Organ Art Media 1723 Frans Caspar Schnitger Organ Hervormde Kerk Duurswoude Friesland The Netherlands

Short Introduction and History

Duurswoude and Wijnjeterp together form the Frisian village called Wijnjewoude.
In 1917, organ builder Proper (from Kampen) placed an organ in the church at Duurswoude.
O.B. Wiersma had discovered that this organ was the instrument that Frans Caspar Schnitger had delivered to the Lutheran Church at Zwolle, probably in 1723; he published his discovery in 1972 in the November issue of het ORGEL. The layout of the action suggests that the instrument was originally built as the Rugpositief of another organ.

After changes by J.C. Scheuer in 1837 and 1838, J. C. van Loo rebuilt the organ in 1862.
In 2000-2001 the organ was restored by Bakker & Timmenga (Leeuwarden), Jan Jongepier was the consultant.

The instrument has largely regained its original condition.
The specification: Praestant 8, Rohrfluit 8, Principael 4, GedactQuint 3, Octav 2, Quintanus 1 1/2, Sexquialt, Mixtuur, VoxHumana; pull-down pedals.
Source:  Jan Jongepier: Het ORGEL 98 (2002), nr. 5, 12-16 [summary]

The church room has a dry acoustics with about 1 seconds of reverberation.

Specification

Organ temperament: Mean-tone (1/6 comma)
Manual compass: C - c3 (extd. version d3)
Pedal compass: C - H (extd. version d1), pull-down pedal

Wind pressure 61 mm

Pitch a1 = 460 Hertz

Manuaal

Praestant 8

Rohrfluit 8

Principael 4

GedacktQuint 3

Octav 2

Quintanus 1½   

Sexquialter 2 st., bas/disc  

Mixtuur 4 sterck      

Vox Humana 8

Pedaal:

Subbas 16

Schnitger (C - E: Roerfluit) extd. version Praestant: C - d3

Schnitger (metal)

Schnitger

Schnitger, bass stopped, treble open  (few pipes reconstructed) 

New

Schnitger (treble new)

Partly new (reconstructed from exisiting Schnitger pipes)

Partly new (reconstructed from exisiting Schnitger pipes)

New, double cone resonators, copy from Vox Humana of St. Laurenskerk, Alkmaar

Extd. version: Historic 18th century rank