Objekt 11
Organ positive in commode form by Peter Ochs from Basel, Paris, 1783
Description
The statesman Peter Ochs (1752-1821) enjoyed singing Mozart arias and playing the harpsichord and organ. In 1786, he acquired the instrument on display here, which was built in Paris by Jean-Baptiste Schweickart. Peter Ochs' sister Sybille Louise de Dietrich (1755-1806), who was married to the mayor of Strasbourg and advocate of the constitutional monarchy, Baron Philipp-Frédéric de Dietrich, sent her brother the sheet music of the revolutionary song "La Marseillaise" to Basel in the spring of 1792. It had been premiered in her house shortly before. It is quite conceivable that the song was played on this organ for the first time abroad.
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', dedackt; Flute 4', dedackt, c1-a3pitch a1=400 Hz
Tuning unequal temperament
Cherry wood, silk, ivory, spruce wood
Inv. 1971.23.
The instrument was owned by the Basel statesman Peter Ochs (1752-1821), who was well-known beyond the city's borders at the time and had acquired it in Paris. It remained in the family until 1935, when his great-great-grandson left the organ to the museum.