From July 13th to 16th a few of our ECHO young ambassadors joined many other organ lovers and baroque enthusiasts at Lövstabruk, Sweden. The Lövstabruk estate, founded in the 18th century, boasts not only a beautiful mansion and lovely private garden, but also a church with a historical organ. Built in 1728 by Johan Niclas Cahman, and hardly altered since then, the organ remains one of the best preserved examples of north German organ building tradition in Sweden, as well as being the only large organ built by Cahman that is still in function.
That is why the Cahman organ’s “original” baroque sound draws the attention of many who have an interest in historical organs.
Under the leadership of Lukas Arvidsson and other experienced musicians we were able to get to know the organ during the several days we spent at Leufsta Cahman Academy.
Each participant had the chance to practice on the historical organ, as well as receive lessons and masterclasses on the instrument, from organists such as Pieter Dirksen, Karin Nelson and Lukas Arvidsson. The Cahman organ is the perfect instrument to experience baroque music as it was in it’s time, you can learn a lot about Bach’s and Buxtehude's pieces and their techniques just from playing an instrument similar to what the composers themselves used at their time.
Thanks to Pieter Dirksen we also had the opportunity to learn about Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck and his students, and play the works of this great composer, a predecessor of Bach and one of the first major European keyboard composers.
Outside of the master classes by the Cahman organ each participant also received lectures about counterpoint, musical theory of the Renaissance and early baroque era, as well as play the harpsichord. We even learn some dance — today we do not pay enough attention to the connection between dance and keyboard playing, compared to how important it was some three hundred years ago, and at the Cahman academy we got to live the Baroque experience to the fullest. A real paradise for the lovers of history and older musical tradition!
But our days were not full of only lessons, and in the evenings we were welcome to gather around some candles and hang out until midnight, or for some, even later than that. We were shown the inside of the 18th century Lövstabruk manor, as well as it’s fantastically preserved library.
A few of us were lucky and even found time to swim in the nearby lake!
The Academy passed slowly, and at the same time all too quick. New friends have been made over shared interests, and many many new things have been learned. It was a great privilege to have the chance to play on such an amazing organ and receive lessons from such great teachers. Many thanks to everyone who has helped organise such a fantastic week and we look forward to participating in Leufsta Cahman Academy again!
Uliana Sveits, Young Ambassador Lövstabruk
