Zprávy památkové péče 2016, 76(Příloha):26-36

The life and work of the Opava organ builder Karl Kuttler (1797-1876)

Jiří Krátký

Karl Kuttler (1797-1576) has been referred to as an organist and manufacturer of musical instruments, although no non-organ instrument from him has ever been discovered. It may be assumed, however, that a number of his repairs and organ constructions are yet to be discovered in the future in the context of ongoing archival and field research; a number of his realizations are already known. His radius of activity included the Czech region of Silesia, northern and central Moravia, Cieszyn Silesia, and Prussia. His largest preserved instrument is located in relatively pristine condition in a Protestant church in Biale, having 27 registers, two of which are tongued. A related instrument in Biale is his two-manual organ in Miedzyrzec. On the Polish side, there are also instruments located in Zabrezgu, in Urbanowice, and in ¸aziska - for these instruments, however, the degree of preservation of the original parts of the actual organ itself is very low, and the organ was relatively insensitively restored, while the instrument in Urbanowice is only credited to Kuttler.
On the Czech side, his largest organ in the parish churches in Opava and Šternberk unfortunately did not survive, so his largest instrument is located in Zvole. Despite some later modifications in the 20th century, this two-manual organ is relatively well-preserved. The instrument in Studénka-Butovice still awaits appropriate restoration. On the other hand, his single-manual organ in Děrné has already been properly restored. For the organ in Lukavec, Kuttler's authorship is only probable. In Červenec near Litovel and Hnojice near Šternberk, Kuttler's organ case with partially preserved pipes is still located.
Kuttler's organ cabinets grew from late classicism and were later embellished with historicizing elements. For the double-manual organ, the playing areas are designed as free-standing with a view to the altar. The preserved keyboards mostly have a classic color scheme; the lower keys are paneled with beef bones, the upper with ebony lipping on stained wood, likely pear wood. The mechanical linkage is light, and the drawer bellows are always well made. Later, beginning with repairs and new construction, he began to liberally use brass or pakfong bushings instead of the classic pulpets. The material of the metal and wooden pipes is solid, as demonstrated by the secondary use of pipes in newer instruments. The register disposition and intonation are based on a classicist approach - the sound is relatively decent, peaceful, and colorful.
The classicist era is fully reflected in the disposition of second manuals, in which the basis of the positive is formed by flute voices accompanied by a 4' Principal. The main machine remained on an exhibited principal pyramid which was often enhanced by an 8' portunal, open 4' flute and drifting voices. The tongues were built in Biale, probably in Hlučína and Šternberk. In terms of scaling, Kuttler's works are quite interesting - for certain registers the pipes are tapered in the treble, the string sounds are always quite narrow, and for the principal voices the course of scaling often changed very little.
In contracts, there appear some recurrent forms: the organist can not execute the work for a price less than that indicated (his father also wrote it similarly), but he promises thorough and durable work, and upon completion he would subject himself to the judgment of a knowledgeable organist; for some bids he would guarantee his work with his own home, and almost always requested transportation from Opava and back.
Overall, Karl Kuttler may be described as one of the last creative organists in Moravia who came from the classic late Baroque tradition of craftsmanship, while in his sound and cabinets he fully falls into the era of classicism, or emerging historicism. His craft can be considered exemplary. Even though he stands in the shadow of two better-known organists from north Moravia and Silesia, Franz Rieger from Krnov and Johann Neusser from Nový Jičín, he ultimately appears as an organist who was entrusted with larger works than his two competitors, and larger quantities of his double-manual instruments have been preserved. In any case, the continuation of the family organ tradition in the Kuttler family was very weak, and Ernst did not become a significant element in local organ works. It would be desirable if this study not only highlighted the life and work of Karl Kuttler, but also encouraged the proper restoration of his solidly built and acoustically distinct instruments.

Keywords: organ; music instrument making; craft; Silesia; Opava

Published: December 1, 2016  Show citation