[Theme] The Organ Thread

[Akira]

Thanks, Airy!

[Gary]

I love this thread.

[John Geerts]

In the local library there is still a copy left of a book about the 'Tilburg' organs. It's a complicated book full of detailed information which doesn't ring a bell to me.

Apparently there are 46 Organs in Tilburg, mostly in churches and convents. The churches are closed except for the service times so an appointment has to be made. Detailled information and photo's will follow in due course  

[Frank Fremerey]

John. It is a pity in Holland. Spontaneous visits to church for either prayer or photography is not possible.

You have to ring out the custodian, or in the bigger churches pay an entrance fee of 2.5 to 4.0 Euros.

This is really bad marketing.

[Gary]

John. It is a pity in Holland. Spontaneous visits to church for either prayer or photography is not possible.

You have to ring out the custodian, or in the bigger churches pay an entrance fee of 2.5 to 4.0 Euros.

This is really bad marketing.

I agree, bad marketing and in particular bad P.R. I can only speak for the Catholic Churches here, but they are all open everyday.

[Airy]

That's not a religion issue. Catholic churches in France are mostly closed all day except sometimes on Sundays when they got a priest and stage a mass. An besides, there is no money for maintaining organs. In rural areas, it is not seldom that there are 1 priest for 20 churches, and non-clergy volunteering for keeping churches open and having an eye on whatever is valuable inside are hard to find.

[Frank Fremerey]

Airy: This is the consequence of hundreds of years of bad marketing

[John Geerts]

The second Organ in the church of Saint Denis (St Dionysius Kerk) in Tilburg. Like in Paris the two oldest churches are devoted to Saint Denis. The Organ was built in 1980 by Loek van Nes for the 'kerk van de Goddelijke Voorzienigheid" in Bergen op Zoom. After the closure of that church in 2005 it was transported and restyled in Tilburg. It's in use by the 'Brabantse Conservatorium'.   It took 18 years to build this Organ.   

(link to the builder  (in Dutch): http://www.bndestem.nl/regio/bergen-op-zoom/loek-van-nes-stopt-ermee-na-45-jaar-1.728334

[Frank Fremerey]

Thank you John!

ALL: how is it in your country?

In Gernany most Catholic Churches are open for prayer and art
historical studies. Many people who are not religious at all love
to visit these witnesses of history.

Protestant churches are often closed except for special interest
or as Wiedereintrittsstelle.

So how is it where you live?

[John Geerts]

It's a bit the same as Airy describes and has nothing to do with the church and religion but with increased vandalism.

A bit of background is necessary.  Tilburg is in the province  Noord Brabant and like, the rest of the south of the Netherlands Roman Catholic. However, during the Calvinistic occupation of Holland (1650-1790) the Catholic religion was forbidden and the inhabitants had to go to secret churches about 10 kilometers southwards, over the current border with Belgium. There were two of them. After the liberation by the French and the installment of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in 1812, religion freedom was given back, and the specific church (from 1460) came back to people in 1820. At that time a new church was build as the old one, was firstly completely stripped by the Calvinist, and secondly not maintained over the centuries.   

So basically we see a huge growth in population and poverty after 1820, due to the textile-industrie and the industrialization later. That also included the building of lot of churches, abbeys and convents and Tilburg was considered as the most Catholic city  of the Netherlands but with a lot of diversity and focused on the wellbeing of the population through welfare and education. The decline started in the sixties. Many churches were closed.  As well as the decline of the textile-industry, there is a correlation. 

Due to increased vandalism and robbery of churches that started in the seventies, which also has to do with a decline a church-visiting,  a number of measurements had to be made.

There were basically two options. You can remove all the art in the church and put it in a museum. (a bit out of the question in a church which is used daily)   For the churches in the center, with a vast number of volunteer, they are open a regular times.  Or you have to open when volunteers are there, at service time of course and at special occasions. There are during the year a number of 'Open Monument Days'.

This is the church with the Organ, the tower was built in 1460, but restructured in Baroque-style by architect C.F. van Hoof in 1890-1892.

[Airy]

Geneva, St Peter. Metzler, 4 manuals, 1965. Df + Voigtländer 40/2. Shot Sept. 9 on a biz trip (never without my Df)

[armando_m]

Winchester Cathedral organ

[Frank Fremerey]

Armando: Thank you. Amazing how the brass is illuminated in the dark church.

[John Geerts]

This the main organ in the church of Saint Denis (Heikse kerk, or Sint Dionysiuskerk), Tilburg

[Frank Fremerey]

John: Difficult lighting. Needs a tripod and lamps switched off and 30 Seconds exposure....