Germany: youth music, solved (Part 3)

One of the first stamps I added to my collection years ago was this stamp from Germany-Berlin, from a set of 4. The surtax was for the German Youth Stamp Foundation. There was a second set of stamps for regular postage issued at the same time that featured rock musicians. The present set included images of a piano ensemble, a wind instrument ensemble, a collection of stringed instruments, and this stamp showing an ensemble of singers. From early on I suspected that the background included a pipe organ, but I wasn't sure for the longest time. I wrote about my work to that point here. Now that I am sharing the results I will go ahead and share an image of the first day cover the stamp's designer sent to me, and her kind letter from 2003.

Antonia Graschberger identified the church in her letter, but that created almost as many questions as it answered, for an internet search for images of the interior of the Himmelfahrtskiche didn't look much like the image on the stamp. Around that time I published an article in 2004 in the Baton a journal for stamp collectors of music-related stamps. By this point I had also tried to write directly to the music director of the church, with no response. My article in the Baton did generate some interest on the part of Peter Lang who was very interested in stamps related to Munich, Germany. He was able to establish contact with the church's music director and confirm the origins of the stamp, and the history of the organ. In the meantime the church has also expanded its website making a great deal of information available to visitors.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4