Essen-Werden

When on June 24th 1900 the ”Neue Evangelische Kirche“ in Werden was inaugurated, the new Walcker organ also could be heard for the first time during a mass, played by the former cantor and organist Wilhelm Breidenbach, who had also been organist of the famous “Villa Hügel“.

We don’t know whether Breidenbach had an influence on the construction of the organ - for example on it’s specification; sure seems to be, that he loved his organ very much... He stayed here during 34 years, obviously without having the desire to change it’s structure or voicing. Built by the then world-famous company E.F. Walcker in Ludwigsburg as op. 885 for the price of 16.875,00 marks, it was financed with a gift from the privy councillor Friedrich A. Krupp, a member of the parish. Technically the new organ corresponded to the former state of the art of organ building. Musically it satisfied completely the expectations of the public.

As a consequence of the rejection of these organ building aesthetics through the ”Orgelbewegung“ arising in the twenties in Germany, many organs from companies such as Walcker, Sauer, Furtwaengler and others were destroyed through reconstruction or complete substitute (while war damages contributed their part as well) so that few of the bigger instruments are available today. One of them is the Walcker organ of Werden from 1900, classified as historical monument.

The protestant congregation in Essen- Werden owes the largely unchanged preservation of their organ an event of historical dimensions (structural modificaions worth mentionning had only been carried out at the beginning of the eighties on the wind system): to the monetary reform. At the beginning of 1948 the decision to rebuilt the organ was taken in the former presbytery. The organ builder Willi Peter in Cologne- Nippes was asked to develop a corresponding offer. It did not result, however, in the placing of orders anymore because the remedies, necessary for that, were not available to the congregation anymore because of the monetary reform.

During the restauration of 1990/91 the organ building company Karl Schuke from Berlin reconstitued the original state of the instrument.