Consultation
Would you like to find out whether you’d do better to keep your current organ or replace it? Are you planning a restoration but are not sure how best to go about it? Are you facing unsolved construction problems? Or do you want to know how best to place your organ?
Considering all aspects
We take all these questions into account each time you plan an organ-related rebuilding or restoration. Even questions that you yourself may not have thought of. Because we don’t just build, or mechanically carry out the specifications. It’s part of our artisan pride to creatively participate in the projects we carry out. Our expertise in executing the client’s instructions is supplemented by our own comprehensive knowledge of the culture of the organ and of all related music and technology. This means that you will always get from us an optimal final result: one which considers every aspect of the task addressed.
Architectural and acoustic consultation on new-builds
If you decide you want a newly-built organ, we think through with you where and how to place it. How to make best use of the available space. How to optimize the sound of the organ within the whole interior and for the individual listener. If this proves advisable, we’ll even change the design of the organ itself so its sound can be better appreciated within the given space.
We also reflect carefully on practical and acoustic aspects. What happens when a sheet of glass is installed somewhere in the same space? Will a serious echo result? If one removes the plaster from a nearby wall, will this affect the organ’s sound? Such architectural and acoustic considerations as these can be of great importance for an organ.
If you decide to restore an existing organ
Where the decision is made to restore an existing organ it must be established not only what is to be restored but also in what sequence, and with what priorities. The bellows of an organ, for example, can, at point of restoration, still be in good shape. In such a case, we actively advise the client about how to proceed. If we see that the bellows won’t be able to be taken out later without dismantling the whole organ, we recommend that it be replaced right away. But if the bellows is of a kind that can be easily removed and money for restoration is short? Then we might recommend that the bellows be replaced only ten or so years on, so that the present restoration need be less elaborate.
In every organ-related project, then, problems and issues can arise for whose solution we offer our valuable expertise. It may even be that our expert recommendations differ from what you originally had in mind. Because, as artisans, our viewpoint is always one that, above all, embraces every aspect.
“One organist wanted the pedal of his Baroque organ to include a trumpet. But the soundboard had double-springed sliders from the 1970s. This arrangement does not produce a good wind and the sliders don’t last forever. If you then add a trumpet to the pedal and, in ten years, the soundboard is restored, it won’t sound good at all. So we recommended that both these problems be tackled at once, together."
Felestad
In Felestad the organist had his seat between the Great Organ and the Rugwerk (or Rückpositiv): a very cramped position. It meant that, while the Great Organ was hard to hear within the body of the church, the organist himself could barely hear the Rugwerk.
We recommended that the organist be seated in a new position, off to the side. In this way, not only did the sound of the organ become much more clearly audible in the church; the acoustic experience of the organist himself was also improved.
Objective Recommendation Regarding the Value of the Organ
Financial value
- At what value should it be ensured?
- What would be the value of a newly-built organ?
- Restoration costs in the future
Cultural-historical value
- Quantity of historical material still surviving
- Determination of degree of uniqueness (how old, how extraordinary)
- Investigation of relation between materials
Quality of the organ
- How it is constructed, design
- How does it sound?
- Is reconstructing or repositioning worth the trouble?
Contact
Are you looking for an independent expert for your plans to maintain/restore your existing organ or have a new one built?
We’ll be very glad to put our heads together with yours.
Do you want to learn more? Contact us any time!