It is a tradition among the Czechs that we try to usurp authors who were German but lived in the Czech territory. Be it organists (Sieber) or composers (Fischer). That is certainly legitimate, since they considered and honoured the Czech lands as their home. At the same time, of course, we read that Fischer, for example, is considered one of the foremost German keyboard composers of his time. It would be proof of our maturity if we did not feel even a whiff of resentment reading this. The bottom line, perhaps, is that each of us should contribute to the general welfare of other individuals to the best of our abilities. In the arts, this applies without a shadow of a doubt. Spiritually perfect in this respect are the angels, whose beautiful statues adorn many organs; in Polná they oversee the organists very closely, namely right on the sides of the music stand, however, it remains a mystery how and when the two of them got there.
The reminders of Greek ideals, including the rich symbolism of the setting of Olympus and its deities, are also part of the basic identity of the European world. The union of the sound of music and artistic beauty gave our CD the title: Between Angels and Muses. In Greek mythology, Urania (the Celestial) is the Muse of Astronomy and Euterpe (the Pleasing One) is the Muse of Music. Both were supposed to be daughters of the supreme god Zeus and the goddess of memory, Mnemosyne. Two variations of Johann Caspar Ferdinand Fischer's musical forms selected from his keyboard suites frame a variety of works by other composers, including improvisations inspired by the works of Joseph Haydn. Thus, the musical program of the CD unfolds a dimension of meaning in the form of the anticipation of Christ's coming in the setting of the well-known Advent song Nun komm der Heiden Heiland on the one hand, and an improvisational reflection on Haydn's masterpiece The Seven Last Words of the Redeemer on the Cross on the other. The latter is rounded off by a representation of the earthquake mentioned in the Bible, in accordance with Haydn's concept of attacca, or in other words immediately after the seventh movement has been completed.
Accompanying texts to CD recordings of organ music usually include a description of the piece and performer, a brief description of the instrument, and rarely a reference to the register. Usually this is enough, but in the case of the large organ of the dean's church in Polná it is different. Its restoration has recently been completed, the manner, extent and execution of which are still unique in our conditions. The main goal was to restore the organ to as much authentic sound as possible based on objective, verified facts. Such an order may seem a matter-of-course, but when restoring organs we still encounter the fact that the resulting sound is rather the subjective idea of an organ builder, organist, etc. Yet here, too, the basic ethical requirement applies that the restorer should approach the work of art (in the case of organs, especially their sound) with humility and an effort to discover and recreate the intentions of the original master. This is especially important for an instrument like the one in Polná. Nevertheless, it was not without difficulties to enforce this approach, as will be mentioned below.
The extraordinary and valuable nature of the great organ in Polná has long been talked about, as well as the continuing degradation of the instrument due to neglected maintenance. As early as 1855, the local director of the choir and main school, Ignác Spinar, knew that they were the work of Johann David Sieber and asked for the repair of this "masterpiece and adornment of the church".
We have no proof of the exact date, but in connection with the consecration of the new church Jiří Sehnal places the origin of the organ in 1708. Johann David Sieber (1670?-1723), about whom there is a wealth of literature, is today one of the most important masters of Baroque Europe. In the context of his work in Polná, however, one rarely mentioned fact is worth noting. So far, everything suggests that after his supposed apprenticeship in Prague, Sieber began to work independently in this region - in the Highlands. His first known organ was built in Velké Meziříčí (1693-94, 9 registers). Shortly afterwards he began construction of the first two-manual instrument in Žďár nad Sázavou (1695, 19 registers), which he repaired (completed?) the following year. From the same time (1696) we have an explicit report that he lived in Žďár. His friendly relations with the inhabitants of Žďár at that time are confirmed by another information: in 1696, at the baptism of the daughter of Matyáš Přibyslavský (perhaps identical with the local organist), the godfather was "Johann organarius", i.e. probably Sieber. In the same year he received an important commission - the renovation of the organ at St. Thomas's Church in Brno. He continued his work also the following year, when he contracted to have his equipment transported from Žďár to Brno. He became Brno's burgher in 1701, after the completion of the rebuilding of the St.Thomas organ. Only then did he buy a house on Kapucínské Square. Apparently, he lived in Žďár with his wife and children at least until 1697, perhaps even longer.
The construction of the organ in Polná, which was large by our standards, marked Sieber's first major return to the Highlands. Today it is his largest surviving instrument in the Czech Republic. The only larger, but less authentic, one can be found in the Church of St. Michael in Vienna. However, the maintenance of such a large organ has always been problematic and expensive, as the aforementioned Regenschori of Polná, Ignác Spinar, knew. During the Second World War, an ecclesiastical expert even proposed a "cheaper" repair, in fact a conversion to the then modern pneumatic system, which was prevented by the Brno National Trust. A well-known native of Polná, the organist Josef Kuhn, wanted to build a new separate table on this organ, facing the altar. This was not to be either, as it would have been an extensive and expensive intervention in the old organ.
As time went on, it became increasingly clear that in this case, a mere repair, however extensive, was no longer sufficient for responsible restoration. Only a complex solution involving four essential requirements could ensure a satisfactory result: a/ to raise the necessary financial sum, b/ to allocate sufficient time for organological, restoration and comparative research and for subsequent restoration work, c/ to work out a detailed method of restoration of the material and especially the sound aspects of the organ in cooperation with experts according to the current requirements of organ conservation, d/ to find an organ restorer capable of carrying out these particularly demanding tasks.
After many years of struggling, the representatives of the town of Polná took a decisive step. The mayor Jindřich Skočdopole deserves a lot of credit for being able to secure adequate sources of funding and a reasonable time for the research and all the work to be carried out. The difficult problem was to find a good restorer who had the appropriate knowledge, experience, equipment and time. Fortunately, a great solution was reached where four workshops were brought together due to the large volume and complexity of the work. In addition to the restorer of the artistic part of the organ case, Jan Mach (Červený Kostelec), the organ building companies included Dlabal-Mettler (Bílsko), Dalibor Michek (Studénky) and Marek Vorlíček (Domažlice). The latter, by agreement, took the lead in the implementation of this extraordinary project. A working committee, whose members were independent experts, was set up to carry out advisory and monitoring tasks. As it turned out later, this decision also contributed greatly to the successful results.
Initial investigations have shown that the original material parts (especially the pipes) have survived almost completely, but their later modifications and distortions have significantly changed the sound of the organ. The poor condition of the wooden and metal parts can nowadays be dealt with well by organ restorers. However, the crucial and most closely monitored condition was the requirement to return the organ to as much authenticity of sound as possible. Simply put - after extensive research it was confirmed that the great extent of preservation of the organ in Polná offers an objectively based, rare opportunity to return the organ to its sound as intended by Master Sieber himself. It was not at all easy. The written contract for the construction of the organ did not exist, and so it was necessary to do a very thorough examination of the surviving parts. It was equally important to examine other Sieber organs, especially in Vienna and Žďár nad Sázavou. Thanks to our joint efforts, new answers to previously unclear questions soon began to emerge. It turned out that Sieber himself had installed a manual coupler in Polná. Its reconstruction expanded the organists' interpretative options. What was surprising was the previously unknown inscription in the organ saying that the organ builder Václav Pantoček had made a new tracker for the pedal keyboard in 1731. Archival records then confirmed that the problems with the pedal tracker continued into the 19th century, when further, not very fortunate, modifications occurred. In the present restoration, it was decided to reconstruct the original tracker, including the keyboard, which eventually ensured reliable pedal playing. The large bellows were also reconstructed, as Sieber's had been destroyed by fire in 1863. After much study of sources and organological research, the likely dimensions of the original bellows were determined, so that the organ now has adequate air equipment for a balanced sound. This is largely due to a new detail: the bellows stand in their original location in a separate room a few metres away, in the church tower, but the air is now fed to them from the choir gallery and it then returns to the organ at the same temperature and humidity.
Almost all other parts of the organ (windchest, pipes, trackers, etc.) have been preserved and could be restored based on research. The most difficult problem was the verification of the original register layout and the subsequent restitution of the pipes, which probably required the most work and time. Despite initial scepticism, it was not only possible to find almost all the seemingly missing pipes, scattered in different places, but even to identify the exact place where each pipe originally stood in such a large organ. We owe this to Mr Sieber and his helpers. Each pipe was marked with the name of the note or its place on the keyboard or in the organ. This made it clear which ones were not original and needed to be replaced with an exact copy. The result of this research is the register layout given below.
After the restoration of the material essence of the pipes came the most important, most complex and most sensitive task - the total restoration of the sound. It is a little-known fact that if we have two exactly the same organ pipes, it is possible to modify them so that they produce the same high pitched sound, but at the same time different in character and colour. This supreme process of organ building is called intonation and is mastered only by some organists. This mastery places their profession among the arts. We have evidence that Baroque organists, including Sieber's son Franz, argued similarly, declaring their activity to be a liberal art, not only a craft. The fundamental duty of the organ restorer is to find out what sound the old pipes originally had and to try to restore this important authentic quality to them. Again, extensive research and comparison must necessarily precede a successful outcome. However, because of the aforementioned character of the intonation, there are some subjective views here. The crucial point of these views is their justification, which in turn determines the degree of objectivity. Many of Sieber's pipes have been modified variously, even several times, over the past centuries, usually entirely against their original sound. This was typical especially in the late 19th and 20th centuries, when the air pressure, the pitch of the tuning, the strength of the sound of some registers, the musical tempering and so on were changed.
Fortunately, thanks to the cooperation of all those involved, these inauthentic interventions were identified and all the negative ones were subsequently removed. The organ got back "its" settings that fundamentally determine the sound: air pressure of 71 millimetres of water column, pitch tuning (cornet-tone, 460 Hz), mean tone tuning (with 1/5 comma). An area of controversy with the Polná organ was the question of the original height of the lip (labium) cut-ups in the pipes. This is the hole that the pipe has in the front. Changes in its parameters (lowering or raising) are always related to changes in the sound. Therefore, when restoring the sound, it is very important to check that they have remained the same.
When restoring unoriginally raised cut-ups of wooden pipes, there are materials and methods how to lower them again, and it is even possible to remove this intervention once again. For metal pipes, this can so far only be done in a way that is irreversible and so the changes to the sound of the pipe is permanent. In the case of the Polná organ there has been a dispute about the originality of the height of the cut-ups. It should be noted that the cut-ups on this instrument are unusually high compared to other instruments and they are unique in this respect in this country. After one of the restorers lowered the cut-ups on the Copula 4' register, a legitimate discussion arose when assessing the sound as to whether this intervention was necessary and whether it is desirable to lower the cut-ups on other registers, especially the Quintadena 8'. The final decision was made only during sound tests with the participation of an expert committee consisting of organ makers, organ players and organologists, when the prevailing opinion was that the unoriginal raising of the cut-ups could not be unequivocally proven and that the pipes could be well tuned even in their preserved state without invasive and irreversible changes.
Sieber's organ in Polná received unprecedented care. It represents one of the few unusual cases where, after extensive and demanding restoration, we can consider the sound of a Baroque organ to be extraordinary and as authentic and close to the ideas of its builder as possible. The efforts of all those involved and the results of their endeavour are fully documented by the present CD recording. It is certainly worth mentioning that it was produced at the time of the 300th anniversary of the death of the master Johann David Sieber.
Petr Koukal
JAROSLAV TŮMA was born in 1956. He is a concert organist and professor at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. He also performs on harpsichord, clavichord, pianoforte and other keyboard instruments. He is also engaged in music composition and publishing.
He studied at the Prague Conservatory with Prof. Jaroslav Vodrážka and at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague with Prof. Milan Šlechta (organ) and Prof. Zuzana Růžičková (harpsichord). He has won first prizes in organ improvisation competitions in Nuremberg in 1980 and in Haarlem in the Netherlands in 1986; he is a laureate of a number of organ performance competitions, e.g. in Linz in 1978, in the Prague Spring Competition in 1979, in the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1980 and many others.
As part of his extensive concert history, he has visited almost all European countries, as well as the USA, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Mongolia, South Africa, Singapore, etc. He is also active as a chairman or jury member of international music competitions, he passes on his performance experience at many international organ courses and seminars, and since 2016 he has also been involved in the Mecca of Organists courses for aspiring organ professionals. They are organized by Studio Volantes and are held on various historical and modern instruments in the Czech Republic.
Tůma's repertoire contains major works by Czech and world composers in a wide range of styles from the Renaissance to the 21st century. His discography includes 64 solo recordings released by Supraphon (until 2002) and later mostly by Arta Records (from 1991 to the present). These include recordings with music by Johann Sebastian Bach (Goldberg Variations in two versions - for harpsichord and two clavichords, Well-Tempered Piano - for clavichord, Organ Masses, Leipzig Chorales, The Art of Fugue, etc. - for organ), Antonín Rejcha (36 fugues for piano - on the historic Anton Walther pianoforte), Václav Jan Tomášek (Eclogues), Vítězslav Novák (St.Wenceslas Triptych) and Leoš Janáček or Paul Hindemith (Sonatas), as well as several CDs with organ improvisations, e.g. My Fatherland, a title consisting of improvisations on themes from Bedřich Smetana's symphonic cycle. Some of Tůma's organ recordings have also been released in Germany and Poland, e.g. on historic organs by Wilhelm Sauer or the Schlag und Söhne company, but most of the projects illustrate the richness and beauty of the Czech, Moravian and Silesian organs.
In addition to many organ recordings, Czech Radio has also produced a complete recording of 29 piano sonatas by Jan Ladislav Dusík, and Czech Television has produced eleven episodes of a programme devoted to the organ as part of the series The Best of the Classics. Jaroslav Tůma also plays chamber music, for example, two versions of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber's Rosary Sonatas were released on CD, one with Gabriela Demeterová (1996 and 1997) and the other with Lucie Sedláková Hůlova (2020); on both recordings he performed the organ continuo. He has published a number of titles with the Japanese flautist Yoshimi Oshima (Johann Sebastian Bach, Ástor Piazzola, Antonín Rejcha, etc.).
Jaroslav Tůma is among other things the author of the music for the documentary film Transformation of Prague Castle directed by Pavel Koutecký, and two collections of organ compositions on themes by Adam Václav Michna (Labirynth of the Holy Love or Czech Marian Music 2014 and The Czech Lute 2016-2023), collections of organ compositions I Would Like to Go to Bethlehem and academic works On the Interpretation of Organ Music with Regard to Other Keyboard Instruments (2016), On Selected Organ Compositions by Petr Eben (2019 - with a recording of Sunday Music, Laudes, etc. on CD) and The Clavichord - an almost forgotten instrument (2019 - with recordings of 18th and 20th century compositions on the historical instrument of Johann Christoph Georg Schiedmayer). He is also involved in collective improvisation. In 2015-2017, for example, he initiated a series of musical and dance performances under the title The Chosen One, or Gregory on the Rock, in which five musicians (besides Jaroslav Tůma, Stefan Baier, Jan Rokyta, Liselotte Rokyta and Alan Vitouš), a reciter (Josef Somr or Jan Hartl) and a dancer Adéla Srncová were inspired by selected texts from Thomas Mann's novel.
In 2010, Jaroslav Tůma was appointed titular organist at Svatá Hora in Příbram, where in 2020 he recorded a complete organ work by Johann Sebastian Bach on the organ of Vladimír Šlajch from 2018 as part of an audiovisual project in collaboration with producer and director Alexandr Vojta. He is currently working on the post-production of this project. He is also involved in the dramaturgy of the Organ Half Hours, held at the Basilica of the Assumption of St. Mary since 2017. He is also currently performing in literary and musical programmes together with Marek Orko Vácha.
The tajemstvitonu.cz website gradually publishes audiovisual recordings of Jaroslav Tůma's concerts from recent years, supplemented by comments and interviews.
