JavaScript seems to be disabled in your browser. You must have JavaScript enabled in your browser to utilize the functionality of this website. The history of the Martini organ dates back to , when Master Hermannus built an organ and placed it in a new gallery. The consultant for that work was the humanist and organist Rudolphus Agricola. His name can be seen on the cartouche below the Rugpositief. The organ case shows the year , which refers to a rebuild of the organ in Renaissance style by an unknown builder.
At that same time, the organ was expanded with a Bovenwerk. However, the Gothic framework for the organ case was almost completely preserved. From to Jan Helman began extensive work including new bellows, keyboards and spring chests for the Hoofdwerk and the Pedaal, but he died in leaving some of the work unfinished. Schnitger built large pedal towers on both sides of the organ and placed the foot Principal pipes in the facade. The large pipes were made in the church, using ships' masts to help form them.
The alloy for the front pipes has a high lead content. Schnitger also built three reed stops and a new wind chest for the Bovenwerk. Finally, he lowered the organ's pitch by moving all the pipes one step. By all these actions the organ received the signature of Arp Schnitger. In , Arp Schnitger's son Franz Caspar built new wind chests for the Hoofdwerk and the Pedaal, as well as a new Rugpositief including case, wood carvings, and console.
Despite the long and diverse history of this organ before Schnitger's time, Schnitger's work is so profound that it is justifiable to say the organ of the Martini church is a Schnitger organ. The organ builders Lohman and later Van Oeckelen made modifications to many stops and extended the organ to 52 stops. However, the original console was kept in place. By the second half of the 20th century, organologists and organ builders understood that traditional organ building had to be re-discovered.
Pioneering work was done by the organologist Cornelis H. Edskes in Groningen. He studied the well-preserved organs of the Baroque era, which still retained their original state. The organ of the Martini church was romantically voiced, but through restoration the organ could be returned to the Baroque sound of Schnitger. Together, Ahrend and Edskes laid plans for how to perform the restoration. The work included reconstruction of the mechanical action, the construction of a new wind supply, and the restoration of the wind chests.
