, after all. What did you expect? That's only a 2/5ths occurrence rate . . .

This picture is just a taste of my 2006 travel adventures with my sister. We attended a service at the Jesuitenkirche on a Sunday and then (gasp! sacré bleu!) took covert pictures of the phenomenal interior. The church boasts to be the largest and finest Baroque church in southwest Germany. Mozart, who lived in Mannheim for a year, praised the church for its ambiance and acoustics. Built between 1733 and 1760, it was damaged during WWII (like much of the city) but has been completely restored to its original condition. The morning service rites were formal and impressive, as expected--as was the skill of the organist.

The organ case is primarily by an anonymous artist but includes 16 registers from the post-war Paul Egell case. The current four-manual instrument was installed in 1965 by Johannes Klais and acoustically optimized in 2004. My only regret is that I didn't have a chance to play it. Maybe next time?