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Organ City Maastricht |
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Maastricht is a very ancient town and has a rich history. Already in Roman times as Mosam ad Trajectum it was a fortification of considerable significance. Much later on during the reign of Charlemagne (who created an emperor palatine) Maastricht gained in importance as it was only a stone's throw from Charlemagne's base at the town of Aachen. In medieaval times Maastricht began to burst out of her seams, so a secondary citywall had to be built to accommodate the fast expanding town, as the original wall had become too small and tight. In centuries to come the city served under the Prince-Bishop of Liege and the Duke of Brabant. Although the town was governed by these two gentlemen, Maastricht was able to continue being in control of her own destiny, which meant that a prosperous culture was allowed to blossom. For centuries the region around Maastricht was a kind of patchwork in a governing sense, with numerous counts and lordships in control. This was a remainder from the Feadale times. The town has been influenced by many different nationalities: from German, Bourgondy, Spanish, State, French, Austrian, French again, to Dutch, all in that order. These matters all left their mark on the local culture, including the craft of organ building. On the one hand a Brabant and Rheinland influence is detected, at the same time influences from Liege (Belgium) and France can be seen. Maastricht's organ tradition goes back well into the 15th Century. At that time a family concern of "van Elen" was active here. Unfortunately not a lot is known about this firm's activities in the town. In the 16th Century a number of organ builders from Brabant and Liege were engaged here. These included the well known Hendrik & Nicolaas Niehof, Floris Hocque, Peter Briesger and Arnold Wagnon. More is known about organ building in the period during and after the 17th Century. Henri du Mont, cantor-organist from Liege, and Maastricht born organ builder Andries Severijn, both well known gentlemen, worked here around 1650. They were both involved with the Onze Lieve Vrouwebasilica. Later on Du Mont left for Paris, and it was Severijn who built the still present organ of the Onze Lieve Vrouwebasiliek.
This instrument was assembled with a Great Organ (Grand Orgue) which has 14 voices, an echo work with 4 voices, and a pedal work with 3 voices. All were built into a magnificent case, which was made by a friar by name of Eustachius. Possibly an existing positive of 9 voices by Remigius Ancion from Huy, was attached as back positive to the Severijn organ when the latter was built. In 1830, when the organ was finally rebuilt after having been removed from the O.L.Vrouwe basilica for more than several decennia (the church was being used as a munition storage space), this back positive was built into the main encasing by Joseph Binvignat. Later on Merklin & Schutze and Pereboom & Leyser made changes of their own, and several older stops were replaced according to the moods and fashions of the time. When the current back positive was restored by Flentrop during the last restoration, it was recreated from Ancion's original back positive. Some of the materials in it are yet original. The disappeared case was rebuilt in 1984 and modelled on older examples. The current Grand Orgue still harbours the old heart from Severijn. The pedal of the organ is a synthesis of the original pedal, with new extensions out of the 19th and 20th centuries. The more modern materials of higher quality were retained by the latest restorations executed by Flentrop, e.g. the Bombarde and Trompette from Merklin was kept. The character of this organ is solemn and aristocratic, and one clearly detects a melting of influences from Liege as well as Brabant. Apart from the Onze Lieve Vrouwe Basilica Andries Severijn also built many organs in Liege, the Belgian town where he later resided. One of the organs he built was at St. Jacques (in an old case). Severijn was later buried at this church, close to his opus magnum.
From Remigius Ancion is the subleme old organ case of the instrument at the Waalse Kerk. What is striking here is the distribution of lower and upper pipefields, and the beautifully ornamented centre console. The current contents of the case is mostly the work of Thomas Weidtman (from Ratingen). In the period after Severijn, Maastricht did not feature any organ builders of its own. Organ builders which were employed here came from the Rhineland (Thomas Weidtman; Caspar König), and Liege (family concern Le Picard, originally from the North of France; Wilhelm Robustelly and Henri Möseler). Weidtman renewed the organ of the Waalse Kerk during the first decennia of the 18th century, and apart from the Fourniture and the Sesquialtera (lost during the 19th century, later added again by Van Vulpen, 1964) the original instrument of Weidtman is still in existence, even though it received later adaptations by Binvignat and by Pereboom & Leijser. The sound of this organ is a typical mixture of French and German influences. The prestant plenum is clear and basic but radiates warmth, which makes it very suitable for early Barok works from the Southern German, Spanish and Italian masters. Henri
Möseler, who carried out many projects from 1750 on in the centre of Maastricht, left few traces, apart from several elements of the organ of the Lutherse Kerk (see specifications). Also built by Möseler was the dromedary organ currently situated in the Townhall of Maastricht, but this originated from Opgrimbie in Belgium. Before it was placed in Opgrimbie, it served in the St.-Gangulphuskerk of St.-Truiden and before that in the Minderbroederskerk, also St.-Truiden.
After Möseler died, organ builder Joseph Binvignat arrived in Maastricht around 1776. Binvignat was French like Philippe Le Picard. This fact would influence future Maastricht culture of organ building. Binvignat worked in partnership with local Lambertus Houtappel for a long time, and married his sister in 1781. De company's most significant product was the organ of the St. Matthiaskerk, built in 1808. This instrument is strongly based on the French 18th Century organ building, which is evident from the structure and intonation of the pipework. It has typical stops with these names: Fluyt, Violine de Gamme, Nazard, Tierce, Cornet, Sesquialter, Cromhorn,Vox Humana, Bombarde, Trompette, Clairon, distributed over 3 manuals and a pedal. One can detect a melting of many different influences from the stopnames. Interesting is that each manual has a cornet. Later the organ was reworked by Pereboom & Leijser (1875) and placed in a niche (1885), which was most unfortunate from an accoustic point of view. This was corrected by Flentrop as he returned the organ to its original position. The same reversals he did with the organ disposition. An abundance of full voices gives the instrument a truly brilliant and melodious character, and with such an excessive amount of stop combinations it is actually very effective for the French Barok suites.
Also made by Joseph Binvignat and Lambert Houtappel is the lovely little organ of the Cellebroederskapel, built in 1794 for the church of Berg & Terblijt (near Maastricht). It ended up in the Cellebroederskapel in 1969 after various wanderings, and was then restored by Verschueren. The richly decorated case is a real gem. Ones visual expectency is confirmed by the melodious and open sound of this jewel, combined with the beautiful acoustic of the chapel. Despite the fact that the organ only has one manual with an extended pedal of one and a half octave, many people will be utterly charmed by this instrument. It is perfect for manual works of the Renaissance and Barok periods.
Binvignat and Houtappel also built the organ of the Maastricht Sint-Janskerk. Already in 1784 they built an organ here, but this instrument was lost. Unfortunately, apart from a few remaining pieces of the case and one or two stops, not a great deal has survived from the rebuilt organ from 1807, only parts of the case and one or two stops. In 1992 Verschueren used materials from the demolished historic organ of the Nederlands Hervormde Kerk at Wezep (province of Gelderland) for the most recent restoration.
The 1861 organ in the Lutherse Kerk is in fact a product of the Maastricht organ builders Pereboom & Leijser, who ruled over a large area which extended from their Maastricht base from 1850 onwards (to find out more about them: read the book "Pereboom & Leijser" by Frans Jespers, Henk van Loo & undersigned). For the Lutherse Kerk organ in part materials were used taken from the old wind drawers and pipes originating from Hendrich Metzeker (1697) and Henri Möseler (1780). The organ case is a typical example of the classic period, before Pereboom & Leijser started their neogothic period. It is inspired by the former organ case of Metzeker/Möseler as one can see on rediscovered drawings of this organ. The bow fields of the lower positive are interesting from an architectural point of view. The contents of this organ give quite a classic sound, especially the positive, for which materials from the old organ were reused.
A few years later, in 1878, Pereboom & Leijser built a large 3-manual, French orientated organ in de Martinuskerk at Wijck, this time inside a neo-gothical case. Here one detects influences of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, the famous organ builder who supplied many churches in Paris with huge symphonic organs. The organ in Wijck, with 3 manuals, is the largest and most imposing work of the firm Pereboom & Leijser, but because they were not familiar with these kind of large commissions, this instrument is slightly awkard and lacks technical perfection somewhat. The keyboard is quite stiff and heavy to the touch. It is also a pity that the range of the third manual is only c-G3 (an old tradition of the Maas-region) and that the coupling pos/rec is lacking. Nevertheless is it worthwhile spending time at this beautiful, serene instrument which has such warm and romantic tones. The tutti of the organ has grandeur, thus the instrument seems bigger than it really is. The strings are sharply intonated, the diapasons woolly and round, the reeds powerful, while the Flûtes of the whole organ and the reeds of the recit are very melodious, the air pressure is high. Because of all these factors the organ's character is symphonic and has an impressive allure.
Another important Maastricht organ with a very rich history is situated in the Servaasbasiliek. The oldest parts of this instrument date from the 17th Century and originate from a 3-manual organ which was situated in the Dominicanerkerk. What is known about that organ is that it had a Great Organ with 14 voices (based on 8-foot), a positive with 8 voices, and a discant echo work with 6 voices. In 1804 Joseph Binvignat transferred this instrument to the Servaaskerk (or Servaas basilica). In 1839 the organ was expanded by Adam Binvignat. The case was imposingly enlarged, wind-drawers and tracking were replaced while parts of the old pipework were re-used. The organ was extended with a pedal with a cantus firmus function. Then the fundaments of the current organ were laid. There was so much space in the enlarged organcase of the G.O. that at least three 16-foot voices could be placed inside. In 1843, when the westside of the church was being restored and reopened to the nave while the jubé was pulled down, the organ was moved by the Brothers A. & J. Franssen from Horst. Pereboom & Leijser later extended the organ still further (1852, 1882) and added an upper récit, which was removed again during the 1912 restoration. Characteristic romantic voices were added, like the Flûte harmonique on the G.O. The pedal became an independent work with three 16-foot voices and an impressive 10 2/3' quint bass. In 1912 the organ received a last work-over by Pereboom jr. All the technical imperfections which had always been present were finally dealt with at the most recent restorations in 1991 by Verschueren. Many improvements were made, like the organists seating position (right in front of the organ instead of to the left, this was the original place); the tracking, the position and extension (to f1)of the pedal, and the appearance of the organ facade. All the existing pipe material was largely re-used and overall the organ has now been transformed into an instrument which is perfect for works from the French romantic periods and thereafter. The positive as well as the echo work (which has the full range C-G3) are positioned inside the main case and its function is that of a Swell.
Ton Reijnaerdts, text from cd TRA 2001-04
Further info about this cd can be found on the TRA-page
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