Bergen op Zoom, Sint-Gertrudiskerk
Bergen op Zoom, Sint-Gertrudiskerk
The present main organ of the Grote of Sint-Gertrudiskerk was built in 1863/64 by the firm of Gebr. C. Rud. and Richard Ibach in Barmen (now a district of Wuppertal) for the Parochiekerk van de Heilige Maagd Maria. The organ case was manufactured by the firm Peeters Divoort (Turnhout) after a design by the architect Emmanuel A.J. Cels (Brussels).
The contract was initially awarded to the organ-building company Bernhard Dreymann (Mainz) in mid-1862. Regrettably, the latter died after only a few months, whereupon the Ibach company offered to deliver the instrument in accordance with the existing contract and the design drawing. However, the church council concluded a new contract with Ibach. According to this contract of 17 December 1862, the organ was to have 33 stops, subdivided over two manuals and a free pedal. On 19 February 1863, this agreement was modified and extended to a total of 41 stops distributed over three manuals and pedal. On 27 January 1864, the organ was inaugurated after being approved by Friedrich Lux and Alphonse Mailly.
The instrument had suffered from different, partially severe transformations over the time.
In 2002, Verschueren Orgelbouw (Heythuysen, now Ittervoort) was commissioned to restore the instrument. For financial reasons, the work could not start until 2009. Rogér van Dijk was brought in as a second expert. The objective was to restore the organ to its 1864 condition. The restoration was completed in 2011.
The firm of Richard Ibach was known in the 19th century for its high-quality, mostly three-manual instruments, which found their way from the organ-building factory in Barmen to many places in Germany and other European countries. Unfortunately, only a small number of these instruments still exist due to later modifications and the destruction during the Second World War. All the more significant is the consistent restoration and reconstruction of the Ibach organ of Bergen op Zoom by Verschueren-Orgelbouw. It offers the optimal, authentic sounds and technical conditions for the performance of German Romantic organ music of the first half of the 19th century.
