A few blog posts ago, I wrote that due to Hauptwerk I do not miss real organs so much, but yesterday I gave a concert in the Sint-Nicolaaskerk in Brouwershaven and I have to say it was a great joy to play the first class van Vulpen-organ in a beautiful church with very good acoustics. Moreover, the overall ambiance and organization was perfect.
It was interesting to observe the organ builder's change of esthetics between 1968, when he delivered the Hoofdwerk and 1980, when the Rugwerk was added. The pipes of the Rugwerk have a full-bodied, round sound, while the Hoofdwerk generally sounds thinner, more according to the ideals of the neo baroque. When I studied organ in the late '70s and early '80s this change was frequently discussed among teachers and students. At the time, the Utrecht Conservatorium had three van Vulpen-organs and the light, sophisticated action of these instruments considerably influenced my views on the importance of an at the same time relaxed and precise way of playing. Yesterday, I was delighted to have a similar light and sensitive action at my disposal. The ancient pipes which remained (the Prestant 8' of the Rugwerk and part of the Prestant 16' of the Hoofdwerk) are of excellent quality.
The recitals in Brouwershaven are organized by Marien Stouten, the organist of the church. Creative, energetic and highly qualified, this young man deserves all the support to carry his initiative forward and stimulate cultural life in the town and region he lives in. He gave me excellent advice regarding the choice of stops and assisted me during the concert. The audience could watch the activities at the console through a video recording projected on the wall next to the organ. The effect of this must have been quite natural compared with projecting on a screen (I did not see it myself), as the colours were softened by the wall's off white surface. Marien Stouten aims at vitalizing organ concerts by programming contemporary music and also by objecting against a deplorable practice among well-known organists of prestigious instruments: to exchange the opportunities to give a concert between themselves in a closed circuit, a kind of old boys network.
Not quite pleased with my performance of Bach's Jesu meine Freude yesterday evening, I made a recording of the piece this morning with the digitalized sound of the organ in Tholen (only 30 kilometers from Brouwershaven). This recording will be the subject of a next post.
