Carl August Buchholz (13 August 1796 – 7 August 1884) was a German organ builder.
Life Born in Berlin, Buchholz learned the organ builder's trade from his father Johann Simon Buchholz. He built his own first new organ in 1817 for the Prenzlau Sabinenkirche. From 1821 onwards, he was in charge of building organs with his father. The workshop was located in Kleine Hamburger Straße/corner of Auguststraße in Berlin-Mitte. His father gave him the opportunity to try out technical innovations in organ building.
Buchholz had been married to Christiane Wilhelmine Kunsemüller, the daughter of a doctor from Wittstock, since 9 September 1820. His son Carl Friedrich Buchholz (7 July 1821 in Berlin – 17 February 1885 idem) first learned from his father and worked as a journeyman for Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in Paris around 1847/48. From 1848, he worked again for his father.
Buchholz was appointed "Academic Artist" in 1853 by the Academy of Arts (or the Prussian government ?).
After his death in 1884, his son Carl Friedrich Buchholz continued to run the workshop for a short time and died himself about six months later.
Organ building
Buchholz built exclusively mechanical organs with slider chests. Characteristic of his construction method were wedge-shaped cut sliders, which were pressed into wedge-shaped slider bands. This made it possible to compensate for changes in the wood caused by climatic conditions, for example in humid regions. Buchholz also introduced barque valves and swells as an innovation. The action was made with waveboards, modelled on those of Joachim Wagner and Ernst Julius Marx. Some of the smaller organs were built with side-playing wave frames.
Buchholz usually had architects such as Karl Friedrich Schinkel design the fronts for larger organs. For smaller instruments, he designed the models himself. The facade design shows an astonishing variety. Buchholz collaborated with organists such as August Wilhelm Bach and Carl August Haupt in the design of the stoplist. In some of the larger organs, there are striking similarities between the dispositions in the main and Oberwerk and Joachim Wagner's organ in Berlin's Marienkirche, which Buchholz had restored in 1829.Carl August Buchholz Black Church of Kronstadt (Memento)
Buchhol is considered the most important organ builder in the Mark Brandenburg in his time. His method of construction was characterised by the highest precision in craftsmanship. Buchholz was very modest and largely refrained from excessive self-promotion.
Students Buchholz influenced a number of young organ builders who went on to work independently in various regions.
Carl Friedrich Buchholz, his son Moritz Baumgarten, afterwards organ builder in Zahna Wilhelm Bergen, afterwards organ builder in Halberstadt Ferdinand Dinse, afterwards organ builder in Berlin Friedrich Friese III, afterwards important organ builder in Schwerin, Mecklenburg Barnim Grüneberg, his nephew, afterwards important organ builder in Stettin, Pomerania Ernst Hildebrand Johannes Kewitsch, from Berlin Friedrich Kienscherf, afterwards organ builder in Eberswalde Wilhelm Lang, afterwards organ builder in Berlin Ferdinand Lange, afterwards instrument maker in Berlin Friedrich Hermann Lütkemüller, afterwards important organ builder in Wittstock, Prignitz Wilhelm Meywald, afterwards organ builder in Transylvania Johann Rohn, afterwards organ builder in Wormditt, East Prussia Carl Schneider, afterwards organ builder in Kronstadt, Transylvania Christian Friedrich Voelkner, afterwards organ builder in Dünnow, Hinterpommern
Work Buchholz built a total of 140 new organs between 1817 and his death in 1884. In addition, there were 20 rebuilds and restorations. All of Buchholz's organs have purely mechanical slider chests with the wedge loops he invented.
Among Buchholz's most important works is the organ built in 1839 in the Transylvanian Kronstadt in the Protestant Biserica Neagră: with 63 stops on four manuals, the Buchholz Organ of the Black Church is the largest instrument built by Buchholz and still survives today.
In 1821, he still completed the organ in the Barther Marienkirche together with his father. This organ was almost revolutionary for its time, with a 42-voice disposition distributed over two manuals and pedal and a manual range up to the three-stroke G. It is today the Buchholz organ. Today it is the Buchholz organ with the largest original inventory in Germany. The early romantic organ is of European significance.orgel-information.de: "Die Orgel in St. Marien zu Barth", retrieved 17 February 2021.
The largest Buchholz organ in Germany is in the Nikolaikirche (see Organ of the St. Nikolaikirche) and dates from 1841.
List of realisations New buildings The size of the instruments is indicated in the fifth column by the number of manuals and the number of sounding stops in the sixth column. A capital "P" stands for an independent pedal, a small "p" for an attached pedal. The last column contains information on the original and present condition. Italicisation indicates that the organ in question is no longer preserved or that only the casing is preserved.
With Johann Simon Buchholz Buchholz built the organs listed below between 1812 and 1825 together with his father Johann Simon. Year Location Building Picture Manual Casing Notes 1812 Altentreptow St. Petri II/P 23 Parts and stops integrated into an organ built in 1865 by Barnim Grüneberg, restored in 2002/2003 by the organ building and restoration workshop Scheffler; today II/P/31Matthias Gretzschel: "Orgeln in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Für die Zeit gerettet." In Hamburger Abendblatt. Axel Springer AG, Hamburg 2003, . 1817 Berlin Oberpfarr- und Domkirche II/P 32 Extension by Gebr. Dinse (Berlin) in 1886, dismantled in 1893; cathedral replaced by new building with new organ in 1905 1817 Ev. Kirche I 2 Not preserved 1817 Neu Hardenberg Ev. Kirche II/P 21 The housing designed by Schinkel in 1817 has been preserved, with a new building by W. Sauer in 1924. (Opus 1284). 1818 Demmin II/P 40 Restored in 1999/2000 by the organ building and restoration workshop Scheffler (Sieversdorf) → Organ of St Bartholomaei Church 1819 Ahrensfelde Ev. Kirche I 5 Not preserved 1820 Baruth/Mark II/P 21 Not preserved 1820 Britz bei Eberswalde Ev. Dorfkirche I/P 7 Preserved 1820 Gristow I/P 13 Extended in the 19th century by Barnim Grüneberg; preserved 1821 Berlin-Schöneberg I/P 11 The instrument was destroyed on 26 February 1945 when the church burned down. 1821 Barth St. Marien II/P 42 Restored by the (Dresden) → Orgel der Marienkirche 1821 Greifswald St. Jakobi II/P 28 Instrument destroyed in a tower fire in 1955 1822 Wachow Ev. Kirche I/P 14 In 1911, repair and alteration of the disposition by A. Schuke, original substance largely preserved. 1822 Berlin Royal Music Institute of Berlin II/P 13 Built in 1888 1823 Rixdorf Bethlehemskirche I/P 13 In the since 1895 1823 Seelübbe Ev. Kirche II/P Replaced in the 2nd half of the 19th century by a work by Albert Kienscherf (Eberswalde) 1823 Teltow St. Andreas I/P 17 Destroyed 1824 Stargard St. Marien III/P 32 Not preserved 1825 Osterburg St. Nikolai II/P 22 Several times converted.Orgel in Osterburg, retrieved 17 February 2021.
Own new buildings From 1817 to 1847 he built alone the following organs.