Sct. Mariæ Kirke · Elsinore

In 1998 the reconstruction of the “Buxtehude organ” of 30 stops behind the Lorentz façade in Sct.Mariæ Kirke, Elsinore was completed. The main wish was to possess an instrument which tonally and mechanically was more in agreement with the elegant Lorentz-Frietzsch façade than the neo-baroque orientated organ of 1960. The tonal and technical results of the reconstruction of the organ in Roskilde Cathedral in 1991 helped to pave the way for a similar re-creation of the organ in Sct. Mariæ Kirke. Whereas the Roskilde organ had a substantial fund of old pipe material, in Elsinore there were only 27 old pipes – the façade pipes of the Rückpositiv. The task in Elsinore was to create an organ within the dimensions of the original facades inspired by the sound world characteristic of Lorentz’s style of organ building; this had extremely narrow scales in the bass with the width increasing towards the treble. The tonal result is a chamber music-like organ, where the bass never overshadows the treble – the elegant bass offers the treble a rarely-experienced opportunity for unforced clarity. Diderich Buxtehude (c. 1637-1707), was the organist of the church from 1660 to 1668. It is assumed that he had decisive influence on the alterations to the organ which were carried out in 1662-63 by the organ builder Hans Christoph Frietzsch. The reconstruction was carried out in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Cornelius H. Edskes, Groningen, and the church council’s consultant, cathedral organist Kristian Olesen, Roskilde.

The reconstruction is described by organist Henrik Fibiger Nørfelt in Marcussen & Søn 1806-2006, ISBN 87-981244-1-2, and in “Die Orgel in der St. Marien-Kirche zu Helsingør – Eine Festschrift” , ISBN 87-787383-0-5.

Compass: MW og BW: CDEFGA-c3; RW: CDE-c3; PW: CDE-d1.
Couplers: MW-RW; BW-MW; MW-PW; RW-PW.
Tremulant for RW; tremulant for all divisions.
Zimbelstern.
Temperament: unequal, pitch: a1 435 Hz at 15° Celcius
Windpressure: 66,3 mm.
Mechanical key and stop action; slider windchests.