The huge, 2,386-pipe organ at Maranatha Canadian Reformed Church may not be the oldest in Surrey, but it's certainly the largest.
When organist Aart Bijkerk plays the keys of the Casavant Freres Opus 501, the A-frame wood building on 92 Avenue reverberates with majestic sounds of an instrument built more than a century ago.
"We have a beautiful and historic pipe organ 113 years old this year, that we are privileged to care for and regularly use," said Renée van de Kamp, a caretaker of the organ along with husband Charlie.
Ahead of an Easter Pipe Organ concert there on April 12, the van de Kamps and Bijkerk welcomed a closer look at the instrument, which is actually two organs in one — a combination of a 1912 Casavant, purchased from the Central Presbyterian Church in Vancouver, and an organ built by Stanley Haddon for a church of New Westminster, circa 1961-1967.
The tonal alterations, rebuilding and installation were done in the mid-1970s by organ builder Kenneth A. Hodgson of White Rock, according to a post on maranatha-canrc.org.
"This building was built for this particular organ," Renée noted.
"It's the biggest church organ south of the Fraser River, measured by the number of pipes it has. We can't say it's the oldest in Surrey, but it is certainly one of the oldest in this area," Charlie added.
Maranatha's organ has more than 3,000 moving parts that need constant attention and tuning.
"It does need repair," Charlie said, "because it's more than 100 years old, but it's not been neglected, things just wear out, and that's an ongoing process. It's very specialized as well, so not everybody's able to work on it, but in the Lord's timing and in his hands, things have maintained. The Lord finds the way, absolutely."
The organ's largest pipes are made of wood, some 18 feet long, and the smallest are the size of a pencil.
Charlie and Renée are being trained to tune the organ.
“It’s the only musical instrument that you can climb around in, a pipe organ,” Charlie said. “I get up in the organ loft and climb around, while Renée stays at the organ console and plays the next note; we communicate with FRS radios.”
“Aart is teaching me how to discern which pipes need tuning, how, precisely, to tap the tuning wire. I need about eight more of his tutorials.”
Bijkerk will play the organ during the 90-minute Easter concert, 2:30 p.m. Saturday, April 12, featuring music by several composers and audience singing. Admission is by donation, for organ repair and maintenance. Maranatha Canadian Reformed Church is at 12300 92 Ave., Surrey.
"The idea for the concerts is to let people know it (the organ) is here and for people to hear it," said Renée. "For people who love organ music, sacred organ music, then please come. This organ needs to be heard and it needs to be played."
Back in October 1985, a 12-inch vinyl LP was recorded in the church by Dutch organist Jurriën Plender, with executive production by Surrey Organ Recital Committee. The back cover of the album says records and tapes could be ordered from the Surrey Organ Recital Committee, at an address on 55A Avenue, Surrey. Some copies of the LP remain in a box in the church, in among those 2,386 organ pipes.
