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24The organ-loft  From the beginning the cultivation of church music was a particular concern in St. Michael. Vis a Vis the altar, on the inside of the facade, a separate gallery for the organ, the choir and the musical instrumentalists was built, like in the Jesuit churches in Innsbruck, Ingolstadt, Augsburg and Landsberg. This was a novelty in the history of church architecture. Previously, the singers had their place in the sanctuary or on singer-stands at the entrance to the sanctuary. Then - church music came under the influence of courtly music. The most significant musician, who worked at the Jesuit church was certainly Joseph Gabriel Rheinberger - he served for several years as an organist and also designed the new organ (1896) by Franz Maerz, which was made possible by a testamentary donation of Rheinberger´s deceased wife Franziska (in 1892). However, this organ was a victim of a bombardment in 1944. The reconstruction work on the church continued into the 1980’s, and in 1966 as well as in 1982/83 new organs were created again. Today's organ is the seventh on this loft, realized by the Rieger-organ-building company from Vorarlberg / Austria and inaugurated in 2011. The prospectus of Brother Johann Hörmann from the 17th century was retained and the majority of the pipes of the Sandtner organ (1982/83) was re-used. The new organ enables an appropriate interpretation of a very broad spectrum of organ music. |