Psalm 119

Listening to uploads of Dutch organists on Contrebombarde, especially those of psalm preludes, the impression could arise, that Dutch organ playing was and is very much influenced by the romantic style of organists like Jan Zwart and Feike Asma, van Tilburg etc.

They certainly still have a big influence , especially among amateur-organists and the more conservative Dutch Christian population. There even are contemporary composers writing in that romantic idiom.

In professional circles there has been a different development. Those who studied the organ at the Dutch conservatoria, populated by the best Dutch organ teachers, mostly developed a different kind of style, more along the lines of the contemporary German composers like Micheelsen, Distler and Pepping and French composers Tournemire, Langlais and Durufle.

In the seventies bundles were published with preludes to the new Liedboek 1973, composed by leading contemporary Dutch composers. I intend to do a small series on preludes and harmonizations of the psalms.

Yme G. Visser (1911-1994)
was a pupil of George Stam, organist of the main church in Leeuwarden, housing one of the finest Muller organs in the Netherlands.

Yme was an organist and choirman “pur sang”. He was for 62 years the organist of the Martinikerk in Franeker.
He had many pupils, some of which became leading musicians.
I could not find a Photo of Yme.

George Stam later on became the director of the Rotterdam conservatory and organist of the Laurenskerk in Rotterdam.