Werner Fredinand von Siemens residence, Berlin-Lankwitz, Germany

Wurlitzer, opus 2064, 1929, Style 250 Special

 

                           Pedal   Acomp       Great          Orch      Solo

S  8' Trumpet 61p                                 8              8         8

M 16' Tuba Horn 85p        16 8 16z   8 8t     16 8 4 16      16 8 4    16 8 4

M 16' Diaphonic Diap. 85p  16 8 16t   8 4      16 8 4         16 8 4       8 4

S 16' Tibia Clausa 97p     16 8       8 4 8t   16 8 4 3 2 8t  16 8 4 2  16 8 4

M  8' Clarinet 61p            8       8 8t     16 8 8t           8         8

S  8' Orchestral Oboe 61p             8           8              8         8

O 16' Gamba 85p            16 8       8        16 8           16 8 4    16 8 4

S  8' String 73p              8       8        16 8              8         8

S  8' String Celeste 73p      8       8           8              8         8

M  8' Viol d'Orchestre 85p         16 8 4      16 8 4            8 4

M  8' Viol Celeste 85p                8 4         8 4            8 4

O  8' Oboe Horn 61p                   8                          8         8

O  8' Quintadena 61p                  8                          8         8

M 16' Concert Flute 97p    16 8 4  16 8 4 3 2  16 8 4 3 2 T   16 8 4 2

O 16' Lieblich Gedackt 97p 16 8    16 8 4   2  16 8 4            8 4 2

M  8' Vox Humana 61p               16 8 4      16 8

 

M     Chrysoglott                     C           C

O     Harp/Marimba                    H M         H M

S     Glockenspiel/Bells                          G B            G B

S     Xylophone                       Xt          X              X

S     Chimes                          Ct          C              C

S     Sleigh Bells                    St          S

?     Typmani                 T

 

      Accomp to ...           8

      Great to ...            8                16 -8 4

      Orch to ...             8

      Solo to ...             8       8 8t 8z     8 8t 8z

 

      Tremulants: Main, Solo, Orchestra, Tibia, Vox, Tuba+Diapason

 

(Note: "3" = 2-2/3'; "T" = 1-3/5'; "t" = 2nd touch; "z" = pizzicato)

 

The Main chamber is on 9-1/2" pressure except for the Tuba and Diapason that are on 10-1/2" pressure.  The Orchestral and Solo chambers are both on 9" pressure.

 

The description explicitly mentions that the String, String Celeste, and Viol Celeste were extended an octave higher than usual, but no 4' Strings or 2' Viol Celeste stop tabs are listed.  It is not clear which ranks provide the second 2' Piccolo on the Accompaniment or the second 2-2/3' Twelfth and 2' Piccolo on the Great, and so the given derivations (Lieblich Flute on the Accompaniment and Tibia on the Great) are guesses.

 

This organ may have been Wurlitzer's largest residence organ as well as one of its smallest 4-manual organs.  The Lieblich Gedackt/Flute is very unusual, as is the set of "tuned" Tympani.  The original purchase price is given as $85,000, which would have been a tremendous sum in 1928, almost as much as the list price of the 4/36 Specials, and so that amount might be an exageration.

 

The organ and the villa in which it was located became German government property in 1943 and both survived the war without damage.  A fire in 1960 caused sever damage to the console, which was repaired by Marvin Merchant, a US soldier serving in Germany at the time.  In 1982 the organ became the property of the Musical Instrument Museum in Berlin, who hired the E. F. Walker company to restore the organ.  In the museum, the three chambers are made of concrete.

 

(Description appears in "Kinoorgeln" by Karl Heinz Dettke, ISBN

3-923639-18-X, 1998.)

 

Larry Chace