Leyden Organ Festival

Leidse Orgeldag/Leyden Organ Festival

Every year in June one Saturday is reserved for the many interesting pipe organs in Leiden. People come from all over the country, for a day out, and for a pilgrimage to these organs. The Pieterskerk, the Hooglandse Kerk, the Waalse Kerk, the Roman Catholic Hartebrugkerk, and the Marekerk are the best-known of the churches. But there are also organs in smaller churches, in the Lokhorstkerk, the Lutheran Church (not so small) and in the concert hall in the Breestraat. (The Stadsgehoorzaal). It is a beautiful day again, a summer's day if there ever was one. The canals are full of different types of pleasure boats, the cafés on the boats moored along the quays overloaded. It is so warm that people take shelter under sunshades and parasols. Along the canals lots of people stroll around the market stalls, the stalls with fruit and vegetables, with fresh fish and flowers;  the Turkish bread and herb stalls, the tubs with all sorts of olives, dates, nuts, seeds. Every time I go into Leyden on a sunny day like this, I wonder why I do not go more often. The centre is relatively small and one can easily walk around. There are many interesting buildings apart from the churches. On Saturdays there is also an antiquarian book market around the big municipal library, housed in an old building with a courtyard where one can sit and read undisturbed , enjoying the plants and the sun in a very quiet place. No noise from outside seems to reach this secluded courtyard.

I am fond of organs and organ music, but can't help wondering why some organists play so uninspired. There is nothing wrong, they don't miss a single note, they play dead on the beat, it is all correct and according to the score, but utterly boring. Why should organ music so often be like that? Especially the purists embracing the religion of early music practices and historically correct instruments, seem to take all my joy away. Stoffel van Viegen once recorded a CD on the organ of the Dom in Utrecht. It is called "Happy Music", and that is what it is. One feels happy, joyful, exhilarated by the music. It is playful, light, the stops well chosen and varied. After all, a pipe-organ is an orchestra in itself. Apart from flutes, one can hear strings, trumpets, bassoons, just about any instrument can be imitated in an organ. It all depends on the shape and size of the pipes and on the material they are made of. Why not use that? Why not play joyfully. Why stick exactly to the beat? Where are the dynamics, the colouring, the variations?

The organ of the Pieterskerk

But of course this does not apply to all organists. I really enjoy this day enormously, some music more than other music of course. The three famous organs of the Pieterskerk, Hooglandse Kerk and the Marekerk are all beautifully restored, their pipes polished to a shine. Gilded ornaments dazzle one by their brightness. The pipes reflect the light of the brass chandeliers, which is a feast for the eyes. The organs date from different periods, and so the music we hear is also varied, ranging from the sixteenth century to the twentieth. Hassler, Scheidemann and Bach and sons rub shoulders with the French romantic composers, Cesar Franck, Camille Saint-Saëns, Louis Vierne. John Stanley is juxtaposed with Maurice Duruflè. We hear Guilmant and Jean Alain. Each recital is introduced by the organist himself who explains his choice of music. We also hear transcriptions for organ of harpsicord music by Jean-Philippe Rameau, which sounds surprisingly genuine. I am usually a bit sceptical about transcriptions, but today I have to change my mind. Two members of the Brassband Warmond, a neighbouring village, play in front of each church some ten minutes before a recital begins, and lure us into the church with their "happy" sounds. Passers-by stop to listen. We are very lucky that it is such beautiful weather.

The best part of the day is unexpectedly meeting  a befriended couple and enjoying a coffee and a fresh croissant on their improvised sidewalk terrace in front of their town house. Later one of them, my writing companion, joins me at one of the recitals and afterwards we have a drink together on a terrace, basking in the sunshine and watching the busy comings and goings of boats on the nearby river, the confluence of two old branches of the river Rhine, which are now more or less part of the canals of Leyden.

There is just about time to do some essential shopping before we have to part. After collecting my bike which I left chained to a fence around one of the churches, I cycle home, humming "happily".

Organ of the Marekerk