Main organ of the Old Church in Amsterdam - The Netherlands - Musical Instruments on Waymarking.com

"The main organ of the Oude Kerk (Old Church), or St. Nicholas Church, in Amsterdam, dating from 1724, is the most important organ in this church, which is known in part for having hosted the composer Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck as its organist. However, the organ is later than the instrument Sweelinck played from approximately 1580 to 1621.

The church organ was built around 1724 by the German organ builder Christian Vater from Hanover, a student of Arp Schnitger. Shortly after the organ's completion, the church tower began to show signs of subsidence. This forced its dismantling while the tower was being restored. Between 1738 and 1742, the organ was reinstalled with some significant modifications by the German organ builder Johann Caspar Müller, a younger brother of the more famous Christian Müller. This work made the organ's sound more powerful and more in keeping with the Dutch style. The result was not unanimously considered successful. Until its restoration in 2015, the organ was notoriously heavy and difficult to play.

In 1869, a major renovation followed by C.G.F. Witte of the Bätz firm, partially redesigning the Baroque instrument's sound system in a Romantic style, although Baroque music can still be performed on it. Until 2015, little else had changed to the organ besides regular maintenance. From 2015 to 2019, a thorough restoration was carried out by the organ-building firm Reil from Heerde. The organ received a new keyboard, and the associated mechanisms reduced the key pressure. The starting point for the restoration of the pipework and the organ's sound was the situation to which the organ had evolved over time." Source: Wikipedia

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.