What is a pipe organ?

A pipe organ is a classical musical instrument. It is one of the very few antique instruments that is still being played today. Pipe organs are mainly found in churches where they are used during the church services to support the choir. The different pipes of the organ produce their own sound thanks to an air flow mechanism. The amount of pipes per organ varies. Larger organs can consist of up to ten thousand pipes that are being operated by hundreds of register buttons.

History of the pipe organ

The so-called waterorgan was already introduced around 246 BC. In 757, the classical pipe organ was brought back and gradually placed in churches spreaded over whole Europe. The pipe organ in the churches supported the choir. There were both large and smaller organs. The smaller organs, also called processional organs, were mainly used for secular music. Next to that, there are the larger organs, such as the ‘swallow nest organ’. Those organs are hanging on the walls of the churches. Over the years, the organ has been constantly improved. The mechanics changed, making it possible to play polyphony and the melody was performed more gracefully. The organs also received registers, creating unique sounds and effects.

The unique sound of a pipe organ

Each pipe organ differs and produces its own sound. This is because pipe organs are not produced in series. Each organ is unique and is adapted to the space for which they are intended. The pipe organ takes its sound out of the pipes. Each key represents one specific sound, so one pipe is needed for each note. It may also be that there are several pipes per key, this depends on the registers that are switched on.

A pipe organ from Mixtuur

Mixtuur Orgels has been a household name in the organ industry for years; we are the official Hauptwerk dealer in the Benelux since 2007. Our organs are produced in our production hall where all of our models are being custom-made. We supply organs with the Hauptwerk technology. In addition, we develop technologies that connect to the Hauptwerk software. Hauptwerk is a digital program on which sample sets from organs can be loaded. This sets reproduce the sound of each individual pipe. The unique tones give a realistic reproduction and ensure that the sound of pipe organs can really be experienced. Because we want to provide you with the best quality and service, we offer a two-year guarantee on all of our organs.