Lobetal,
Hoffnungstaler Stiftung
(Germany)

The Hoffnungstaler Stiftung in Lobetal is one of the largest and best-known centres that enable disabled people to live a dignified and varied life.

This very important task in our society includes not only employing the residents in crafts and agriculture, but also music, which plays a very important role especially for disabled people.

In this way, even a new organ of appropriate size can reach people with its sounds and inspire and accompany them to sing in church services and other events.

The work (op. 631), completed in 2015, has II manuals and pedal with 23 stops and mechanical tone and stop action, as well as a second console on the wind gallery, with which the positive work can be played separately mechanically.

The organ in Lobetal was built in the style of the central German baroque organs and is based on the principles of this era. Its disposition follows the characteristic principle of “pars Major” and “pars Minor”, which assigns a corresponding counterpart to each stop.

Thus the Principal 8′ in the Hauptwerk is the “pars Major” and finds its “pars Minor” in the Positiv as Principal 4′. Similarly, the Quintadena 16′ (flute type) in the Positiv complements the Gedackt 8′ in the Hauptwerk. This concept gives the organ with only 23 stops a surprisingly rich tonal variety and numerous 8’/4′ combinations, which open up a wide range of expressive possibilities, especially for liturgical music, chorale accompaniment and historical organ works.