Paraguay: Christmas, 1975

The South American nation of Paraguay issued a set of 8 stamps in 1975 for Christmas, showing various paintings related to the season. The stamps are generally collected as an attached set (Scott 1547, a-h), which is what I have. However that strip is rather tall, and doesn't fit into standard binders such as those I use for my collection. Therefore mine is generally folded twice to fit into storage. Though they are on the same sheet of stamps, and strip, each of the 8 stamps is differently denominated, 5c through 50c. There is also a souvenir sheet of a single stamp (Scott 1548). The 15c stamp is a painting by Hans Memling showing the mother of Jesus surrounded by angels in white attire. One of the angels is playing a portatif organ. Memling's painting now is part of the collection at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich, Germany.

 

Panama: Music paintings

The central American nation of Panama issued a set of 6 stamps in 1968 depicting paintings of musicians and musical instruments. They were issued as a sheet of 6 (Scott 488, a, b, c, d, e, f). There was also issued a souvenir sheet (Scott 488A) of a single stamp ("Harp" by Memling). I have the set of 6 stamps, unattached. This painting, "Allegory of Music," was painted by Laurent de la Hyre in 1649 for a home in Paris. It now is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, USA. The central portion of the painting (oil on canvas) is the allegorical figure of Music tuning a theorbo. Various other instruments are included, and musical scores. In the background is a portion of an organ facade. This was one of a set of seven paintings of the Liberal Arts executed by de la Hyre.

Niue: Christmas, 1979

Niue is an island nation located somewhat near New Zealand in the South Pacific. That nation issued a set of four stamps for Christmas in 1979 featuring various paintings (Scott 258-261). They also issued a set of 4 semi-postal mini-sheets (Scott B12-B15) of a single stamp each, of the same designs as the regular postage stamps. While the regular postage stamps show a portion of the original paintings, the mini-sheets depict the entire painting. The regular postage stamps are variously denominated (20c, 25c, 30c, 50c) but the semi-postals are all denominated 85c + 5c. The low value stamp show a painting by Pere Serra, Virgin and Child ("Virgin of Tortosa"); the corresponding semi-postal shows the whole painting when the selvage is accounted. In the LL is an angel playing a portatif organ. This painting (tempura and gold leaf on wood), now in the Catalonian National Museum of Art, was presumably part of an altarpiece created for the Tortosa Cathedral in the late 14th century. In cathedral architecture at the east end of the building one often finds an apse; very often it is possible to circumnavigate the chancel area via an ambulatory, the perimeter of the apse. Too one might find attached to that ambulatory any number of chapel areas. Museum curators believe this piece was for one such chapel at Tortosa. In additional to the organ-playing angel, others play two lute-type instruments, a lyre, a harp, and a flute.

Liechtenstein: Chur Cathedral, Christmas

Liechtenstein issued this stamp in 1982 for Christmas. It is part of a set of three stamps (Scott 751-753) featuring architectural details from Chur Cathedral (Vadux, St Florin). I do not have a copy of the individual stamp, only this postcard with stamp affixed. This was a gift from my friend in Great Britain, Mark Jameson, for which I am deeply grateful. The image is an angel playing a portatif organ. I have looked at several pictures of the interior of the Vaduz St Florin Cathedral, but have not found where exactly with the facility this statue is located.  Joseph Rheinberger, organist and composer, was born here. Below is a picture of the organ in the rear gallery, for the sake of completeness. At the bottom of the image one can see statuary in a similar vein to that on the stamp.

Kyrgyzstan: Paintings, 2003

This mini-sheet of six stamps was issued in 2003 by Kyrgyzstan. It features classic paintings. My version is imperforate. The UR stamp is a famous painting by Titian which includes an organ. This sheet is not included in Scott, and I cannot find it among my usual sources. It may be that it was not an official issue. I found other "wall-paper" type issues (pop stars, sports stars) at one of the sites.

Italy: Music Year 1985

In 1985 all member nations of the European Union were encouraged to issue stamps honoring the "music year." Many did, including Italy with this pair of stamps (Scott 1640-1641) featuring composers and tenors. The 500-lira stamp shows Pertile and Martinelli; the 600-lira stamp shows Bellini and Bach. The background of both includes a representation of what may be imaged as organ pipes. The 600-lira stamps honors "composers." Bellini is best known for his operas, though there is an organ sonata listed in his oeuvre. Bellini 's father and grandfather were both organists and music teachers. The 500-lira stamp honors "tenors."  Aureliano Pertile was a famous tenor who lived in the later 1800's through the 1950's. Giovanni Martinelli was another vocalist who lived during the same time frame. All the persons represented have a birth or death year which is a multiple of -85.

Mali: Composers, 2012

Mali issued a set of souvenir sheet stamps honoring various European composers (Mozart, Schubert, Wagner, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, Debussy, Verdi among them). The one of most interest is that of JS Bach. It features a replica of the famous Arnstadt image of Bach at an organ console. the 2000-franc stamp itself is round, with a basic portrait. The selvage includes the console image, along with various other musical instruments and images of musical scores. I do not have the Scott number yet.

I learned recently that in 2012 also Mail issued a large set of souvenir sheet stamps honoring Nobel prize winners. These are curious for the selvage images, which include an organ facade. There are so many of these sheets, and they are so expensive I despair of trying to purchase the lot of them at any point. This will help me remember that they are out there, though. This appears to be the organ in the Oslo, Norway Town Hall, but I have not yet found details of that instrument.

Vatican City: Euphrasian Basilica

Vatican City issued this set of three stamps (Scott 960-962) in 1994 to mark the 13th International Convention of Christian Archeology, which was held in Split, Croatia. The images on the stamps are details from the Euphrasian Basilica in Porec, Croatia. The mosaics depicted are located in the east-end apse of the basilica, and are indeed quite dramatic. The 700 lira stamp shows Bishop Euphrasius, Archdeacon Claudius, and Claudius' son; the 1500 lira stamp shows the Madonna and Child with two angels; the 3000 lira stamp shows Christ and the Apostles Peter and Paul. In addition to the persons on the stamps, the overall mosaic includes all twelve of the disciples of Jesus, plus numerous saints. When this set was recommended to me, I inquired as to the organ "tie-in." I was told that while an organ is not present on any of these stamps, there is an organ visible elsewhere in the mosaic. I have searched for a couple of years now and have yet to find any hint of an instrument, nor pipes, nor even anything like a pan-flute within the mosaic. I am including this post for the sake of completeness, but I am not convinced that there are any pipes, let alone an entire instrument, present in the mosaic. I will be happy to be corrected by anyone who knows better. I have included a couple of detailed photographs of the mosaic for any who wish to explore and seek to discern a pipe or two! I do note that Euphrasius is holding a church building, which may be a representation of the basilica; within the basilica there may be an organ (I have not found information about one yet), and by extension the Bishop is holding a representation of an organ?

Hungary: Esztergom Basilica

Hungary issued this souvenir sheet of a single stamp (Scott 4003) in 2006 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Esztergom Basilica several miles northwest of Budapest. The present facility was built atop the site of much earlier religious buildings beginning in 1822. The present edifice was completed and dedicated 1856. It is the largest church in Hungary. The original organ was installed along with the completion of the basilica in 1856, an instrument by Ludwig Mooser. It was a respectable 3-manual instrument with 49 ranks. Istvan Baroti, director of music from 1975-2014 oversaw an ambitious expansion of the instrument, with a goal of it becoming the largest in Hungary, and rivaling the largest instruments in all of Europe. The stamp features an exterior view of the basilica; the selvage shows various elements of the interior. The LL reveals a portion of the organ case and facade pipes.

Maldive Isands: Bach anniversary

In 1985 the nation of Maldive Islands issued a set of 4 stamps plus a souvenir sheet (Scott 1106) of a single stamp in honor of the 300th anniversary of the birth of JS Bach. The stamps all include a portrait and either a piece of music or a musical instrument. The souvenir sheet is a portrait with the St Thomas Church, Leipzig in the selvage. Bach's connection with St Thomas is well-known. The organs contained therein are likewise well-known. The image in the selvage is an older engraving, before the very famous Bach statue was erected on the grounds. Thus the stamp is actually non-organic, but the connection is none-the-less strong.

Ecuador: Our Lady of Mercy

Ecuador issued this stamp in 1979/1980 as part of a set of 13 featuring the Basilica of Our Lady of Mercy in Quito. (The stamps include the year 1979, but my catalog says they were actually issued in July 1980. The Virgin of Mercy is patron for the armed forces of Ecuador, so the stamps mention that also. I have 10 of the stamps, including the airmails. There is a subset of three which are imperforate and larger in size. I have not yet been able to find them. The stamps feature various indoor and outdoor scenes of the facility. Each stamp includes verbiage which describes the image shown. The present stamp shows a balcony (tribuna) with the lower portion of the organ case. I have not been able to find anymore information about the organ, though I have made inquiries in South America.

 

Burrundi: Beethoven

Burundi issued this mini-sheet of four stamps in 2011. Mine happens to be imperforate; a perforated version is available. The sheet is called "Composers" and shows portraits of Mozart, Beethoven, Vivaldi, and Chopin. The image of Beethoven includes organ pipes in the background. There is not quite enough detail to the rendering for me to determine if this is a specific instrument or not, and if so what instrument it might be. The sheet's selvage includes more images, presumably of (other) composers, though I cannot determine who they are. LR may be Liszt. UR looks somewhat like the Bach statue in Leipzig.

Austria: Philharmonic gold coin

Austria issued this mini-sheet of two stamps in 2014 to mark the 25th anniversary of the issuance of a Vienna Philharmonic gold coin. Both stamps are round when removed from their selvage. The blue (70 eurocents) features the organ in the Gold Hall and the red stamp (90 eurocents) shows various orchestra instruments. The stamp images are replicas of the coins obverse and reverse and utilize gold foil. The coin was issued in 1989 and is one of the most popular gold instruments in the European Union; Autria Post notes it is also very popular in Japan. The coins are known for their purity and exist in various denominations, including a silver coin. Though the stamp is marking the coin's issuance, the organ included on both stamp and coin is remarkable. Here is updated information from the Musikverein on the instrument. More images and a stoplist can be seen here.

Antigua: Bach anniversary

The island nation of Antigua (also Antigua and Barbuda)  issued this miniature sheet (Scott 2339) of a single stamp in 26 June 2000, presumably for the 250th anniversary of the death of JS Bach. The sheet  shows the Bach statue which is located outside the St Thomas Church in Leipzig Germany. The background is a music image denoted BMV 900. One assumes that should read "BWV" the generally used cataloging nomenclature for Bach works. It's a piano prelude and fugue. Bach was of course music director and teacher at the St Thomas church and school from 1723 until his death. The statue was erected in 1908, built by Carl Seffner. The composer is at the forefront of the statue but behind him is a representation of a pipe organ. It's not very clear on the stamp, but the image below makes it quite clear. Antigua was identified as part of the Leeward Islands for some time; it became a crown colony in 1956 and an Associated State in 1967. It gained independence in 1981 and took the name Antigua and Barbuda.

Germany: youth music, solved (Part 4)

The Church of the Ascension was founded in 1897, and became independent in 1920 after purchasing property and erecting buildings.A new sanctuary was completed in 1953. In 1954 a Nenninger organ was installed in the west gallery. By the early 1990's that instrument was becoming unreliable. Between 1988 and 1992 the church did some significant realignment of the worship space, and in 1994 added a Eule organ in the east end of the sanctuary. The sanctuary before 1944 was quite traditional and formal.

The church was bombed in 1944 during World War II. A new building was erected completed by 1953. Sadly the website for the church does not show an interior shot of that facility. I found just this image of the altar area.

The re-ordering of space at the end of the century reflected modern worship priorities, including worship in-the-round. Notice the ceiling: the segmented pattern.

Now noticed the ceiling in the photograph on the left side of the 1988 FDC. I believe they are they same pattern, which was one of the clues that helped me know I was correct in putting stamp and facility together as I worked to unravel this mystery between 2005 and 2013.

 

One can read details of these keys historical points at the church's website. The church has written about some details related to the Eule organ here. I was able to find the Organ Museum site, but it mentions only a small Nenniger instrument; nothing about an instrument from Ascension Church in Munich.

I am most excited to solve this little mystery. It has taken quite some time, and help from several persons.


Below is Peter Lang's follow-up article. One can use an online translation site if needed.

Im Sommer 2004 erschien im „Baton", dem Mitteilungsblatt unserer englischen Schwestergruppe ein Artikel von Michael R. Barker über ein Detail der Berliner Marke Michel 810 aus der Berliner Serie „Für die Jugend“, die 1988 unter dem Motto „Jugend musiziert“ stand. Michael R. Barker, Organist, Chorleiter und Komponist aus Virginia/USA sammelt das Thema „Orgel“ und hatte die vermutung, dass im Hintergrund der graphisch etwas verschwommenen Marke eine Orgel zu sehen ist. Der blaue Grundton der Marke erinnerte ihn sehr stark an die Kaiser Wilhelm Gedächtniskirche in Berlin doch Vergleiche zwischen der Marke und Bildern der Kirche ließen erhebliche Zweifel aufkommen. Nach längerer Suche im Internet stieß er auf die Anschrift der Münchner Grafikerin Antonia Graschberger und war sehr erfreut, als er einige Zeit später die Antwort erhielt, dass die Marke tatsächlich eine Orgel zeigt. Das Photo, das als Vorlage zur Briefmarke diente, wurde 1987 in der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Himmelfahrtskirche in München Sendung aufgenommen. Aus dem Bild wurde dann mit Hilfe eines Photomosaik-Verfahrens das endgültige Markendesign erzeugt.

 Da ich mich unter anderem auch für die philatelistischen Aspekte der Münchner Musikgeschichte interessiere weckte der Artikel des amerikanischen Sammlers natürlich das Interesse, mehr über diese Orgel zu erfahren. Wieder leistete das Internet große Dienste, denn nach einiger Recherche fand ich die Anschrift von Klaus Geitner, dem Kantor der Himmelfahrtskirche. Er erinnerte sich noch genau an die  Vorbereitungen zur Briefmarke und konnte mir auch Details zu der abgebildeten Orgel mitteilen.

Das Instrument wurde 1954 von der Münchner Orgelbaufirma Leopold Nenninger errichtet und wurde damals viel beachtet, denn es gehörte zu den ersten Orgeln die nach dem 2. Weltkrieg mit

mechanischer Spieltraktur und Schleifwindladen gebaut wurden. Die Orgel wurde im Laufe der Zeit auf 30 Register auf drei Manualen und Pedal erweitert. Allerdings stellte sich heraus, dass der Bau einer-mechanischen Orgel in den 50er Jahren doch nicht ganz so einfach war. Das Instrument wurde mit der Zeit immer störanfälliger, sodass man ab 1983 Überlegungen zu einem Orgelneubau anstellte. Am 1. Advent 1992 erklang die auf der Marke abgebildete Nenninger-Orgel in der Himmelfahrtskirche zum letzten Mal in einem Gottesdienst. Wegen ihrer zeitgeschichtlichen Bedeutung wurde sie dem Orgelmuseum auf Schloss Valley in Oberbayern übergeben. Seit Juni 1994 erklingt in der Himmelfahrtskirche ein neues Instrument aus der Werkstatt der Firma Eule in Bautzen.

 

Klaus Geitner, der auf der Briefmarke abgebildete Dirigent, wurde in München geboren, er studierte in München, Augsburg und am Mozarteum in Salzburg Kirchenmusik und Chorleitung. Weiterführende Kurse belegte er unter anderem bei Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Seit 1983 ist Klaus Geitner Kantor und Organist an der Himmelfahrtskirche in München Sendung. 1990 gründete er das Ensemble „II concerto piccolo", das sich auf die Aufführungspraxis des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts spezialisiert hat. Alljährlich organisiert er ein umfangreiches und vielseitiges kirchenmusikalisches Programm und arbeitet dazu mit namhaften Chören und Orchestern zusammen. Rundfunk- und Plattenaufnahmen sowie Konzerte im In- und Ausland ergänzen seine künstlerische Tätigkeit.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4