Objekt 14
Organ positive in chest of drawers, 1783
Description
Peter Ochs played the harpsichord, the piano and the organ and, according to his music book, privately loved to sing arias by Mozart. in 1786 he bought this chamber organ, built by Jean-Baptiste Schweickart in Paris. Perhaps the 'Marseillaise' was played for the first time abroad on this organ. At least, Sibylle Louise de Dietrich (1755-1806) sent her brother the composition of the song in the spring of 1792, shortly after the first performance in her house in Strasbourg. Since 1971, the organ, which has been playable again since its restoration in 1977, has been in the collection of the Basel Historical Museum.
Object description
Jean-Baptiste Schweickart (1751-1819)
Paris, 1783, dated
Range C-a3 (58 keys)
three stops:
Flute 8', d-a3 open, C-d combined with bourdon; bourdon 8', dedacked; flute 4', dedacked, c1-a3
Tuning pitch a1=400 Hz
Tuning unequal temperament
Cherry wood, silk, ivory, spruce wood
Inv. 1971.23.
The instrument was owned by Peter Ochs (1752-1821), a well-known Basel statesman, who had purchased it in Paris
It remained in the family until 1935, when his great-great-grandson gave the organ to the museum.