In early 2023, in cooperation with our French dealer Musique Galland et Fils in Mulhouse, we had a wonderful project together with the Saint-Joseph Church in Belfort. The church had a beautiful Merklin organ, which unfortunately was in a poor condition to be used for masses and concerts. Since the downtown cathedral was to be renovated, the parish wanted all Masses to be celebrated at Saint Joseph's Church. To accomplish this, of course, they needed an organ. After some research, renovation of the Merklin organ (again) proved unfeasible and alternatives were considered. In cooperation with our dealer Musique Galland et Fils, we gave a demonstration concert on a demonstration organ that we had temporarily installed on site. The concert was well received so the church decided to purchase an Ecclesia D-455.
This allowed us to begin installing the organ last October. This was another big job, as the console and speakers had to be lifted to a considerable height. Fortunately, our dealer Musique Galland et Fils was used to this and the team was strong enough to install the organ this height.
Successful installation
We were very careful during the installation to ensure that we didn't damage the Merklin organ in any way. Of course, the organ was already in very poor condition and many of the pipes had come loose from the case. By making two shelves, Galland was able to place the speakers in the front. This makes it possible to restore the historic organ, should the desire to do so arise in the future, without any damage being present in the pipe organ.
A special committee responsible for preserving historic church objects even came to watch during the installation and expressed its approval!
After the installation and intonation were completed, Martin van Heerde (employed by Johannus, a graduate of the Zwolle Conservatory of Music) gave a concert, which was again very well received by the approximately 80 members of the congregation present.
The opening concert
Later, Martin van Heerde returned to the organ to tune it so it would sound perfect for the opening concert on Nov. 12 by Joël Boone. And that is exactly what happened: all parishioners were touched and amazed that a sound of this electronic organ is indistinguishable from a pipe organ.
All in all, it was a very successful project. We would like to thank our dealer Hugues Galland for this pleasant cooperation, and hope that we may collaborate on many more beautiful projects in France!