Organ /
FHNW Academy of Music
_edited.png)
Technical data
The "queen of all instruments", as W.A. Mozart called it, holds many secrets. Numerous stops and timbres, different manuals, pedal and over 2000 sounding pipes make it unique. Simply fascinating! The organ music is stylistically diverse and ranges from the Renaissance to modern times: from simple, two-part chorales to monumental works by J. S. Bach, film music and improvisations.
Organ studies are available as a Bachelor's and Master's degree course at the FHNW School of Music. Organ lessons by Prof. Martin Sander are given individually every Thursday and take place in St. Paul's Church. However, it is also a great enrichment to play chamber music with other instruments. The university offers additional practice opportunities in St. Paul's Church on weekday mornings.
St. Paul's Church has an organ built by Orgelbau Kuhn (Männedorf) in 1987 with about half of the pipes from the previous organ built by Basel organ builder Zimmermann in 1901.
​
It has 53 stops on 3 manuals and pedal with the following disposition:
-
Pairings: II/I, III/I, III/II, I/P, II/P, III/P.
-
Playing aids: 6 fix combinations (P, MF, F, FF, TT, Pedaltutti)
-
Setterboard with 256 combinations and memory card access (32kb; z.B. Simatic)
-
Register crescendo
-
Provisional mirror construction available (no monitor)
Organists and Cantors at Saint Paul
With the opening in 1901, a titular organist took up his post at St Paul's organ for the first time: Johann Jakob Nater Jr (1878-1972), son of the composer of the same name, worked here from the inauguration until 1905. He was succeeded by Otto Menet (d. 1951), who was also a singing teacher at the girls' grammar school for decades. The longest tenure was held by Eduard Müller (1912-1983), who later became the cathedral organist, from 1934 to 1970. He was succeeded by Heiner Kühner (1943-1990), who helped the St Paul's organ to achieve new fame in 1973 with an 18-part concert cycle to mark Max Reger's 100th birthday. Susanne Doll (b. 1956) was the only woman in office from 1991 until the organ was profaned in 2020. Since then, Martin Sander (b. 1963) can be listed unofficially as organ teacher and the only organist who is still regularly active.
There were directors of the church choir (Cantors at St Paul), which performed for the first time at the opening. Hermann Ulbrich (1903-1980), founder of the Basel Boys' Choir, is said to have served as Cantor at St Paul for a while and in the 1920s a “Mr Kessler” is mentioned as choirmaster. From 1934, Eduard Müller also directed the church choral society as St Paul's organist. It is currently unclear how long the two offices were held in unison and how long the church choral society existed.