Het ORGEL | Europe’s oldest magazine on organ art

Welcome

Welcome to the Internet pages of Europe’s oldest magazine on Organ Art: Het ORGEL [i.e. the ORGAN]. Het ORGEL is a magazine of Dutch origin. This Internet site contains English summaries of articles published in Het ORGEL. Every second month we will add the newest summaries. The site also contains a survey of which festival is happening where in Europe, and an extensive collection of links to other interesting organ sites throughout the world.

In the September issue

13/10/2023

The September issue opens with an article on organ models, in particular a recently discovered example made by H.E. Freytag. The article, by Victor Timmer, contains a contribution made by Bernhardt Edskes shortly before his death in 2022.

Memorable listening experiences can influence our insights and the way we perform compositions. Jos van der Kooy writes about this in his column ‘Verwondering’ {Amazement}.

William Byrd died 400 years ago. Reitze Smits makes a plea for the more frequent performance of keyboard music by Byrd on the organ.

Much has been written about the ‘Leipziger Choräle’ of Johann Sebastian Bach, which were collected by him in a single manuscript. Albert Clement discusses several aspects which have been heretofore neglected: the backgrounds, the structure of the collection, and the topic of collecting by Bach at the end of his life.

Hans Fidom writes about the Scottish composer Claire M. Singer, who will give a concert on 11 November in the Orgelpark. During several days in March she made a preliminary study of the Utopa Baroque orgean, the Sauer organ, the Onderhorst organ, and the Verschueren organ.

Reger’s jubilee year is commemorated by an article on expressive text setting in the chorale-fantasies of Max Reger. The chorale texts are the basis of the musical form, and determine the sound that goes with an individual word or line. Iddo van der Giessen presents a number of examples in his article.

Editor-in-chief Jan Smelik attended two days of the organ-week “StayTuned.nu” in Groningen, and presents a report in words and pictures.

Bert den Hertog presents the rubric ‘orgelbouwnieuws’ {organ-building news}, with projects in Apeldoorn, Castricum, Damwoude, Enschede, Gouda, Rijsoord, Sneek and Zuidlaren.

There are two reviews in the September issue: Sietze de Vries discusses the book ‘Die Orgeln der Hofkirche Innsbruck und ihr kulturelles Umfeld: Geschichte und Gegenwart’. Christopher Anderson’s book on Karl Straube is reviewed by Hans Fidom.

The issue closes with the 5^th article in the series ‘Antwerpse vormgevers van barokke orgelfronten’ {Designers of baroque organ façades in Antwerp} by Auke H. Vlagsma. In this article he discusses the façade of the Verhofstadt organ in de Oud-Katholieke Kerk ‘Het Paradijs’ in Rotterdam.

New articles

Playing teenagers in Groningen’s organ garden. The 5-day organ week of “StayTuned.nu”

In late May of 2023 the Stichting {foundation} StayTuned organized 4 one-day projects in Rotterdam, Haarlem, Utrecht and Maastricht. From Monday 24th through Friday 28th of July there was a longer activity of several days in Groningen (city and province), with an excursion to Leeuwarden. Eight teenagers took part in this week; the youngest was 10 and the oldest was 19.

Expressive text-setting in the chorale fantasies of Max Reger

Max Reger (1873-1916), born 150 years ago, composed 7 chorale fantasies between 1898 and 1900. These are large-scale late-romantic organ works on melodies known in his time. The forms of the chorale fantasies vary from chorale partitas to symphonic poems. The content of the song is the central point. Moreover, the musical form is directly connected to this. Reger noted the texts in the...

The ‘Leipziger Choräle’ of Johann Sebastian Bach: backgrounds, structure, collecting

Much has been written about the chorale settings in the manuscript in the state library of Berlin [Mus. ms. Bach P 271] called ‘Leipziger Choräle’ {Leipzig chorales or Great eighteen in English}, but some aspects have been neglected. This contribution looks at these compositions from a wider context, with particular attention for the backgrounds, the structure, and the creation of collections...

Byrd on the organ

William Byrd died 400 years ago this year, an occasion also for organists to study his music, because the music of this contemporary of Sweelinck is but rarely heard on the organ. His music is classified among the repertoire of the virginalists, and is perhaps for this reason not seen as organ music. This article argues that this is not justified.

A unique organ maquette from Groningen

Recently an organ maquette made by the 19th-century organ builder H.E. Freytag was discovered. This rare object is discussed in this article. Starting from the question of how organ builders presented their instruments, the object is then placed in a broader framework.

The Hinsz organ in the Petruskerk in Leens

For decades the Hinsz organ in Leens has lured Dutch and foreign adherents of North-German baroque organs to the province of Groningen. Since the restoration of this instrument in 1968 there have been more than a thousand concerts given, with a total of nearly 80,000 visitors. Each year many organists come to play the instrument. It is a recurring podium for the organ competitions organized...

Royal Dutch Association of Organists and churchmusicians

The publisher of Het ORGEL

The paper edition as well as the Internet edition of Het ORGEL are published by the Koninklijke Vereniging van Organisten en Kerkmusici (Dutch abbreviation: ‘KVOK’). This Association was founded on 16 January 1890, and in 1937 became the publisher of Het ORGEL; the first issue of Het ORGEL was published in 1886.

Adress of the editorial staff

Dr. Jan Smelik, editor in chief
H. van Steenwijckstraat 10
8331 KK STEENWIJK
The Netherlands
E-mail: redactie@hetorgel.nl

Do you want to support the work of Het ORGEL?

You can support Het ORGEL and the Royal Dutch Association of Organists and churchmusicians by becoming a member of the Association. Membership fee: EUR 91 (Europe) and EUR 97 (Outside Europe) a year in the Netherlands. Membership is for one year and will be automatically renewed if not terminated at least one month before the end of the calendar year.

Once you’re a member, you will receive the paper edition of Het ORGEL 6 times a year and the digital newspaper NOTABENE 12 times a year. It is also possible to receive the publications without being a member of the society.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an e-mail to the board of the Association