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Gorinchem Grote Kerk
The Bätz-Witte organ, with its initial design dating back to 1851, is the first three-manual organ with a Rückpositiv realized by C.G.F. Witte. It also represents his first design in the so-called 'round arch style.' The facade is inspired by a design for a new organ in the Zuiderkerk in Rotterdam (1850). The three statues on the main case were crafted by the Utrecht sculptor Joannes Rijnbout.
During the organ's construction, a significant amount of pipework from the organ built by Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz in 1761 in the previous church was utilized. Bätz had, in turn, used pipework made by Stephanus Cousijns in 1666. The pipework of the Hauptwerk and Oberwerk largely dates back to 1761, with the reed stops of the Hauptwerk and Oberwerk featuring resonators, heads, and boots from the same year.
Restoration
In the fall of 2007, the restoration plan, formulated a few years earlier by the State Organ Advisor, Jan Bonefaas, and Ton van Eck, was initiated. Simultaneously with the restoration of the Oberwerk, a swell box was added, allowing for a more authentic performance of organ repertoire from the second half of the 19th century, also executed by the firm Pels & Van Leeuwen.
In April 2010, a comprehensive restoration of the instrument began by the firm Pels & Van Leeuwen, with Ton van Eck as the advisor. Initially, there was necessary technical repair to the wind chests and register action, affected by climatic influences over the past decades. Additionally, tonal restoration took place.
Back to the original state
Undesirable modifications made in 1960 were reversed, restoring the organ to its original disposition. After consultation with the advisor from the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands, the added drawknobs were retained, but Witte's original pipes were returned to their original positions.
On the drawknob rail of the Oberwerk, a Carillon was placed instead of the Neo-Baroque Scherp added by Blank, modeled after the Bätz organ in the Utrecht Domkerk. The Fluit Travers 8' by Witte, which disappeared in 1960 in favor of a Sesquialter discant, was reinstated on the Rückpositiv in the form of a reconstruction of the same-named register from the Witte organ in the Grote Kerk in Naarden. The Sesquialter of the Hauptmanual was replaced by the originally disposed Scherp by Witte. The composition of the Hauptmanual's Mixtur was reconstructed to the 1853 configuration (16' basis).
A copy of the original floating Tremulant was added to the Oberwerk, and the connection between the drawknob and the still-present bell for the bellows treaders (Calcant) was restored.
An organ to lead the singing
Equally important for the overall sound is the restoration of the original and differentiated wind pressures. The wind pressure increase the organ underwent in the 1960s had severely affected the tone formation and, consequently, the sound of the organ. With Witte making extensive use of pipes from Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz's 1761 organ, the classical touch in the sound is now more apparent than before the restoration.
The combination of 18th and 19th-century pipework allows for the adequate interpretation of a large portion of the organ repertoire. The presence of strong treble registers and a broad 16-foot plenum makes the organ an ideal instrument for accompanying congregational singing.
Video
Gorinchem Grote Kerk
Specifications
General
- Bätz-Witte, 1853
- 3 manuals
- 44 stops
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