Noordbroek, 1695-1809 [Hauptwerk]

The Dorpskerk of Noordbroek is a brick building in the Gothic style from the first half of 14th century. Arp Schnitger delivered an organ with two manuals and a pedal in 1695 or 1696. A portion of the pipes from the previous instrument were included in his new instrument. The pedal was placed behind the main organ case.

Albertus Antoni Hinsz made extensive repairs in 1752. Then, in 1768 he provided new windchests for the manual divisions with a chromatic bass octave. He added the Quintadena 16, Vox humana 8 and Dulciaan 8. He also expanded the organ case and changed the keyboards of the instrument to accommodate the added pipes and notes.

In 1809, Heinrich Hermann Freytag expanded the organ case further by adding pedal towers on both sides of the organ case and changing the pedal stop list. He provided new pedal chests and new bellows. At this same time, the organ was given new carvings by Mattheus Walles.

The organ is composed of 24 stops of north German flavor, six of them reed stops. The special character of the organ is enhanced by the enchanting acoustics of the church. Numerous CDs have been recorded on this instrument and it is certainly one of the most famous organs of the Groningen "organ garden".