2020.04

Gilbert Huybens, The Organs of St Michael’s Church in Leuven
St Michael’s Church in Leuven has a long organ tradition. Records from the old church (1165–1781) mention organists and organ builders from 1585 onward, including Johannes Posselius, Jean-Baptiste Goynaut, and Adrien-Joseph Rochet. After the old church was demolished in 1781, the parish moved to the former Jesuit church in the Naamsestraat, where noted organist Matthias Vanden Gheyn was active.
Between 1795 and 1801 the church served as the Temple of Reason, and an organ was installed there in 1798. In 1804, with support from the city council, the church acquired the 1744/46 Le Picard organ (originally built for the abbey of Herkenrode). Rochet oversaw its transfer to Leuven. The instrument was likely rebuilt in the late 19th century, but was destroyed during a bombing raid in May 1944.
After the war, the Leuven firm Van de Loo built a new organ for the reconstructed church. In 2017 this instrument was sold to make way for a new “Contius” organ, inspired by the German builder Heinrich Contius (1708–1795) and constructed by Flentrop (Zaandam) and Joris Potvlieghe. Potvlieghe is currently completing the instrument.
Nearby, the Chapel of Our Lady of the Fevers (1705), now part of KADOC, also has an organ connection. In 1708 the German builder Christiaan Penceler was commissioned to construct an organ for the chapel; the recently rediscovered contract confirms his stay in Leuven from 1708 to 1717 and his work for several churches in the region.
Orgelkunst CD Release
This year’s 18th Orgelkunst CD features the complete organ works of Belgian composer André Laporte, celebrating his upcoming 90th birthday. The pieces were recorded by Bruges cathedral organist Ignace Michiels on the new Klais/Thomas organ in the Collégiale Ste-Waudru in Mons, with trumpet solos by Manu Mellaerts.

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