Building History
Predecessor
TheNew organ for the Academiekerk by Schnitger 1702
When the Academiekerk (University Church) in Groningen was given to the Roman Catholic community in 1814, its organ was donated to the Aa-Kerk thanks to a donation from King William I. Schnitger had built this organ in 1699–1702, using several stops from the previous organ in the Academiekerk. The previous organ had been built by Hendrick Harmens van Loon and Andreas de Mare II in 1679, a large organ with 32 stops on three manuals and pedal; this in turn had re-used material from an even older organ. The case for the new organ was made by Allert Meijer and by Schnitger and the carving was by Jan de Rijk.Edskes, Vogel (2016): ''Arp Arp Schnitger and his Work'', p. 76. Nicolaas Arnoldi Knock recorded the disposition of the Schnitger organ in the Academiekerk in 1788, reflecting the situation after work by Hinsz in 1784 (Knock's disposition is missing the Octaaf 4′ in the Rug-Positief): * Couplers: I/II, III/II * 2 tremulants, exhaust valve, 4 check valves * 6 bellows (by Schnitger) The Rugpositief case reflects the main case in scaled-down form. Both cases are nine-part facades with an elevated polygonal central tower, medium-sized polygonal outer towers and low pointed towers in between. Four two-storey pipe-flats, divided by intermediate cornices, connect the towers and align horizontally with the pointed towers. The carving consists of acanthus leaves with volutes. The carved side-wings of the Rug-Positief case feature angels with palm branches; the angels in the carved side-wings of the main case play musical instruments. The Borstwerk doors have openwork acanthus carving and feature two double-headed eagles from the Groningen coat of arms. The 103 case-pipes of the Rug-Positief and 91 of the main case have a tin content of about 90% and have semicircular gilded lips.Edskes, Vogel (2016): ''Arp Arp Schnitger and his Work'', p. 78. It is the largest stock of original tin case-pipes in a Schnitger organ. Matthias Amoor (a builder of the Schnitger school) repaired the organ in 1728 and 1738. In 1754 Albertus Antonius Hinsz added a Hoofdmanuaal-to-Rugpositief coupler, and carried out repairs in 1761 and 1784.Transfer to the Aa-kerk (Timpe 1815–16)
Johannes Wilhelmus Timpe (an organ builder from Groningen) transferred the organ to the Aa-Kerk in 1815–16 and adapted it to the new location. The gallery (brought from the Academiekerk) had to be redesigned, and also the wide entrance-portal below, with its three double-winged doors under round arches, made by furniture-maker (and later city master-builder) Allert Meijer, who created Schnitger's organ cases in the Groningen area. Since then these doors, originally used by professors for academic purposes, have served only as access to the organ. It is possible that the two pillars below the Rug-Positief were added in 1702, as the composite capitals are slightly different from the four pillars on the portal wall. Because the six wedge bellows were placed behind the organ, and because the gallery is less deep than in the original location, the space for the organist between the console and Rugpositief was significantly reduced. The portal, gallery and organ case are made of oak, finished with brown varnish. The portal wall is divided by four fluted columns. The gallery fronts have four profiled panels on each side and the carved Groningen coat of arms in the middle. Open-work carving with volutes, tendrils and figures with musical instruments forms the gallery edge. During the conversion, classical figures were carved on the manual cases and below the pedal tower by Anthonie Wallis, and the main case widened below impost level to the dimensions of the upper case. Four music-making cherubs from 1815 crown the Rug-Positief and female figures and angels with musical instruments top the main case. Wallis also replaced the original carvings beneath the side towers of the main case with two near-life-size figures of Atlas.Later work
In 1830–31, Timpe rebuilt the Borstwerk into a Bovenwerk and rebuilt or renewed several stops. In 1856–58 the instrument was remodeled by Petrus van Oeckelen of Groningen, and adapted to the taste of the time by enlarging the Hoofdmanuaal from 9 to 13 stops on new windchests, adding three more stops to the pedal in the lower case, and adding the missing C sharp and D sharp to the bass octave. Additional chests were added and the pedal Mixture removed. Van Oeckelen renewed the keyboards and most of the key- and stop-action. The bellows were housed in the tower. In 1919, Jan Doornbos replaced the six wedge bellows with a magazine bellows. In 1924, he built a swell-box for the Bovenwerk and added a Voix Céleste on a pneumatic chest. From the 1930s to the 1950s, some old stops were replaced by Klaas Doornbos (1935, 1939, 1946, 1952).Restoration
In 1977, works to the organ were tendered for when the church restoration began. In 1990 the organ was partly restored and rebuilt by the Reil firm of Heede, including Schnitger's wind-chests. Klaas Bolt, Harald Vogel andSignificance
The organ is one of the Dutch Rijksmonumente (state monuments). It is considered one of the most important Baroque organs in northern Europe, and with its old stops and with the acoustics of the gothic church inspires universal high-regard from organ connoisseurs worldwide. The organ is praised for its singing Praestants with their subtle response, its colourful flutes, and rich-toned reeds that enable a wide variety of combinations. More than half of the stops survive from Schnitger's work, or from the previous organ of de Mare. Due to the many modifications, the organ has an organically-grown condition, with elements from different eras. In Groningen, as well as the Martinikerk (1692) and the Aa-Kerk (1694) Schnitger also built organs for the Pelstergasthuiskerk (1693), the Lutherse Kerk (1699) and the Academiekerk (1702), so that in the city at one time there was a four-manual Schnitger organ, two two- and three-manual organs and three one-manual organs. Groningen developed under Schnitger into a centre for the North Netherlands organ tradition. The Schnitger School was continued there by Albertus Antonius Hinsz, Heinrich Hermann Freytag, Frans Casper Snitger and Herman Eberhard Freytag, in great continuity, until 1863. Three of the Groningen church organs by Arp Schnitger survive today. The organ in the Pepergasthuiskerk, extended by Schnitger in 1697, was moved to Peize and still has some Schnitger stops. The instrument in the Lutherse Kerk was reconstructed in 2017 byDisposition since 1990
The organ currently has the following disposition:Edskes, Vogel (2016): ''Arp Arp Schnitger and his Work'', p. 169. * Couplers: I/II, III/II, I/P (van Oeckelen) * Tremulant (Timpe) * Calcant bell (van Oeckelen) ;Abbreviations: :M = Andreas de Mare II/Hendrick Hermann van Loon (1679) :S = Arp Schnitger (1699–1702) :T = Johann William Timpe (1830) :vO = Petrus van Oeckelen (1856–1858) :D = Jan and Klaas Doornbos (1919–1946) :R = Reil Brothers (1990/2011)Technical data
* 40 stops, 54 ranks of pipes * 3 manuals and pedal * Wind system: ** 1 magazine bellow (Doornbos, 1920) ** 4 Check valves ** Wind pressure: 82,5 mmWS (2011) * Windchests (Rugpositief: Schnitger, Hoofdmanuaal: van Oeckelen, Bovenwerk: Timpe, Pedaal: Schnitger/van Oeckelen) * Mechanism/Action: ** Keyboards (van Oeckelen) ** Key action: Mechanical ** Stop action: Mechanical * Temperament: **Further reading
* Cornelius H. Edskes, Harald Vogel, translated by Joel Speerstra (2016). ''Arp Schnitger and his Work.'' Bremen: Edition Falkenberg. , pp. 76–79, 168–169. *References
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