Balthasar König 1714
State of preservation: In 1868 a cone valve chest for a pedal with three stops was added. Repaired in 1923; restored in 1997/98 by Hubert Fasen, restoring the manual to the state of 1714, while the pedal chest was maintained as a historic monument.
The König family over a long time dominated organ making in the Eifel region. The Niederehe organ is a typical example of their style following examples from southern Germany and Austria. This affinity has frequently led to the assumption of a relation to the Ingolstadt organ makers of the same name but no supporting evidences have been found yet. Nonetheless certain similarities in case design, the use of stops like the Austrian wooden diapason „Portun“ or southern German „Copel“ for stopped ranks appear again and again in their organs. It might , however, been possible to assume such features also while migrating as journeymen, it might be assumed that organ makers in catholic western Germany might have prefered to migrate south-east rather than eg closer protestant regions.
The Niederehe organ was a rather small instrument with attached pedal in a case of five fields and low centre, showing indeed similarities with Bavarian organs of the time.
Johann Mattheson: Burla
played by Bernd Zacher
I+aP (p1868 I+P)
Portun [wood diapason] 8’
Copel 8’
Prinzipal 4’ (front)
Fleute dous 4’
Superoctav 2’
Solcena 22/3’+13/5’
Cornet 22/3’ 3f. (D)
Mixtur 1’ 4f.
Trompet 8’ (B+D)
Tremulant
P: (1868)
Subbaß 16’
Octavbaß 8’
Trompet 8’
Q: CD Aeolus 10161
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