Andreas Silbermann (16 May 1678 – 16 March 1734) was a German organ builder, who was involved in the construction of 35 organs, mostly in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it ha ...

. Andreas also established the Silbermann family tradition of organ building, training his brother

Gottfried Gottfried is a masculine German given name. It is derived from the Old High German name , recorded since the 7th century. The name is composed of the elements (conflated from the etyma for 'God' and 'good', and possibly further conflated with ) a ...

and his son Johann Andreas in the profession.

Biography

Silbermann was born on 16 May 1678 in Kleinbobritzsch, near

Frauenstein, Saxony Frauenstein () is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated in the eastern Ore Mountains, southeast of Freiberg, and southwest of Dresden. Frauenstein Castle is located northeast of the town centre. Notable ...

, the son of a joiner. He himself trained as a joiner in

Freiberg Freiberg is a university and former mining town in Saxony, Germany. It is a so-called ''Große Kreisstadt'' (large county town) and the administrative centre of Mittelsachsen district. Its historic town centre has been placed under heritage ...

under George Lampertius, but soon afterwards learnt the art of organ building, moving to

in 1699. The exact timing and source of his training is unknown, with proposed names of his mentor including Friederich Ring and Daniel Übermann. During his early work in Alsace, Silbermann carried out renovation work on the organ constructed by Johann-Jacob Baldner in the church of St Léger in Bouxwiller. After this, he moved to work with Strasbourg organ builder Friderich Ring, settling permanently in the city in 1701 and receiving citizenship on 15 March 1702. By this time, Andreas had trained his brother

, and they built an organ together. Between 1704 and 1706, Silbermann moved to Paris, where he worked with

François Thierry François Thierry (1677-1749) was the last representative, in the third generation, of an important family of French people, French organ builders based in Paris. He was the grandson of Pierre Thierry and the nephew of Alexandre Thierry. Biograp ...

, having a particular concern to develop his understanding in the French style. He then returned to Strasbourg, where he worked with his brother on a few more projects, namely the

Collegium Wilhelmitanum A (plural ), or college, was any association in ancient Rome that Corporation, acted as a Legal person, legal entity. Following the passage of the ''Lex Julia'' during the reign of Julius Caesar as Roman consul, Consul and Roman dictator, Dic ...

(1706) and the church of St Nicolas (1707). In 1708, Andreas began working alone as his brother Gottfried had returned to Saxony. In the following years, Silbermann was involved in several major commissions, including constructing an organ at

Strasbourg Cathedral Strasbourg Cathedral or the Cathedral of Our Lady of Strasbourg (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Strasbourg, or ''Cathédrale de Strasbourg'', german: Liebfrauenmünster zu Straßburg or ''Straßburger Münster''), also known as Strasbourg ...

(1714–1716), which was the largest organ he built during his career. In 1712, his son Johann Andreas was born. Trained under his father, Johann collaborated with Andreas during the final years of his life and continued the family business after his death. Silbermann died on 16 March 1734 in Strasbourg.

Style

Silbermann's organs were built mostly in a French style.

Organs built by Silbermann

*1706 –

*1707 – Saint Nicholas Church, Strasbourg *1709–10 – Marmoutier Abbey church, Alsace *1711 – Basle Cathedral *1714–16 –

*1718 – Saint Aurelia's Church, Strasbourg *1721 – Église Saints Simon et Jude, Ottrott *1726 – Dominican Church,

Colmar Colmar (, ; Alsatian: ' ; German during 1871–1918 and 1940–1945: ') is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Grand Est region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), ...

*1729–30 – St Cyriaque, Altorf *1732 – Church of Saint Maurice,

Ebersmunster Ebersmunster (german: Ebersmünster) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (adm ...

, Alsace *1732 – Église Saint-Matthieu, Colmar *1733 –

Rosheim Rosheim (; gsw-FR, Rose) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. It lies southwest of Strasbourg, on the eastern slopes of the Vosges mountains. It is a winemaking town on the tourist "Road of the Wi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silbermann, Andreas German pipe organ builders German musical instrument makers People from Frauenstein, Saxony 1678 births 1734 deaths Businesspeople from Saxony