France: St Jean de Moirans

This envelop specifies that it is "philatelic correspondence," probably to let postal workers know to treat it carefully. Probably it is merely the postmark which the sender wanted to conserve through the postal journey. The stamp is Scott 2664, issued 13 June 1998, for a National Music Festival. It was the Europa theme for that year. As such it is at least tangentially related to the postmark. The instrument in St Jean de Moirans was installed in 1978 by Xavier Silbermann. The same builder added stops to the pedal division in 1981 which completed the instrument. It is small, a mere 713 pipes.  This site gives the specification and a few more photographs. Finally this site also discusses this little instrument. This one notes a need for restoration work on the organ, and a fund that has been set up for the project. Without more information it would seem the postmark is simply to promote a series of concerts on the organ scheduled for 18 June 1998. Moirans, France is in the former Rhone-Alpes department of France, near the Swiss and Italian borders. At a little less than 8000 residents, the population is similar to the town where I currently live!

I recently came across this envelop as I was doing some more cataloging of my collection. It shows a pretty view of the church in the cachet. The postmark shows the organ and some pipes, though it is faint.

DDR: Dresden Silbermann

This is the high-value stamp (Scott 1710) in a set of four issued in 1976 by the former East Germany commemorating organs built by Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753). This one located in the large city of Dresden in what is now Trnity Cathedral, formerly known as the Hofkirche. The organ was dismantled and stored during the war, and re-built in 1971, with restoration in 2002. This link will give you the specification of the organ and direct you to some pictures of the reconstruction. Other Silbermann organs in Dresden include the Frauenkirche which was destroyed in the war and then rebuilt and the Sophienkirche. Here is a fascinating discussion of the new organ for the rebuilt Frauenkirche.

DDR: Fraureuth Silberman

This is the third (Scott 1709) in a set of four stamps honoring Silbermann organs in the former East Germany. This organ is found in the town of Fraureuth. Here is a stop list (and gateway to a very helpful Silbermann organ site!).

DDR: Freiberg Cathedral Silberman

This is the second (Scott 1708) in a set of four stamps commemorating important instruments by Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753). This is one of the remaining Silberman organs in the town of Freiberg. This instrument is of utmost importance because of its size and the fact that it remains largely unaltered. Here is just a little bit more about the town and the instrument. And here is a specification.

DDR: Rotha Silbermann

The first (Scott 1707) in a set of four beautiful stamps featuring organs built by Gottfried Silbermann (1683-1753). Silbermann is renowned as the finest builder of his era. Historic instruments are scattered throughout the former East Germany, this one in Rotha (near Leipzig). These stamps are remarkable because they simply feature the instrument and honor the builder; the church is not named; they were not issued to promote tourism. They commemorate the instrument. This site (which is a promotion for an organ sound canvas) has a wonderful description of the instrument and its history. Beautiful and compelling instruments they are indeed.