The Seventeenth Century Introduction

The seventeenth century was a time of great importance in the history of the organ. Changes in political structures and religious institutions caused major upheavals not only for the people of the day, but also for their trades, including organ-building. Some of the changes that occurred - - the importation of continental features to England after the commonwealth, for example - - were dramatic and long-lasting in their effect. Others, such as developments in organ-building in Italy, continued a slow, inevitable line of development already in progress.

These particular events are described on the appropriate pages of this tutorial, of course, but it's important for you to realize that they did not take place in isolation. Every change that we see in the way instruments were conceived and built was made because something else happened -- something outside the limited field of organ-building. The instrument always reflects the life and times of its creator. As you read the pages that follow, remember that the organs you are reading about came into being against a backdrop of very real political and economic forces that shaped not only the instruments, but also the lives of the people that built them.

• In France, Louis XIV began a long reign that ultimately defined the term "absolute monarchy." His power and influence lead not only to the construction of Versailles -- a marvel even today -- but also to the imposition of his tastes on the entire population. The great conformity we can see in the French Classical organ is one surviving indication of his influence on French culture.
• In contrast to the situation in France, England spent the century in almost almost constant political turmoil, the monarchy itself being deposed in 1642 and not restored again until 1660. The religious division that was at the center of the struggle sent some citizens abroad -- eventually to form the basis of a new country in the Western hemisphere. During the period of the puritanical Commonwealth, organs were destroyed, and it took some time for the instrument to recover in England. When the organ did return to English churches, it soon included characteristics of other national types.
• In Germany, the first half of the seventeenth century was taken up by the disruption of the Thirty Years War, including the turmoil leading up to open hostilities and even some fighting after the truce of 1648. The old Hanseatic League dissolved, but the "Hansa Cities" of Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck flourished, and wealthy merchants and groups of merchants began to make their mark in new ways as the trade they controlled became more and more important. Particularly in northern Germany, a unique type of organ evolved that was a powerful reflection of the strength of the nouveau riche merchants who often paid for the instruments.
• Italy continued much as it had before. Still a collection of small city states, its central focus remained Rome and the Pope rather than a secular government. As a result, Italian organs of the seventeenth century show a very strong resemblance to those of the sixteenth century. With little impetus toward change, only instruments in the north picked up characteristics from other national types.

© 1999 James H. Cook