Johanneskirken.com

05th of September 2010

- a special instrument in a European context.

The congregation of St. John where separated from the Cathedral by the Royal resolution of 1.1.1885. In the year of 1888 it was arranged an architect contest for a new church. 15 drafts came in and architect Herman M. Backers drafts where chosen. The foundation stone was placed 11.27 in 1891 and the church was consecrated 3.15 1894.The building process was first lead by architect Adolf Fischer and from 1891 by Hans Heinrich Jess.

The Bergen City Archives has pretty much material regarding this building process. E.g. the protocol from the building committee exists there. However there were other committees in work, e.g. a equipment committee. In the preparation for the organ the building committee gathered the organists Eriksen and Tischendor as consulents. The last-mentioned was organist in St. John’s congregation from it was established until 1914. O.E.Eriksen was organist in the Cross Church from 1888 to 1915. He was involved in all the three great organ matters that where under labour in Bergen in the beginning of the 1890s when the Cathedral, the Cross Church and St. John’s Church got new instruments delivered by German organ builders and Bergen became the leading “organ city” for some years ahead.

For the concern of both the Cathedral and St. John’s Church it was invited several tenders. None of these have I been able to find – not even the names of the firms the tenders came from. For the Cross Church concerned is it on the other hand considerable source material that is extant. But here there was never called for tenders and the contract was mainly between the organ builder and organist Eriksen. Traces of the matter exists in e.g. the journal of the board of institution, but in the archives I’ve only found accompanying letters that has followed the matters back and forth. This means that my information sources about the organ matters in St. John’s Church are quite insufficient and basically built on sparse info that I’ve found in the protocols of the building committee in addition to some letters.

The building committees protocol is a address note from Schlag & Söhne on organ parts to St. John’s Church in Bergen in 1893, commenced January 2. 1888. Here is among other things an estimate over the cost of the whole building process. The organ is specified with the amount of NOK 7000 ,- July 5. 1892 arcitect Backer wrote to the building committee regarding the organ:

“The organ shall be placed on the gallery according to attached drafts. In front of the play board there must be room for singers. The organ house is to be designed, painted and decorated to the appropriate way to fit the church gothic equipment after a draft approved by one of the church architects. The finger boards will annex in a distinct arranged play board in which also the register rows that is supplied with inscription in porcelain that are affixed and arranged in a lightly surveyable way. The whole organ is to be carried out solid and nicely by the most suitable materials why that is accounted for in the tender. The organ shall be finished and ready to be used at the end of …. month, hereby a penalty of NOK 15,- each day that without matter of necessity goes beyond this deadline.”

To be continued...

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