First organist of the Fokker organ, Ere Lievonen, presents this morning the musical outcome of a multi-year research project by the Huygens-Fokker Foundation aimed at performing romantic organ repertoire in meantone temperament. Romantic music is typically characterised by complex harmonic structures and frequent modulations. In meantone temperament, however, it is not possible to modulate freely through all keys. Gradually, it has become increasingly recognised that the 31-tone system, in which this tuning is embedded, provides a solution to this problem. Nevertheless, the Fokker organ remains the only instrument in the world on which, for example, romantic music can be performed realistically in this tuning.
Using subtle digital organ stops via Hauptwerk, tuned in the 31-tone system, a large hybrid organ is created, capable of convincingly simulating the romantic organ, which in large churches could have thirty to sixty stops. The four-part speaker system, installed a few years ago just above the pipes of the Fokker organ, creates the illusion that the added sounds emanate from the acoustic organ itself, producing the impression of a full-scale instrument.
The fascinating idea of bringing romantic organ music to life in meantone temperament has long been a cherished ambition of the Huygens-Fokker Foundation, since Christiaan Huygens (the inventor of, among other things, the 31-tone tuning) envisioned in 1691 a form of future music in which modulation through all keys would indeed be possible in meantone temperament. It is the noble task of the versatile Ere Lievonen to realise this vision in sound. The programme features works by renowned nineteenth-century composers such as Anton Bruckner, Richard Wagner, and César Franck.