After his visit to Rötha in 1840, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy praised the two Silbermann organs.
Gottfried Silbermann (1683 - 1753) learnt organ building from his brother Andreas (1678 - 1734) in Strasbourg, before starting his own business in Freiberg in 1711. In December 1718, the church patron Baron von Friesen concluded a contract with Gottfried Silbermann and Zacharias Hildebrandt for the construction of a new organ. II/23 On the 8th November 1721 the instrument was tested by St. Thomas choirmaster Johann Kuhnau from Leipzig and court organist Gottfried Ernst Bestel from Altenburg. After his visit to Rötha in 1840, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy praised the two Silbermann organs. In 1796, the University organ builder, Stephani, added a switchable pedal coupler. The last major restoration took place between 1979 - 1980 by the company, Eule.
Text: Klaus Gernhardt
Specification stop list
Hauptwerk (C, D-c´´´)
1 Bordun 16´
2 Principal 8´
3 Reed pipe 8´
4 Octava 4´
5 Pointed flute 4´
6 Quinta 3´
7 Octava 2´
8 3-fold Cornet from c´
9 3-fold Mixture
10 2-fold Cymbals
Oberwerk (C, D-c´´´)
11 Gedackt 8´
12 Quintadena 8´
13 Principal 4´
14 Reed pipe 4´
15 Nasard 3´
16 Octava 2´
17 Tertia 1 3/5´
18 Quinta 1 1/2´
19 Sifflet 1´
20 3-fold Mixture
Pedal (C, D-c´)
21 Principal Bass 16´
22 Trombone 16´
23 Trumpet 8´
Manual Slide Coupler
Pedal coupler (I/P), switchable since 1796
Tremulant
The spelling corresponds with the traditions.
