In 1632, the regents of the Beguinage pay 25 guilders to the 'sanghsters tot vereeringhe'. This sum was probably intended for the construction of an instrument to accompany the 'sanghsters'. Apparently, in those days women could also become organists, as evidenced by the payment to 'Maritye Jans, orggel'. And the bellows, which blow air into the organ, are 'pulled' by Joanna Blosers. In those days, this was still done by hand or foot, by the so-called 'bellows puller'.

Many more followed after the first organ from 1632. The organs originally stood on the gallery. This high up in the church, however, they suffer a lot from the rising heat. As a result, the second-to-last organ gets into such bad shape that a new instrument has to be built in 2010. Fortunately, just at that time, senior citizens' home Sint Bernardus is being closed. This houses an organ by French organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll (1811-1899). This instrument was bought in 1879 by the 'Rooms Catholijk gesticht van Liefde Sint Bernardus', the predecessor of the retirement home. The Begijnhofkapel could take over the organ for a relatively soft price, partly because of the clause that the organ should never leave Amsterdam.

You would think that the Bernardus' small organ is just right for the Beguinage chapel, but people in the church often still find the sound too strong. The organist solves this by closing the shutters. However, climatic conditions are different with closed than with open shutters. The organ needs time to 'get into the right mood'. Therefore, two hours before Mass starts, the sexton is asked to close the organ's shutters. This allows the organist to accompany the congregation with peace of mind, without fear of the sound 'floating'.

Besides, the current organ would not have been far off. Curious how the organ escaped disaster? Listen to the podcast which also tells a bit more about the background of Cavallé-Coll organs.