The (North Church) of the Gereformeerde Gemeente in Rijssen was built in 1954, to a design by the architect A.F. Fresen of Wageningen.

This brick church, with its plain box-like sanctuary and tower, represents, as a result of its great height, high windows and centrally placed pulpit, one of the last echoes of the traditional Reformed church building, as has existed in the Netherlands since the 17th century.

The Noorderkerk originally had seating for almost 2100 people. A re-ordering of the church’s gallery during the 1990s reduced the capacity to 1975. The church services in the Noorderkerk remain extremely well attended.

The liturgical practice follows the most traditional reformed pattern, whereby the preaching of the Word takes centre stage, and the congregation sings (exclusively) from the Geneva Psalter in its iso-rhythmic form, using the Dutch translation of 1773.

The first organ in the Noorderkerk was built in 1938 for the Walkerk in Rijssen. The instrument, with its electro-pneumatic action, had 26 stops including two transmissions, divided over Hoofdwerk, Zwelwerk and Pedal. The pipework was German, from an industrial organ-supply house.

M.J. Koppejan Orgelfabriek of Veenendaal re-housed the organ in the (then new) Noorderkerk in 1954. At this time, the facade was renewed, and the organ was installed in a deep niche above the pulpit. The specification was also altered, the consequences of which included the shortening of certain stops to make new mutations etc.

In order to improve certain problems with the slow and unreliable action, the organ was cleaned and renovated in 1979 by the Rijssen organ builder J. de Olde, at which time all the puffers were replaced. Nevertheless, the condition of the organ worsened, and it was decided in 1989 to replace it when possible. In March 1994, the church council established an organ committee, with the well-known organist and organ historian Jan Jongepier from Leeuwarden, acting as consultant.

The organ committee and advisor visited a total of 13 new organs, built by seven different organbuilders, as well as two historic instruments, in order to assemble a complete picture of the sort of tonal style required by the church.

In the end, three organbuilders were asked to provide a quote based on two plans drawn up by Jan Jongepier.

In addition, the organ committee invited the organbuilders to add their own input and insights, in order to produce a third plan of their own creation.

Following extensive consultation, the organ committee and church council chose the plan put together in 1997 by Henk van Eeken. This was developed on the basis of the acoustical properties of the room and the musical practices common in the Noorderkerk’s services, one of which Henk van Eeken had visited in order to experience first hand both the congregational singing and the sound diffusion in a completely full room. Van Eeken’s proposal was to build an organ of two manuals and 31 stops, with a 16’ Manuaal, an 8’ Rugwerk and a 16’ Pedaal located in towers on either side of the organ.

During the plan’s development phase, the Roerquint 6' on the Manuaal was replaced by a Viola di Gamba 8' at the urgent request of the organ committee.

Following Jan Jongepier’s resignation as advisor, the project was taken on by Professor Harald Vogel of Osterholz-Scharmbeck (Germany), director of the Norddeutsche Orgelakademie and teacher at the Hochschule für Künste in Bremen.

During the organ’s construction, Henk van Eeken enlarged the specification with a Cornet 2' on the Pedaal, while the Pedaal mixture had a tierce rank added, becoming a Ruispijp V.

 

The final specification is as follows:

Manuaal C-f'''

Rugwerk C-f'''

Pedaal C-d'

1.

Prestant

16'

doubled treble

1.

Prestant

8'

doubled treble

1.

Prestant

16'

2.

Octaaf

8'

doubled treble

2.

Cornet

IV

treble

2.

Roerquint

12'

3.

Viola di Gamba

8'

3.

Holpijp

8'

3.

Octaaf

8'

4.

Roerfluit

8'

4.

Octaaf

4'

4.

Octaaf

4'

5.

Quintadena

8'

5.

Roerfluit

4'

5.

Ruispijp

V

6.

Octaaf

4'

6.

Quint

3'

doubled treble

6.

Bazuin

16'

7.

Quint

3'

doubled treble

7.

Superoctaaf

2'

7.

Trompet

8'

8.

Gemshoorn

2'

8.

Tertiaan

II

8.

Trompet

4'

9.

Mixtuur

IV-VI-VIII

9.

Mixtuur

III-IV-V-VI

9.

Cornet

2'

10.

Trompet

16'

10.

Fagot

16'

11.

Trompet

8'

11.

Trompet

8'

12.

Vox Humana

8'

Coupler Manuaal to Rugwerk Coupler Manuaal to Pedaal Tremulant to the whole organ Tremulant to the Rugwerk Temperament: Kellner-Bach Pitch: a' = 440 Hertz at 19° Centigrade Three wedge bellows Wind pressure: 89 mm water column

Click here for the compositions of the compound stops.

The organ was inaugurated on the 10th of December 2004. The inaugural service was led by the Rev C.A. van Dieren, who meditated on Psalm 92. The organ was played by the organists of the Noorderkerk: Bram ten Berge, Wouter Harbers, Wouter Scheppink and Jan-Geert Heuvelman, as well as by the advisor, Professor Harald Vogel.

The organ committee published a booklet at the time of the organ’s inauguration entitled: 'Van Eeken orgel Noorderkerk Rijssen'.

A number of articles from the booklet can be read, in English translations, here:

’By Means of Introduction...' - by the church council.

’The Organ and Congregational Singing’ - by Harald Vogel.

’A New Organ for the Noorderkerk’ - by Henk van Eeken.

Click here for an interview with Professor Harald Vogel, published in the Dutch newspaper, the ‘Reformatorisch Dagblad’, on the 26th of March 2007.