22 February 2013, 9 September 2014

Since my parents moved to Alphen aan den Rijn (Alphen on Rhine) in 1961, the Saint Boniface Church was a central point in their lives – and later in ours. As religious Roman-Catholics we visited the church every week and my father fulfilled various functions. As a boy, several aspects of the atmosphere of this church impressed me very much and this had a big impact on my life.

Just as other parents encouraged their children to choose a sport, my parents did that with music. Both my parents and I hate sports. When I was in the fourth grade of primary school, I went to the Primary Musical Education at the regional music school. For two years I received lessons on the principles of music, including playing the typical Orff instruments. While most children received recorder lessons in addition to the second year of the Primary Music school, I had the opportunity to immediately choose an other instrument. That had something to do with talent or capacities.

I was not definitely a music lover, but I knew I did not want to have anything to do with popular music. I wonder, in particular since he died in 2008, how my father developed it, but he listened a lot to classical music. According to his brother Theo, this can be traced back to the fact that my father was totally immersed in the church and loved everything about music and liturgy. In one way or another I had three favorite instruments, without feeling a kind of fascination for them: accordion, trumpet and organ. My parents allowed me to decide on which instrument I would like to learn to play.

I decided for the organ. I remember 'dry playing' during the mass on the plank where one would normally leave the booklet. The organist Barend van Triest was a friend and sometimes I helped him with changing stops (although this must have been later). At home, we had several organ LPs: Feike Asma at the organ of the Oude Kerk in Amsterdam (yes, we also!), the organ concerts of Händel and Lionel Rogg playing Bach on the Metzler-organ of the Klosterkirche in Muri.

Probably also the impressions made by organs in churches we visited on holidays played a role. In particular I have a remarkable, early 'aha-erlebnis' if I hear an organ very soft and mystically via the audio installation of a church that is open for the public. The same holds for the mystical sound of the organ accompanying the Maastreechter Staar, a recording my father played back in the crammed, very dark Boniface church for the congregation awaiting the Christmas Night mass.

In the end, my fascination would go far beyond organ playing alone: my interest developed also to the instruments and their technique, and also to the buildings in which they are placed. I love to tell you about it!