The Organ in the Cathedral

The organ in the cathedral church of St. Catharina in Utrecht is built in 1903 by the organ builders Maarschalkerweerd & Zoon from Utrecht. On the organ case one can read in Latin that the instrument was a gift of the Roman Catholic citizens, at the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the restored Episcopal hierarchy in the Netherlands in 1853. It had two manuals, pedals and a keyboard arrangement suitable for her function in the service of that time, namely the accompaniment of Gregorian and choir music, soft pre- and interludes and festal postludes. In 1939 the organ builder Elbertse, a former pupil of Maarschalkerweerd, extended the instrument for this organ company on request of the organist of those days Hendrik Andriessen. The original stops and wind chest were kept. Eventually, in 1996 the organ was repaired and again slightly modified.

Organ case

The organ is placed on the chancel at the western extension of the cathedral; this extension was done in 1899 according to a plan from Alfred Tepe. Somewhat similar facades have the organs in the St. Ignatius church in Rotterdam (1904 for the Loret organ from 1862, at this moment at the St. Augustinus church in Geleen-Lutterade) and the St. Jozef cathedral in Groningen (1906 and restored in 2005). These cases have a broad design to keep the west window free, suggesting a wide spread of the sound. The Utrecht case is created by the sculptor F.W. Mengelberg and fits beautifully to the stained glass window made by H. Geuer. In the middle of the facade there is a sculpture from Pope Gregorius the Great, the patron saint of the cathedral choir, established in 1869, and whose name is closely linked with Gregorian chant.

Action

The instrument is equipped with, for that time, modern pneumatic membrane boards from the German company Weigle. Possibly due to lack of funds only part of the organ interior could be realized. At the completion in 1908 pneumatic conical boards were added, probably by the German company Laukhuff, which means that the organ has two traction systems. The transmission of the crescendo pedal to the shutters is mechanical.

Disposition & Sound

Despite the fact that the console has three manuals, in reality it is a two manual instrument. It is only when the third manual is coupled to the second that an acceptable crescendo effect can be obtained from the second manual. The disposition is characterized by the usual 8-foot foundation stops which have a rich sound spectrum. The 4- en 16-foot foundation stops add fullness and power. The pedal organ on 16-foot basis supports the total in an impressive way. The many 8-foot stops and three reeds on the secondary manuals offer a wide range of sound variations and many solo opportunities. Worth to mention is the beautiful Flûte Harmonique 8 ft, the delicate Dulciaan 8 ft, (which sounds in fact as a Klarinet), the Vox célèste 8 ft, which in combination with the Gamba (or in special cases with other stops) gives a transcendent sound, and not to forget the very special Holpijp 8 ft which in combination with a closed swell box, in a whispering mode reaches all the corners of the church. On the first manual, the upper harmonic stops to the Mixtuur give a rather classic “plenum”, which by adding the Cornet and Trompet 8 ft as well as the Bazuin 16 ft on the pedal organ produces a powerful, broad an deep tutti, which is impressive but never dominant. A few sound examples can be listened onto the ‘Sound Gallery’ of this website.

Sources:

• Hans van der Harst, former organist of the cathedral and advisor of the Katholieke Klokken- en Orgel Raad = Catholic Bells and Organ Committee (KKOR)

• Wouter van Belle, current fellow-organist at the cathedral and accompanist of the Utrecht Cathedral Choir.
• Jos Laus, as advisor of the Katholieke Klokken- en Orgel Raad involved in the restoration that took place in 1996 (see other publications on this website).
• Paul Houdijk, see other publications on this website