When Barry Jordan became cathedral organist in 1994, there seemed absolutely no doubt that a new organ on the west gallery was not only desirable but a necessity. The cathedral is after all not only a church serving a small but lively parish, but also the city's major tourist attraction and an important cultural centre. It soon became clear, however, that the financial dimensions of the project would be such that the cash-strapped parish council would be completely out of its depth.

To this end a society (eingetragener Verein), dedicated to the purpose of funding the building of a new organ – or indeed, several new organs - was founded under the name of Aktion neue Domorgeln Magdeburg (Project new cathedral organs for Magdeburg). After some initial difficulties it was legally incorporated and registered as tax-advantaged in early 1998. The logo shows the cathedral towers and a stylised cockerel, which refers to the tradition of great organs from Compenius onwards.

The plural form "New Organs", was deliberately chosen because it was clear that the Remter, too, needed a new and worthy instrument.

The plan envisages a large symphonic instrument in an eclectic style for the cathedral, and a smallish (about 22 stop) organ in true 18th-century manner (which style is still to be decided) for the Remter, which has the more appropriate acoustic for most baroque music. Not only would these two organs complement each other; they would also greatly enrich the Orgellandschaft of Magdeburg, a city which is nowadays almost completely without really good organs, but which once had more instruments by Arp Schnitger than any other city after Hamburg.

Financing of the main organ is now almost complete, thanks to a grant of 1,8 million marks from the European Union Fund for Regional Development, 300 000 Euros from the city of Magdeburg, a half a million marks from the Lottery Fund in Sachsen-Anhalt and generous contributions most especially from the Volksbank Magdeburg and its associated "VR Trust", as well as hundreds of private persons, many of whose contributions have been extremely generous.

An open call for tenders was issued within the EU, as this was a condition of the public funding. There were seven bidders; the lowest bidder was the firm Alexander Schuke Orgelbau Potsdam, which was accordingly awarded the contract. For the occasion of the televised festival service on the anniversary day of the reunification of Germany, 3. October 2003, which took place in the cathedral in the presence of state president, the chancellor and many other VIP's,a visualisation of the case design by Tibor Kiss was printed on foil and hung in the gallery, where it made a fine impression.

The stop-list agreed on by the consultants Prof. Reinhardt Menger, Prof.Reiner Schuhenn, Silvius von Kessel (cathedral organist in Erfurt), Christoph Schulz (diocesan organ advisor) and Cathedral Organist Barry Jordan can be found by clicking on the picture.

The erection of the organ was begun in February 2006 and completed in October. The voicing commenced on Easter Tuesday 2007.

The organ will be dedicated on Trinity Sunday, 18th May 2008.

More about AKTION NEUE DOMORGELN

 HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF AN EXCITING DAY - THE START OF CONSTRUCTION IN THE WORKSHOP

HERE ARE PICTURES OF THE PROGRESS OF THE ERECTION OF THE INSTRUMENT
 

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