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250 years of experience - Two and
one-half centuries of devotion to sacred instruments.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Oestreich family
of organ builders from Oberbimbach (near Fulda) had a lasting influence on
organ building in the region.
 Five generations of this family produced a total of
fourteen organ builders. One important apprentice at the Oestreich workshop
was Johann Schneider (1755-1825) from Allmus (near Fulda). He kept the
Oestreich tradition alive. Via Andreas Schneider (1790-1859), his son
Nikolaus Sartorius, and Michael Katzenberger (1813-1874), the workshop was
passed down to Wilhelm Hey of Sondheim on the Rhoen in 1874.
Wilhelm Hey (1840-1921) started out as a joiner at
his father's workshop, then switched to organ building at the suggestion of
Michael Katzenberger. He learned the trade from A. Randebrock in
Paderborn, Westphalia, where he advanced to the position of head workman. In
1870, he traveled to the USA on behalf of his teacher Randebrock to set up a
large pipe organ in Detroit. Back in Germany, Wilhelm Hey was working at
this time on organs in Warburg, Werl, St. Walburga and Corvey. From there he
was called to the castle to adjust and tune the instrument of the most
famous pianist of the day, namely Franz Liszt.
 Wilhelm Hey quickly gained the confidence of
customers in the tri-state region where Thuringia, Hesse, and Bavaria meet.
His new organs featured classic rectangular or round-arched fronts. Even
today, the instruments he built bear witness to the high level of
craftsmanship and artistry which he attained.
In the meantime, the fifth generation of Hey
Organ Builders has taken up the profession, making the Hey workshop one of the oldest organ
building workshops in Germany. It has been located in Urspringen on the
Rhoen since 1963. Today it is run by Herbert Hey, whose sons Thomas and
Christian are already prepared to carry on the business as the sixth
generation to do so.
The traditional craftsmanship and principles upon
which every Hey instrument is based have scarcely changed since the 18th
century. Nonetheless, Hey is moving with the times. Technical advancements
result in conveniences that no one wants to do without today. Modern
technology is employed with the utmost care, to ensure that the specific
tonal character of the instrument is preserved no matter what.
"The style of organ building practiced in our
workshop today is modeled on the ideals that prevailed in Southern Germany
from the Baroque through the Romantic era. Principles such as mechanically
precise actions with a firm touch, organic partial organ structures and
tonal structures, and a finely differentiated, harmonious spectrum of sounds
are still painstakingly observed today."
"Every era in organ building has had its own style.
Thus it is impossible for a new organ to do justice to the styles of all
eras in one instrument: The regional, national, and musicological
preconditions vary too widely. So a new organ must be versatile and have a
self-contained character. Specifications from a particular musical era or
style, however, can indeed be taken into account."
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