Orgelreparatur der Waeldner-Organ in der Ev. Kirche zu Ausleben

	The organ in Ausleben was built by Friedrich Wilhelm Waeldner in 1828. The organ's system is a mechanical slider chest. Its bellows system contains two wedge bellows, with the air being produced mechanically. The manual has a range of C - d"' and the pedals a range of C- C'. A special feature of the organ is its rather small keys. While at the beginning of the work, there were no cymbal stars in evidence, these were rediscovered after the removal of dirt from the organ. Also missing were several cymbal bells; these were traced to a collector, and returned to the congregation during the course of the repair, and now have their place in the church again.

Heinz Morgenthal und der geheimnisvolle Spiegel

Heinz Morgenthal Hans Wilk

In 1993, Heinz Morgenthal (photo above), along with a group of pupils, began to clear up the abandoned site of St. Peter's church in Ausleben. When they began, no one could imagine what should become of the church (abandoned in the 1970s) and her organ. During the removal of two decades' worth of accumulated rubble out of the church, a mirror emerged from among the badly wind- rain- and woodworm-damaged wooden pews. Heinz Morgenthal examined the mirror closely and discovered a handwritten signature, which he could not completely decipher at first. He took the mirror home, and could hardly believe what he could read there: hitherto unknown information, which none of the history books of the area seemed to record - namely, the construction date and builder of the organ on the second loft - 1828, built by Friedrich Waeldner. The mirror is not the only exciting adventure experienced by the Auslebeners during their work on the church. The cymbal stars and cymbal bells emerged in similarly exciting ways, and are once more in their original place. Heinz Morgenthal discovered a treasure in the church and its organ, which was made to shine again by him and many other workers - for example: Hans Wilk, carpenter; Karl-Heinz St?, electrician; Karl Loof (and team) who had specific responsibility for the treatment of the badly woodworm-damaged pipes. After the roof of the church was covered, the start of 2002 saw successful applications for sponsorship for the repair of the old organ, which just goes to show that it is worth fighting with courage and commitment to preserve things which were left to us by past generations and times. The old Waeldner-organ was subsequently repaired, and given a new lease of life.Pictures ...

Specification der Waeldner-Organ:

Der Builder der Auslebener Organ: Friedrich Wilhelm Waeldner aus Halle/Saale