Romania: Buchhholz Organ

Romania issued this stamp in 2016. It was the third in a set commemorating Romanian "curiosities and superlatives." The instrument was built by Carol Buchholz in 1869 for the Black Church in Brasov, Romania. Renovations were done in 1966 including some stop changes, but these were un-done in 2003. I was able to find a stoplist within a database maintained by the Lutheran Church in Romania. The other two links below give some narrative history of the church and organ. I blogged about Daniel Croner and his relationship with this organ here. Since writing that post I have secured a handful of small-scale pieces by him.



http://www.sonusparadisi.cz/en/organs/germany/bra.html

https://www.honterusgemeinde.ro/die-schwarze-kirche/orgeln/

http://orgeldatei.evang.ro/organ/view/1230

Romania: Daniel Croner, music day

This envelop is rather unremarkable save for the postmark. And it is somewhat blurry. It seems the Music Lovers Circle of the Romanian Philatelic Society was busy in 1990, as this cover looks much like others they prepared that year. Their name does not appear on this cover, but the looks is strikingly familiar.

ziua internationala a muzicii (the international day of music)

October 1 1990

The line above Croner's name is blurred but a couple of the words seem to read composition/composer and organist. His dates are given 1655-1740. I have never heard of Croner before, but was able to find a couple of websites that had information about him and his compositions

http://www.musicstamps.com/mjoomla/index.php/c/1285-croner-daniel

A review of a recording that includes some of his works:
http://pamelahickmansblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/romanian-organist-and-harpsichordist.html
Daniel Croner (1656-1740), apparently a native of Kronstadt (now Brasov, Romania), a theologian and composer of organ music, completed four books of organ tablatures. A scribe, he was known to have spent four years copying works from the Brasov manuscript, mostly for his own use and for the Lutheran service. The Magnificat 8 toni, from the Brasov manuscript, consists of five verses, based on a traditional cantus firmus, probably originally alternating with sung chant. In four of them, the cantus is presented in long note values in the pedals, with the two manuals creating contrapuntal lines boasting much imitation. Garai’s playing offered an informed glimpse into the articulate and imaginative style of German pre-Bach organ composition, conservative and unpretentious in nature, yet innovative and certainly not lacking in dissonance.

A concert performer comments on some of the works he performs, including b Croner:
http://regizene.ro/html/2017/en/index.php/artist/fazakaz-adam-sandor-ro/
Daniel Croner, born in Brașov, was a Transylvanian Saxon composer, organist and theologian. His legacy includes several manuscripts which contain shorter pieces, such as the three compositions included in the programme: a toccata in the South German style, a bicinium-adaptation of the chorale “Ich ruf zu dir Herr Jesu Christ” (“I call to you, Lord Jesus Christ“), a fugue for four voices.

https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n90622695/
Since I had not heard of him before, I was curious if Croner had any organ music available. A WorldCat search revealed some possibilities. I have requested on title from Duke University.

Daniel Croner has an association with the Marienkirche or Schwarze Kirche (Black Church) in Kronstadt. The facade of the current instrument, by Buchholz in the late 1800's (itself the subject of a Romanian stamp in recent years) is not that shown in the postmark above. There was, however, an instrument prior to this which may be the basis for the postmark. This article gives a great deal of information about the organs' history at this church.

 

The stamp on the cover is a very common 1.50 lei stamp from the 1982 "Popular Arts" (folk art) series, showing a (rather ornate) wooden scoop. Scott #3104

Romania: Rupea organ

This cover shows an organ facade in the postmark, and also includes a full-color cachet of the same instrument. The cover was postmarked October 1, 2001 in Rupea, Romania.

ForumArte Romania 

was born out of a desire to contribute to the promotion and diversification of the cultural life of the Braşov area, to the awareness of the integrating role of the culture for the city and its people. Through creative impulses and novel events, the foundation aims to combine traditions with contemporary. Three key elements define the work of the Foundation: Education, Music and Heritage.
 
Their site has a fairly detailed discussion of the Rupea organ along with several helpful photographs. It would seem that the church in which the organ is located underwent renovations beginning in 2005. By 2008 the organ was re-installed in a second church and work undertaken upon it. It was then that an inscription was found within the instrument, dating it to at least 1699. It is believed the original organ was built by Zackarias of Crit. The restoration was done by S.C. Construcţii Orgi şi Tâmplărie S.R.L. The latter's site gives some nicely detailed photos and a stoplist. Work was completed in 2012 at the instrument was re-installed in its original location, on its own rather substantial platform. The article tells us there are a scant 12 registers, making it s fairly small instrument. The postmark and cover seem to simply commemorate the 275th anniversary of the organ 1726 apparently being the year it was installed in this particular setting, on its dedicated gallery near the chancel arch. Who knows if this recognition might have goaded certain powers to undertake the restoration work begun in 2005.

The stamp on this cover shows the first electric tram in Romania, dating from 1896. The original stamp was issued with a denomination of 1615 lei in 1995 (Scott 4060). However this stamp has been surcharged to 2500 lei. The surcharged stamp (Scott 4477) was issued in 2001, in an era of hyper-inflaation. 

Romania: Fall Music Festival

This cover shows a fairly common, regular issue stamp from Romania. However, the postmark is remarkable. Cluj-Napoca is apparently a fairly important city in the Transylvania part of Romania. They had in 1996 a fall music festival, which is the point of reference for the postmark. The festival began in 1965. It is known for the shear number of music events, and the span of musical eras represented, from early music to contemporary. Apparently, at least in 1996, Bach and the pipe organ featured to some degree. The 2017 edition of the festival was the 51st, and it now ranks as the largest such event in Romania. I have not been able to find mention of a specific organ used for festival concerts, so I cannot determine if the pipes shown in the postmark are from a specific instrument, or are rather an artistic representation. My cover was a gift from Mark Jameson. The stamp on the cover is a very common specimen from the large "hotels, lodges, and resorts" set begun in 1991. The present, violet-colored stamp (Scott 3667) shows the Lebada Hotel in Crisan, a town known for its tourism.

Romania: Madrigal Choral Ensemble

This cover is distinguished by the presence of an organ in the cachet/illustration, and in the postmark. The cover seems to have been produced by the Music-Lovers Study Circle of the Bucharest Philatelic Association. The postmark includes the dates 1965 and 1 October 1990. I am supposing that the cover was issued on the latter date. The cover celebrates the national choir of Romania, the National Chamber Choir. The ensemble was established in 1965 (or rather 1963 according to their website. The founding conductor was Constantine Marin. The cover marks the 25th anniversary of the choir.

The stamp on the cover is Romania Scott 3619, issued September 8, 1990, marking the Romanian-Chinese Philatelic Exhibition in Bucharest. No connection to the musical aspects of the cover other than the proximate dates of production/issue. The cover illustration shows a somewhat dated picture of the choral ensemble (notice the television camera at right) in their primary performance space, the George Enescu Hall in the Bucharest Athenaeum. That hall got commemorated in 2017 with its own mini-sheet of stamps that I have written about here. George Enescu instigated the building of the organ which was completed in 1939. This cover was a gift from Mark Jameson.

Here is the text included on the cover and a rough translation:
asociatia filatelistilor bucuresti
cercul bucur grupa muzica
corul madrigal
dirijor marin constantin
ziua internationala muzicii
25 ani de la debutul international al corului


the philatelist association bucharest
circle enjoy group music
the madrigal choir
conductor marine constantin
the international day of music
25 years since the international debut of the choir

Romania: organ cover

This cover doesn't have a pipe organ stamp, but rather includes a detailed photograph of an organ in an illustration on the left portion of the envelop. In philatelic parlance this is a cachet. Using Google translate I get "musical autumn." "Clujeana" doesn't translate, maybe because of missing diacritical markings. It may be referring to Cluj-Napoca, Romania, the second largest city in that country, and a possible site for a major autumn concert series. The third line of text specifically mentions the sixth Mendelssohn organ sonata, the one in which the chorale "Vater unser" features prominently. Below the image, the recitalist, a German, is named. It would seem the venue/sponsor of the recital went to a great deal of trouble to publicize the event. One wonders if other covers feature other concerts from the autumn season concert series. The postmark includes the same copy as the cachet, but also includes an image of Mendelssohn and his signature. The stamp itself (Scott 4159) is also from 1997, and depicts a monument and a cathedral, issued for a maximum card event that year, Balcanmax. Maximum cards are a rarified form of philatelic endeavore in which the stamp, the postmark, and the postcard or envelop all share a common theme or design element. In this case, the postmark and cachet are thus united, but the stamp foils the effort. Nonetheless, it's a nice piece of organ ephemera and a nifty way to publicize an organ recital. Without knowing the name of the building in which this pictured organ is located, I have not yet been able to track down more specific information about it. The postmark mentions the Transylvania Philharmonic orchestra, which is based on Cluj. If one could ascertain the venues in which they may perform, one may learn which organ this is.

Romania: Concert Hall

Romania issued this mini-sheet in 2011. It comes after the scope of my Scott catalog, so I don't have a catalog number. There are three stamps in the sheet. The top one depicts Enescu as conductor; the second a musical score; and the bottom stamp shows the exterior of the concert hall facility. The stamps include a "tab" which can be separated from the stamp itself. Each tab shows a picture of Enescu at three ages during his lifetime. The selvage shows the interior of Enescu concert hall, including the state and the organ at the rear. The mini-sheet was issued to commemorate the 20th Enescu International Festival and Competition in 2011.

I found this information at Hans Timmerman's site:

Rechts onder het Walcker-Orgel in de muziekzaal van het Atheneum in Bukarest
Gebouwd in 1939,Opus 2654,III/P 52 registers en 4 transmissies SW-Ped
In 1964 uitgebreid met 2 registers in SW.
De laatste restauratie was in 2007 en uitgevoerd door Gerhard Walcker/Kleinblittersdorf.

With that clue (it's a Walcker Organ) I was able to find more information at the GE Walcker site. This page includes a remarkable reflection on the hall and organ.


Here is wiki-information on the hall:
The Romanian Athenaeum (Romanian: Ateneul Roman) is a concert hall in the center of Bucharest, Romania and a landmark of the Romanian capital city. Opened in 1888, the ornate, domed, circular building is the city's main concert hall and home of the "George Enescu" Philharmonic and of the George Enescu annual international music festival.

The building was designed by the French architect Albert Galleron, built on a property that had belonged to the Văcărescu family and inaugurated in 1888, although work continued until 1897. A portion of the construction funds was raised by public subscription in a 28-year long effort, of which the slogan is still remembered today: "Donate one leu for the Ateneu!"

On December 29, 1919, the Atheneum was the site of the conference of leading Romanians who voted to ratify the unification of Bessarabia, Transylvania, and Bukovina with the Romanian Old Kingdom to constitute Greater Romania.

Extensive reconstruction and restoration work has been conducted in 1992 by a Romanian construction company and restoration painter Silviu Petrescu, saving the building from collapse.

 

Another mini-sheet has been issued by Romania in 2013, commemorating the 125 anniversary of the hall itself. I don't have the stamp yet, but will create a post on it when I track down an example for myself.