Czech Republic: Jakub Jan Ryba

The Czech Republic issued this stamp in 2015, honoring Jakub Jan Ryba (1765-1815). He spent most of his career teaching music and composing. His most famous composition is a Christmas cantata which is still performed in Bohemia. Using the clue "Rozmital" in the Wikipedia source I have been able to track down a little information about the organ shown. The Church of the Holy Cross in "Old Rozmital" seems to be the locale. It is part of a small group of churches including the other where Ryba was employed, in Nepomuk. The organ shown on the parish website seems to match. Some plowing through Czech websites on the organ (varhany) revealed this information about the instrument: I found a bit of information here, including the original (?) specification from 1751. I have not had a chance to explore other Czech resources yet. The church website devotes quite a bit of space to Ryba and some history of the organ. Reading a translation of the website gives some hint of the information available, but organ jargon doesn't translate well! The site suggests that about 75% of the original Martin Palecek instrument (from 1750-1751) remains to this day.

I have a mint copy and a postally used copy of the stamp. I also have a first day of issue cover for the stamp. The cancellation seems to have Ryba's signature included. The cachet shows a line drawing of the exterior of the Holy Cross church and the keydesk of the organ. The FDC is dated 14 October 2015 which is the date for neither Ryba's birth nor death. 

Central African Republic: Composers, 2011

In 2011 the postal agency for the Central African Republic issued a mini-sheet of three stamps featuring three classical music composers. The three are Mendelssohn, Bach, and Brahms. Mendelssohn is shown with a piano-forte, Brahms with a music score, and Bach with the famous portrait of him at the console. The stamps are denominated 1000 francs; two are horizontally formatted; the Brahms stamp is vertical. The background/selvedge of the mini-sheet shows a French horn and the neck of a stringed instrument. Typical of many nations these stamps' topic has no real connection to the people or life in CAR, and this "wallpaper" issue was designed as a cash grab by the postal authority.

Netherlands: Mozart in Netherlands

Netherlands Post issued this stamp in 2016, part of a set of two commemorating the visit of Amadeus Mozart to Haarlem in 1766. While there the ten-year-old music prodigy played the organ in the Grote Kerk. The same instrument had been played by GF Handel when he visited the city in 1740 and 1750. The stamp shows a portrait of Mozart and the console of the organ. (The other stamp shows Mozart and a music manuscript.)

The Mueller organ was completed in 1738 and is generally acclaimed as one of the finest instruments to this day. The last major repairs were complete 1959-1960 by the Marcussen firm. Flentrop now takes care of the instrument. Ninety percent of the original pipework is still in place.

My stamp was a gift from Mark Jameson; it is unused. It pays the first-class postage rate.

Aruba, music box

The Caribbean nation of Aruba declared independence from the Netherlands in 1986, shedding the name "Netherlands Antilles" in the process. Their post office issued a set of regular issue stamps that year, and a follow-up set in 1987 filling out missing denominations. The stamps features simple images of items related to Aruban life. Mysteriously this included this small musical instrument. Scott 11 has a deep red background and is denominated 75c. Scott calls it a music box; it has been on the organ topical list since its inception. But I cannot, looking at the stamp closely, agree that it is an organ. The interior parts look remarkably like the innards of a piano: tuning pins and strings, and the (steel) resonator. I had once imagined the strings were pipes, but the pins belie that possibility. The hand crank on the left-front of the instrument is curious, but not in itself indicative of this being an organ of any type. Hans Timmerman includes this stamp in his database, FWIW. He names it a draaiorgel, or barrel organ. These are popular in the Netherlands. But again, looking at that mechanism, I'm just not sure it's an organ. I am including this stamp here for the sake of completeness, but not with any sense that it truly belongs.

Stockerau, Austria: Pfarrkirche

This cover is interesting for the special postmark. It includes a representation of the organ in the Pfarrkirche in Stockerau, Austria. In 2000 the church celebrated the 275 anniversary of the church tower. Said tower is the tallest, at 88 meters, in Lower Austria. Anniversary celebrations took place in late 2000, culminating according to the postmark on December 1.

The postmark features the organ, the tower, some choristers and a Christmas tree along with stars. This cover has two imprints of the postmark, one each for the postage stamp and for the meter stamp covering additional postage costs. The cover is addressed to someone in Spain. The cover contains the additional notation "drucksache" which means simply "printed matter."

The stamp on the cover is a fairly common stamp of Austria. Part of a set of ten, Scott 1601 is from a set of 10 stamps featuring art from various monasteries in Austria. The present stamp has a sample of stained glass from the Mariastern-Gwiggen monastery in Voralberg. The glass depicts St. Benedict of Nursia. There is in the lower right corner a small rendering of the monastery itself. The stamp was issued in 1993. I can determine no specific relationship between any element of the stamp and the postmark.

The organ was built in 1888 by Johann M. Kauffmann. It is a fairly modest instrument of 25 ranks over two manuals and pedal. The registry does not indicate if and when any repairs, rebuilds or restorations have been done on the instrument.

Also among the items given me by Mark Jameson was this postmark "sampler." It seems to be a 1/2 shilling postage label that has been cancelled by the same postmark. Perhaps one has to pay a token amount for a copy of the postmark; or perhaps it cannot be provided unless tied to a postage indicia of some type. Anyway, another example of the postmark.

Guinea-Bissau: Bach

Guinea-Bissau issued a mini-sheet and a souvenir sheet to commemorate the 260th anniversary of the death of JS Bach in 2010. The mini-sheet featured five stamps, and the souvenir sheet a single stamp in a large selvage. The souvenir sheet stamps feature various renderings of the composer with different (several modern) instruments in the background. The souvenir stamp shows the familiar Bach/console image (reversed) with a silhouette, and a modern piano in the background. The West African nation of Guinea-Bissau issued these (and several other stamps) on 31 January 2010.

Valvasone, Italy: Duomo organ restoration

The organ in the Valvasone, Italy Dom was built by Vincenzo Colombi in the 16th century. It was restored in 1972-1974 by Alfredo Piccinelli. This cover includes a postmark that commemorates the 30th anniversary of that restoration. The postmark shows most of the facade, with the left being occluded by an image of a treble clef. The date given in the postmark is 8 May 2004. I have not determined what that specific date may specify: perhaps concerts, perhaps the date of re-dedication 30 years earlier.

Interestingly, the organ was apparently worked on significantly in again 1999 by Francesco Zanin. While the present cover would include that time frame, this second period of restoration work is omitted. One suspects then that the work completed in 1974 was of such a scale and scope as to somehow eclipse that of 1999.

The organ was begun in 1532, installed in 1533, while painting of the interior and exterior of the protective doors continued through 1535 (exterior) and 1537 (interior). The artist himself died in 1539 with the work only partially complete; it fell to his son to complete the paintings by 1544. To read some accounts, the paintings  by Giovanni Antonio da Pordenone are at least as important as the organ itself.

This site includes good details about the instrument. The instrument is rather small (relatively few ranks, and a short compass) but seems to be a very typical instrument f the Italian Renaissance. This site dealing with music in the region gives more information about the instrument.

Tied to the cover by the postmark is Scott 2590, a stamp depicting Santa Maria Assunta Church in Pragelato, Italy. The stamp was part of a set of 4 marking the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin. The stamp is thus most likely coincidental to the postmark, aside from the "church" unifying factor.

This cover was a gift from my friend, Mark Jameson in Reading.