Sunday in Strasbourg

Sunday morning found us assembled in St. Thomas, one of the oldest Protestant churches in France. After the culte and lunch, M. Daniel Leininger introduced us to the 1741 Johann Andreas Silbermann Organ there. After he quite literally gave us the keys to the church, we had several hours to listen to one another play the organ.

Of course, we did have time to do a little sight-seeing in Strasbourg. In fact, no visit there would have been complete without going to the Cathedral just to see the fabulous organ case there.

Monday
Marmoutier and Saessolsheim

Early Monday morning we left Strasbourg for a day trip that began with some free time in Marmoutier. We had time to visit the local museum, active pottery workshops, and, of course, the Parish Church, with its Romanesque façade, eighteenth-century Choir, and nineteenth-century windows.

Through the generosity of Mssrs. Senentz and Segrist, the 1710 organ by Andreas Silbermann was ours to play for two hours. During part of this time, the church was closed to tourists — the church and organ were ours!

After a wonderful Alsatian meal in a local restaurant (“Aux deux clefs”) we moved on to Saessolsheim, a small village of 450 souls. The small church there stands out from the small houses and farm buildings in the center of rolling hills.

Local organist Francis Jacob first performed for us on the 1995 Aubertin Organ in the church, then graciously acted as our host and allowed us to not only play the instrument, but to examine its beautifully constructed pipes and action.