Organs and organ builders in Regensburg (Germany). The „Regensburgisches Diarium“ from 1760 to 1810 as a source of organ building historical aspects

The Regensburg organ life in the second half of the 18th century and at the beginning of the 19th century is characterized by a surprisingly large variety. The playing and the building of organs and the organ trade have left clear traces in the Regensburg newspapers (“Regensburgisches Diarium”, “Regensburgische Frag- und Anzeige-Nachrichten” and “Kurfürstlich Erzkanzlerisches Regierungs- und Intelligenzblatt”). Organ music did not only take place in the Regensburg sacred buildings, but was also played on numerous verifiable house and chamber organs in the private houses and apartments of different social classes. Advertisements of about 40 organ instruments were documented during the reporting period. The domestic organ playing seems to have fulfilled a function in Regensburg at the end of the 18th century, which was replaced by the piano at the beginning of the 19th century. This large base of organ playing in Regensburg promoted the construction of organ positivs and house organs in different sizes (with up to three manuals and pedal) by the local organ builders. During their travels, numerous organ builders stayed as guests in Regensburg. The Regensburg and Regensburg-Stadtamhof-based organ builder families Herberger, Mälzel, Schmahl und Späth are documented with numerous entries in the “Diarium”. Both, the company and family stories of the individual organ building workshops like the contacts between local and traveling organ builders were extensively documented by newspaper reports. Especially the story of the famous Regensburg workshop Späth-Schmahl could be supplemented by the “Diariums” data to new findings. Also the knowledge of the organ and instrument maker family Mälzel and her best known son, the so-called metronome inventor Johann Nepomuk Mälzel the younger was augmented with important facts. The present evaluation of the organ-specific aspects of the “Regensburg Diarium” sees itself as a music-historical basic research for the local, regional as well as the national area. It would like to provide data and facts for later constructive research, well-founded starting point for new research approaches, detailed knowledge of the current state of research and reliable corrective of older researches