COVER FEATURE ØSTERHÅB KIRKE
HORSENS, DENMARK
LEWTAK PIPE ORGAN BUILDERS INC. MOCKSVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA
I
N 2011, our parish built a new church in the south- ern suburb town of Hor-
sens, Denmark. Since then, Østerhåb Kirke has attracted nearly 900 people to join our parish—including many young families. Eighty-five percent of our parishioners are members of the Evangelical LutheranChurch ofDenmark, and nearly all of their children are baptized and confirmed. The Evangelical Church is the national church in Denmark with congregations all over the country. Until 2011, the only church in this large parish, calledTorsted Sogn,was a very small medieval one from the twelfth century that provided very cramped space for Sunday service. The new church pro- vides a comfortable worship space for 250 people. A typical Danish Evangeli-
cal service includes a consider- able amount of singing. Our hymns date back to the great poet N.F.S. Grundtvig and are longer compared to those of other Lutheran countries. During services, the organ adds color and creates a special mood—most prominent during the prelude and postlude. In planning for an organ in the new church, we knew we needed a versatile instru- ment. The building, with its 44-foot vaulted ceilings, had ample space for an organ with a considerable number of stops. With the help of our organ consultant, professor Ulrik Spang-
Hanssen, we were introduced to Tomasz Lewtak—a North Car- olina-based organbuilder who studied in Denmark. Having heard favorable reviews of the company, our delegation traveled to Greenville, North Carolina, to see firsthand the builder’smost recent organ project. We were astounded by the range of sounds that the instrument produced, and we found it to be visually el- egant and classy, with beautiful woodwork and amber draw- knobs. We asked the builder to submit an offer alongside two others from Denmark and Germany. We happily chose Lewtak
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Pipe Organ Builders to build our sanctuary’s grand organ. On June 9, 2013, we had an
official dedication with our bishop, followed by a recital by Ulrik Spang-Hanssen. Stand- ing roomcould barely be found as the congregation listened to the beautiful sound of the new instrument. We are thrilled to have the first American-made organ in Denmark! LITTEN HJORTH
Pastor of the parish of Torsted
Dean for the deanery of Horsens
The tonal design of any or-
gan, regardless of size, nation- ality, ormaker, ismade accord- ing to its purpose and the room in which it will be played. In the newly built Østerhåb Church, the Danish Lutheran service called for an instru- ment that would support large amounts of congregational singing. From a special per-
spective, by European standards, the conservatively sized sanctu- ary is balanced by high vaulted ceilings, resulting in a unique ar- chitectural design that brings about foreseeable tonal nuances. The organist is a full-time professional and needed an organ of a certain size to give her the necessary professional challenges, but on the other hand it was a very real danger that the instrument could easily become too loud. The organbuilder and I therefore chose a tonal concept inspired by South German Baroque and early Romanticism as found in the earlier instruments built by, for example, Walcker. The organ has a fairly large number of labial 8' stops, and the stoplist includes a 32', which in this coun- try is fairly unusual in an organ this size. The Posaune ismade of wood with a round, almost discrete sonority, and one could per- haps say that the overall sonority of the instrument goes more in the direction of woodwinds rather than brass. The tutti is fulfill- ing without being overpowering or shrill, and it is possible to use the full tonal range during services without complaints from the
THE AMERICAN ORGANIST
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