Germany: Reger

Germany issued this stamp honoring Max Reger on May 2, 1991, the 75th anniversary of the composer's death. The stamp (Scott 1645) includes an image of the composer and a collection of organ pipes in the rear. I blogged the stamp itself here. I have seen this first day cover in several places, so I know it's fairly common. The cachet features the same image of Reger, plus some organ pipes. The background in this case though is manuscript writing for organ. I have several works by Reger but I don't know them well-enough to identify the piece of music shown. The postmark also includes pipes and some music notation. It's a nice three-in-one combination of stamp, cancel, and cachet.

France: Landévennec Abbey

The abbey at Landevennec was first established in the late 5th century. Its circumstances waxed and waned until the 1950's when the Benedictine order chose to reinvigorate the abbey and began adding buildings. The foundations of older parts of the abbey are still around. However a new sanctuary is the spiritual focus these days. In 1985 France issued a stamp (Scott 1973) honoring 1500 years of history at the abbey. It shows a rendering of the ancient abbey. On this cover, though, it is the cachet that is organ-related. It shows the interior of the "new" sanctuary, which includes an organ across the east wall. The cover includes the following information, "Premier Jour D'Emission No. 1421 Historique FDC." This refers to the fact that this is a first day cover, and presumably the cover is part of a series, or is perhaps #1421 in a print run of a certain number of copies of this cover. I have not been able to find out anything about the instrument, except that Jacques Berthier (of Taize fame) was somehow associated here, and recorded some of his compositions here.

France: Daumier painting

The date of this cover is 23 March 1967. The stamps are fairly common for the era, and the postmark is unremarkable. The cachet, however features a positif organ in a painting by Honore Daumier. The reverse of the cover has this to say about Daumier and the painting.

Honore Daumier est ne a marseille ie 26 fevrier 1803. Son pere etait vitrier mais, so croyant poete, il abandonne en 1814 sa boutique pour monter a Paris. Deux ans plus tard, il fait venir sa femme et son fils. A 13 ans honore travaille chez un huissier puis devient commis dans une librairie du Palais Royal. Mais il est instable et prefere le dessin. Il parcourt le sues de paris, frequente les artistes de l'epoque et s'enflamme pour les idees republicans. En 1830 Louis Philippe prend le pouvoir et Daumier commence ses dessins satiriques. Il fait un Gargantua representant Louis Philippe gave et distribuant autour de lui des profits et des decorations. Cela lui rapporte 300 francs d'amende et six moin de prison. En 1835 les lois deseptembre, severes pour la presse, l'obligent a suspendre ses dessins politiques et a produire quantite de lithos "sujets de moeurs," pour pouvoir vivre. En 1845 il s'installe dans l'ile Saint-Louise, se met a peindre et a sculpter. Puis, en 1865, a Montmartre, il continue a dessiner pour la presse mais, mal pae, vit peniblement. A 65 ans, il loue une maiconnette a Valmondoins, Menace de padre la vue, il se troupe dans une situation difficile. C'est grace a la generosite de ses amis qu'il peut demeurer dans son lieu de repli. (Corot avait achete la maison et lui en avait fait cadeau pour sa fete.) En 1877 le gouvernement lui accorde une pension de 100 frances par mois, portee a 200 frances l'annee suivante. Daumier neurt a valmondoi . Son corps est transfere au Pere Lachaise en avril. Le timbre reproduit une peinture datant de 1860 set se trouvant au Musee du Louvre. On connait de lui d'innombrables lithographies et peintures, dans de nombreux musees du monde.

Honore Daumier was born in Marseille on February 26, 1803. His father was a glazier but, being a poet, he left his shop in 1814 to go to Paris. Two years later, he brings his wife and son. A 13-year-old honore works at a bailiff and then becomes a clerk in a bookstore in the Royal Palace. But he is unstable and prefers drawing. He travels the sweats of Paris, frequents the artists of the time and ignites for the republican ideas. In 1830 Louis Philippe took power and Daumier began his satirical drawings. He makes a Gargantua representing Louis Philippe gave and distributing around him profits and decorations. That brings him a fine of 300 francs and six months of imprisonment. In 1835 the laws of September, severe for the press, forced him to suspend his political drawings and to produce a quantity of lithos "subjects of morals," to be able to live. In 1845 he moved to Ile Saint-Louise, began to paint and carve. Then, in 1865, in Montmartre, he continues to draw for the press but, badly, lives painfully. At the age of 65, he rents a scrap at Valmondoins, threatens his view, he finds himself in a difficult situation. It is thanks to the generosity of his friends that he can remain in his place of withdrawal. (Corot bought the house and gave it to him for his birthday.) In 1877 the government gave him a pension of 100 francs a month, raised to 200 francs the following year. Daumier neurt a valmondoi. His body is transferred to Pere Lachaise in April. The stamp reproduces a painting dating from 1860 set at the Louvre Museum. He is known for countless lithographs and paintings in many museums around the world.

Most sources indicate Daumier painted "The organ player of Barbary" around 1864-1865. The painting is now in the possession of the Musee Petit-Palais in Paris, France. 

The "arms of Auch" stamp (Scott 1142) was issued in 1966. The Marianne type stamp (Scott 653) was issued in 1951. So it would seem the date of the cover is not related to the issuance of either stamp. Above the cachet the the FDC indication along with "No. 586 Historique FDC. And overprinted atop that is the single word, "Imprime." A circular red mark at the bottom of the cover reiterates that same information with what may be the printer's insignia; it's not quite legible to me. The date of the postmark seems to correlate to neither the painter's birth nor death dates. So the "why" of this cover remains a bit of a mystery to me. My cover was a gift from Mark Jameson who for several years has been associated with the Berkshire Organ Club, which explains that notation on the reverse. It would seem that at some point it passed through the hands of the Empire Philatelic shop in Paris.

France: Couperin

France issued a semi-postal stamp honoring Francois Couperin in 1968. Couperin le Grand ("the Great") was born and died in Paris, 1668-1733, so the stamp was in honor of his 300th anniversary. Couperin was a composer, organist and harpsichordist. His organ works generally appear collected in a single volume, arranged as two Masses. They are staples for beginning organists, but are satisfying for performers of all types. To compare, there are four volumes of harpsichord music extant.

I have an FDC of the 1968 stamp. Interestingly, the French postal authority usually  provides to impressions of the first-day cancel, one touching the stamp to actually cancel it, and a second placed so one can see it clearly. The stamp, cancel and cachet all feature likenesses of the composer. This stamp was part of a set of four, the others depicting General Louis Desaix de Veygoux; a painting by Saint-Pol-Roux, or Paul-Pierre Roux; and Paul Cloudel, poet and diplomat. All the stamps are denominated 30c + 10c. My catalog does not mention for what the surtax may have been designated. The Couperin stamp, Scott B417, is in purple with a portrait of the composer and a collection of instruments including a harpsichord,a  couple of stringed instruments, and a metronome.

Francoise Couperin was for many years organist at St Gervais in Paris, a position held by both his father, Charles, and his uncle Louis. This in addition to musical duties at court.

 

Facade at St Gervais

Slovakia: Reformation 500th, Kezmarok Wooden Church organ

The year 2017 elicited a number of stamps from various postal authorities markings the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, generally pinpointed to 1517 with Martin Luther's tacking the 95-Theses document to the Wittenburg church door. Slovakia was one of those nations marking the occasion with a  stamp, in this case a single-stamp mini-sheet. The only content is the facade of the organ, that in the Kezmarok Wooden Church. An information card was included in my FDC that gives the builder Vavrinec Cajovsky from Levoca, and the year of completion as 1720. The Church of the Holy Trinity is built entirely of wood, and according to one site the organ likewise uses only wooden pipes. I have not yet found a specification of the instrument. The selvage of the sheet includes more detail of the balcony railing in the church and an enigmatic mountain and river scene. The stamp gives no indication of the location of the organ itself.

Poland: Historic organs of Poland, Jedrzedow

In 2015 Poland began a series of stamps featuring historic organs. The first is the instrument in the Cistercian Abbey in Jedrzedow. I have not been able to find much detail on the "why" of the stamp issue. One suspects it has to do with renovations completed on the instrument perhaps, or an anniversary related to its construction. The instrument was build in the mid-1700's by Józefa Sitarskiego. The mini-sheet has two differently-denominated stamps. I have both the color version of the mini-sheet, and the black/white version, as well as a first-day cover. Sometimes FDCs issued by postal authorities will included information about the issue on the back or within, but that is not the case here. This site gives a good summary of the instrument. This site gives nice images of the stamps. The Polish philatelic shop has details on securing copies of the stamps.

This site deals with a recording of the organ, but also includes a nice image of the console. The stopknobs are compelling because they seem to be metal, as opposed to the more common wood. The site also dates the instrument originally from 1633, with a rebuild by Sitarski (Sitarskiego) "a hundred years later."

Monaco: Salle Garnier

Monaco issued a set of six stamps in 1979 celebrating the 100th anniversary of their opera house, the Salle Garnier. Five of the stamps show scenes from various operas produced in the theater. The sixth (Scott 1172) shows a painting which is above the stage. The painting shows various musical instruments and players. Among them is an organ and organist. It wasn't until I was examining the image on the card that I looked more closely at the stamps and discovered the organ tie-in on this particular stamp. What a find! This is a first day of issue card. The image printed on the card replicates the painting: the organists and pipes are quite clear. With the postcard and stamp images in mind, one can just barely discern the details in the photos below. I couldn't find any images that showed the instruments, let alone the organ, any more clearly.

Aland: Jomala Kyrka

This cover is related to the Jomala Kyrka in the Aland Isands, near Finland. The stamp (Scott 8) shows a nice exterior shot of the historic church. The cachet however shows a somewhat enigmatic representation of the church interior. A little digging demonstrated for me that the cachet includes a bit of the organ in this famous church.

There is an annual organ festival in the Alands, I learned. Looking at the program for 2015 and cross-referencing artists and images I found what to me seems to be the organ inside the church shown on the stamp. Important markers for me were the historic crucifix, and the unique light fixture. I wish the photo below included the remarkable ship model hanging from the ceiling shown in the cachet! Lines in the cachet convince me that it includes a portion of the organ.

My friend Mark Jameson gave me this FDC. It's dated August 26, 1988, the day the stamp was issued in Mariehamn, Aland Islands.

The Aland Islands Organ Festival site was quite helpful. Under "ovrigt" near the bottom of the left column click on "orglarna" and scroll down the center section just a bit to get details about the Jomala Church's instrument.