Organ Works

The origins of the basilica in Bingen am Rhein date back over 1000 years to the Middle Ages. The current building dates back to around 1510 from various Gothic periods, incorporating older parts. Further relevant additions and remodelling took place in the 19th century. The church is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a protected cultural asset under the Hague Convention.

The last major organs in the basilica each replaced the previous instrument. New organs were built in 1884 by the Schlimbach workshop, in 1929 by Klais and in 1971 by Ott. The latter instrument was decommissioned in 2015 due to technical defects, mould infestation and other problems that could not be rectified economically and was dismantled two years later. 

Back in 2015, our workshop submitted a tender for the construction of a new organ, which was awarded the contract, but was initially postponed due to necessary maintenance work on the building and ultimately could not be carried out for financial reasons. In order to equip the important church with a suitable organ, the commission began searching for a suitable second-hand instrument.

In 2025, the parish had the opportunity to aquire a historic English organ that was last installed in Bruges Cathedral in Belgium. This instrument was originally built in 1851 by William Hill, one of the most important British organ builders of the 19th century, for the Great Exhibition of South Kensington. In 1957, the Peter Conacher company (Huddersfield) extended this instrument with parts from other Conacher organs (one of them dating from 1921) for Barnsley Methodist Church and supplied the console with its horseshoe-shaped stop arrangement, which is still in existence today. David Miller installed the organ in 1990 in the Baptist Church in Sandy/Bedfordshire, changing two stops in the process. After the organ was sold, the Škrabl and Andriesen companies renovated the instrument in 2011 before installing it in Bruges with a new case.

Our task is to dismantle the organ in Bruges, transfer it to Bingen, comprehensively restore it and adapt it to the changed structural and acoustic conditions. The work to be carried out includes the restoration of the pipework, console, windchests and wind system.

The solid pipework consists of tin alloys, pipes with a high lead content, zinc and spruce wood. In addition to the main bellows, there are four other bellows, including a high-pressure bellows for the high-pressure reeds and the pedal mechanism. The electrics and setter system are completely renewed. The pneumatic parts are removed and the system is converted to all-electric action by installing slider motors and valve solenoids. The internal arrangement of the divisions, including the windchests, bellows and channels, had to be reorganised and the supporting structure redesigned accordingly.

The façade will also be renewed, with a modern design based on the design by L. Zickermann from the original tender for the new organ 2015, harmonising the asymmetrical vaulting with the symmetrical gallery and window situation.

The high-quality voicing of the pipes is merely sensitively adapted to the room acoustics so that the fundamental character of the instrument is retained. A Principal 16 ft will be added to the specification, the pipes of which will form the new façade.

The organ landscape in the Mainz-Bingen district will be enriched by a rare facet with the transferred instrument and its British sound characteristics, which will be of particular interest to musicians and organ music enthusiasts alike.