The first signs of an organ date from the year 1508. About 50 years later it has been told that this organ should have had two manuals and thirteen stops. At the beginning of the seventeenth century the organ was restored, whereupon it was inspected by Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck. In 1723 a recovery service and extension took place. And in 1727 it was thoroughly repaired again. At that time the organ was moved to the tower side of the church, considerably enlarged, and the front was decorated with woodcut- and paintwork. The organ consisted after this restoration of two manuals and free pedal, 26 stops and 6 bellows. The last restoration took place in 1771. In 1797 at the time that the tower collapsed, the organ was burried by the debris.
It lasted for a long time for one proceeded to build a new organ. An organ commission was formed in 1824. This commission instructed the Bätz brothers in Utrecht in 1825 to construct a new organ. On 28 January 1827, exactly 30 years after the collapse of the tower, inauguration of a new organ took place. The new organ has 23 stops, spread over two manuals and supported pedal. Four windbags ensured wind supply. Total costs of the organ were ƒ10,679.91.
Like many historical organs the instrument in Harderwijk also did not escape of interventions as a result of new insights in organ construction around the turn of the century. In 1891 the organ was restored and serious modifications were passed through. Violoncel 8' replaced the Quint and for the Mixture at the Swell Prestant 8' came. About twenty years later other changes were made. The Flageolet at the Swell and the Sexquialter at the Great were replaced by, respectively, Vox Celeste and Meloophone.
In 1953 another restoration was performed. During this restoration the original disposition was mainly recovered. At the Great returned Quint and Sexquialter and at the Swell Prestant 8', Viola di Gamba (from 1891) and Vox Celeste replaced by Tertian III, Sharpen III-VI. and Superoctave 2'. The wind drawers were overhauled and under each drawer a bump windbag was places. The intonation was changed too and was made more appropriate to the original style.
In 1967, an extensive restoration of the church started. This restoration should last in total thirteen years. Both church and organ remained in use most of that time. The last years of the church restoration the organ was dismantled and was repaired thoroughly. There were two important reasons to do this: the bad state of the wind drawers and the unsatisfactory sound of the organ, especially of the Swell, the Choir and of the stops placed in 1953. This last restoration was carried out by the Flentrop company from Zaandam. The disposition of the Bätz-organ was repaired entirely and the stops introduced in 1953 were renewed. Also a thorough recovery of the wind drawers took place and of the four (original) windbags; the bump windbags from 1953 were removed. To catch the missing of a free pedal slightly, the stops Bourdon 16' and Fagot 16' bass were classified in two phases, meaning that one can let the bottom octave sound separately from the upper octave. Finally the organ became intonated again, whereby the original Bätz-sound was recovered. The restoration ended on the first of April 1981, where after the organ came into use again.
Click here to view the disposition of the organ. (Dutch)
