Marcussen & Søn

The Marcussen organ has always held a special place in my heart. From the age of 5 I have been singing and playing with the Marcussen organ at my church. The Danish organ builder has been around since 1806 when it was founded by Jürgen Marcussen. Marcussen & Søn has remained in the family for seven generations and the legacy of these amazing organs is in good hands.

Marcussen has made many notable restorations including the St. Bavokerk organ in Haarlem and the Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. You may notice that these organs mostly are historic organs and the reason for that is Marcussen is a historic company. At the company’s beginning, they specialized in the German baroque style of building organs but in the early 1900’s they began to produce more modern organs associated with Cavaillé-Coll (a notable French organ builder). This new trend did not last long, and soon Marcussen returned to building mechanical action organs. Marcussen specializes in the Northern-European style of organ building. This style employs low wind pressure and vertical principal choruses. The lower wind pressure creates a more breath-like quality which lends itself to the fugal style of the time. The Marcussen organs also began to emulate the old style of North German organs with two or more manuals, pedals, and many stops.

Despite the fact that I have played some amazing organs, I still believe Marcussen to be one of the best builders and that is in part due to the voicing of the pipes. The Marcussen I practice on every day has two manuals and is not a gigantic organ. However, the voicing of the organ is such that any combination of stops will produce a clear sound and even a singular principal on the great is full enough to sound clearly throughout the entire sanctuary. The simplicity and richness of a Marcussen organ make them some of the best in Europe and the world

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