The construction of a new pipe organ in Jørlunde Church

[Frederik Magle]

A fascinating project, Frederik. Presumably, being 100% mechanical, there won't be any pistons, just fixed (?) combination pedals?

I forgot to mention one more change. We had a nice long talk one evening about a year ago where we discussed pros and cons of making the registration action electric instead of mechanical as originally planned. The cost would be about the same and we ended up agreeing that electric registration this day and age is reliable enough that the benefits outweigh the negatives (this may sound like a silly discussion, but the instrument is being built to last for centuries (literally), so we must ensure that every single component is, if not able to last that long, then at least easily serviceable or replaceable many years from now.

There are no combinations, neither as manual pistons nor combination pedals, fixed or otherwise, - yet. However, with the electric registration in place room has been made for a setzer combination system, which I have a feeling will be build in sometime in the not so distant future Here and now though I felt that the budget was best spent on getting voices. A setzer is easy to add, not so with an extra voice in a tracker action organ.

The foot steps you can see on the picture are couplers (the are doubled as draw knobs as well).

Here's a picture with a detail of some of the electric registration placed underneath the great organ chest, and a picture of the organ and the church taken from the choir. Note that none of the metal pipes in the great organ have been put in place yet, so what you see is only the casing and the Gedakt 16', hence it looks very dark, but when the pipes are put in then is will look very different. The third picture is taken from between the Great Organ and the Swell and Pedal Organ (Great Organ in front, Swell and Pedal Organs behind), and shows the Gedakt 16'. In the top left corner you can see a few Subbas 16' pipes as well as some of the swell shutters.

 

[jhnbrbr]

That sounds like a good balance. It did seem a bit extreme to banish electricity completely! Hope the project continues to go well, John

 

[Frederik Magle]

Many of the Great Organ pipes has now been installed, still missing is the upper work and Trumpet 8'

However, here's an update with the organ's current state. The intonation work has begun, and so far The Tectus 8' and Flute 4' in the Great Organ are playable.

Some pictures.

 

[jhnbrbr]

Thanks for the update Frederik. Looks like it is being built with a high standard of craftsmanship.

 

[wljmrbill]

very interesting follwing the progression.. Thanks

 

[Frederik Magle]

I've just made post about this on my blog with some additional details on the progress and my involvement in the intonation.

 

[Contratrombone64]

Frederik - thanks for the update - it's going to be a splendid instrument. I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the inaugural performance MP3?

 

[wljmrbill]

Thanks for update... can appreciate this much more since I am using Hauptwerk 3.23 VOP program and designing my own organ so to speak.. sure turns the hair gray...LOL. But fun too....

 

[Krummhorn]

Thanks for the updated info in your blog, Frederik.

Looking forward to hearing sound bites from this instrument when completed.

 

[Frederik Magle]

The project is progressing nicely, and the organ will be ready for the inauguration on October 25th. Today, the largest pipes - the full length Basun 16' (Trombone 16') - was installed. It's the tallest pipes ever build for an organ a village church in Denmark!

I was present during the installation, and took this video with my iPhone:

[youtube]wwqAHYxrCqA[/youtube]

 

[wljmrbill]

INteresting thanks for update.. be nice to hear concert.. Are you performing the Inaug. concert?

 

[Frederik Magle]

You're welcome, Bill. I will be giving the first performance of a new work, I'm working on right now, at the inauguration which takes place at the high mass on October 25th. After that I will give the first solo concert on the organ on November 8th.

 

[wljmrbill]

Sounds Great..I wish you the Best of Luck.. I am sure it will be a great concert for all attending to hear you.... Take Care my friend

 

[Frederik Magle]

The official inauguration yesterday went very well. The church was absolutely packed, so they had to put in at least 50 extra chairs (only downside to that was that the relatively small church's acoustics did suffer from all the people, but that just mean the organ will sound even better on normal occasions).

The organ is now almost finished with just one week more of voicing to get the last details in place. Hence, it will be ready for my concert on November 8th.

But even at its current almost-finished state it sounds great!

At the Organ Inauguration Mass yesterday I performed my (like the organ) almost finished "Fantasia for organ "At blive" ("To become") as well as an improvisation for the postlude. The church's organist Gunnar Svensson performed a Choral Fantasia he has written as well as all the hymns. We took turns playing during the communion.

Here is a small excerpt from the end of "At blive", recorded yesterday on a Zoom H4 mini-recorder with built-in mic:
Download (mp3)

One of my goals with the organ's tonal design was for it to sound like a full and complete organ, capable of producing a larger sound than one would perhaps normally expect from 19 voices (21 with extensions). Not in regard to sound pressure, but rather in richness and "greatness" of tone, and I believe the organ builders Frobenius and their chief voicer Ole Høyer has succeeded in realizing that, as well as my other visions for the organ. I think they’ve built a great pipe organ, perhaps not in size - but in sound.

Let me know what you think.

 

[drwilx]

Sounds Great! Will you be releasing a "full" version?

Regards,

Dennis

Here is a small excerpt from the ending of "At blive", recorded yesterday on a mini-recorder with built-in mic:

 

[Frederik Magle]

Thanks, Dennis I plan on releasing a larger excerpt or perhaps even the full version after the concert on November 8th. The piece still needs a few "tweaks" here and there, so I will be working it this week.

Btw, I forgot to post the second video of the Basun 16' pipes (the full length Trombone 16'). Now with all the pipes installed, Gunnar Svensson (the church's organist, and a man of average height) stands in the background to show the scale:

[youtube]pMAX49Bb928[/youtube]

 

[wljmrbill]

Neat video.. Thanks...Look forward to a sound file of your concert on this instrument... Bill

 

[Contratrombone64]

You're welcome, Bill. I will be giving the first performance of a new work, I'm working on right now, at the inauguration which takes place at the high mass on October 25th. After that I will give the first solo concert on the organ on November 8th.

"High Mass" - goodness, I thought the Lutherans got rid of all those delightful Roman litergies?

 

[Frederik Magle]

"High Mass" - goodness, I thought the Lutherans got rid of all those delightful Roman litergies?

Well, the Sunday morning mass is called "high mass" - directly translated from "Højmesse" in Danish, but it really is just the normal lutheran mass.

 

[Luis Enrique]

Hello "Federico", I read all the post and I was expecting to read something about your concert on Nov. What was the program? Is there a way to listen some pieces ?
Best wishes
Luis Enrique