Organ of the St. John's Church The first organ for Jaani (St. John's) Church, completed at Christmas, 1867, was built by the well-known Estonian organ builder Gustav Normann in 1869. The instrument with a mechanical action had 39 sets of pipes. When in 1905 August Topman became the organist of the Church, he launched a campaign to modernise the organ. By 1911 the funds raised on his initiative were sufficient to begin work. The organ was rebuilt by the Estonian August Terkmann. He built a completely new chest, while preserving the old pipes. The organ when completed in 1913 was a remarkable achievement in modern organ building. The new instrument had four manuals, the upper one enabled to play the small organ behind the altar and was connected with the main organ by electrical cables. Terkmann used a number of modern inventions, so that a large organ could be imitated. There were 62 stops on the console, although the real number of pipes corresponded to barely 37 stops. One of the weaknesses of this otherwise sophisticated instrument was its action. About 30 years ago the small organ stopped functioning and because of overheating the large organ was damaged. Just before the Second World War it suffered from a major theft of pipes. As a result, the organ was ravaged and today it is in a state of disrepair. Jaani (St. John's) Church, which in the early 20th century was a popular concert venue, has not been used for public performances despite its wonderful acoustics. For the last twenty years the organ has functioned only due to the careful maintenance and the skill of organ players. The Organ Foundation of Tallinn Jaani Church (est. 1998) saw as its aim to restore the historical Normann organ and was encouraged by Estonian and foreign specialists. Kristian Wegscheider from Germany has been invited to restore the organ. With the reinstallation of the Normann organ in Jaani Church one of the achievements of Estonian organ building will be restored to the nation. Born in Rägavere parish, Virumaa, Estonia Gustav Normann (1821-1893) went to Germany to study organ building in the workshop of F. Ladegast. His first large organ was made for the Tallinn Holy Ghost Church in 1847. He built organs for a number of churches in Estonia, such as Harju-Risti, Tudulinna, Kuusalu, Ridala, Simuna, etc. as well as for Finnish and Russian churches. His organs have a recognizably classical sound. Tallinn-based August Artur Terkmann (1885-1940) studied organ building with his father Gustav Terkmann as well as in A. Laukhuff's factory in Germany. In 1908 he replaced his father as the manager of the organ workshop. His first independent work was the building of the organ for Harju-Jaani Church. He made a number of organs for Estonia, Russia, Latvia, etc. His largest surviving organ is installed in the Tallinn Holy Ghost Church. Terkmann's organs display a Romantic influence with their gently intoned stops.