The Nordström Brothers: Organ Builders from Småland
Sven Nordström was the elder of the two brothers. He was born in Bälaryd (Jönköping County, in the province of Småland in southern Sweden) on the 4th of February 1801. As a teenager, he spent some years as a musician in the local military regiment. In 1831 he married Helena Lidén and the couple moved to Norra Solberga, a small village in Nässjö municipality (Jönköping County). Sven’s promising military career was interrupted because of health problems. Having always been interested in pipe organs, he decided to start a career as an organ builder. He began as a self-taught organ builder and his very first instrument was completed in 1834 and sold in the same year to the Masonic Lodge in Jönköping, where the instrument is still playable today. It is uncertain with whom he refined his skills as an organ builder. In 1855, Sven moved with his wife and children to Flisby (Jönköping County), where he dedicated himself to the art of organ building. Between 1834 and 1882, Sven Nordström built around forty organs in Linköping and Växjö dioceses: St. Lawrence Church in Söderköping (1845), Västra Eneby (1851), Normlösa (1854) and Tingstad (1862) are among the most well preserved today.
Erik Nordström, 17 years younger than his elder brother Sven, was born on September 28th, 1818. He studied organ and helped his brother in his organ building workshop. In his later years, May 27th 1878, he moved to Flisby to work as an organ builder in his brother’s workshop. He was already sixty years old when he officially began his working together with Sven. The year after, the Nordström brothers moved their workshop to Eksjö (Jönköping County). Erik built around ten organs on his own between 1858 and 1893, among others the organs in Linderås (1866), Lekeryd (1888) and Näsby (1893). When Sven died on February 16th 1887, Erik continued the business on his own for several years. He died in Eksjö on January 26th 1907.
Sven Nordström’s organs are built according to the classical models in terms of disposition, pipe measures and sound character. Some of his larger organs, even if they have two manuals, do not have an independent pedal division but pull-down pedals. Some stops are still divided in bass (C-H) and treble (c-f3), according to the Swedish classical tradition. The quality of his instruments is very high, he used to build the pipes with the best materials and took care of the intonation which gave his organs a remarkable tonal beauty. The instruments built by Erik Nordström are technically well built, but still far from the sound quality of his brother’s work. Erik’s organs show a certain openness to the technical innovations that arrived in Sweden from Germany and France.
Sven Nordström’s masterpiece is the monumental organ at St. Lawrence Church in Söderköping (Östergötland County), built in 1845. It is a large organ with two manuals and an independent pedal division for a total of 23 stops. The façade was designed in 1844 by the Swedish architect Carl Gustaf Blom Carlsson (1799-1868), the author of many organ façades throughout the country. The internal layout of this instrument is very simple and spacious, with the wind-chests for the two manuals placed side by side on the same level behind the silent façade, with the Positive on the right and the Great on the left looking at the façade. The pedal wind-chest is placed at the bottom of the organ case.
The disposition is as follows:
1 Manual (Great) [C-f3]: Borduna 16 (bass/treble), Principal 8, Dubbel-Fleut 8, Fleut d’Amour 8, Octava 4, Fleut 4, Qvinta 2 2/3, Octava 2, Trompet 16 (from c), Trompet 8 (bass/treble)
2 Manual (Positive) [C-f3]: Cornu di Basetti 8, Gedacht 8, Fugara 8, Principal 4, Wallfleut 4, Octava 2, Trompet 8 (bass), Wox humana 8 (treble)
Pedal [C-c1]: Subbas 16, Principal 8, Octava 4, Basun 16
Couplers: II-I, I-P.
I visited this beautiful organ in the summer 2023 and recorded a piece that was composed the very same year this lovely instrument was completed. Franz Berwald (1796-1868) was a Swedish composer, mainly remembered today for his orchestral works. He composed a large piece for organ 4-hands with the title A Rustic Wedding, which was quite popular at the time according to the many concert programs reported in the newspapers. I arranged it for solo organ a week before my visit to the organ in Söderköping. This symphonic poem for organ begins with a short Introduction, where powerful octaves (Gt: Borduna 16, Principal 8, Dubbel-Fleut 8, Octava 4, Qvinta 3, Octava 2, Trompet 16, Trompet 8; full pedal with I-P) are alternated to more lyrical passages (Pos: Gedacht 8, Fugara 8). A march follows, with the same sound levels as the Introduction with the addition of the 16-foot stops on the Great. The next movement is a contemplative Hymn with the flutes (Gt-solo: Dubbel-Fleut 8; Pos: Gedacht 8; Ped: Subbas 16), followed by the popular hymn Now thank we all our God, played with a fortissimo combination (Gt: Principal 8, Dubbel-Fleut 8, Octava 4, Octava 2, Trompet 8; full pedal with I-P). A lovely pastorale in A major shows the very expressive Vox humana (Pos: Gedacht 8, Vox Humana 8; Great: Fleut d’Amour 8; Ped: Subbas 16), before moving on to a dance movement (Gt: Principal 8, Dubbel-Fleut 8, Octava 4, Qvinta 3, Octava 2, Trompet 8; Pos: Gedacht 8, Wallfleut 4; full pedal with I-P) where it appears the only fugato episode in the composition. The last pages include a popular song played twice, first piano (Pos: Cornu di Basetti 8, Fugara 8, Gedacht 8) and then fortissimo (Gt: Principal 8, Dubbel-Fleut 8, Octava 4, Qvinta 3, Octava 2, Trompet 8; full pedal with I-P), leading to a short bridge (Pos: Gedacht 8, Wallfleut 4) followed by a reprise of the march. My solo organ arrangement includes these registrations and it is available upon request. Here you can listen to the recording:
A later organ which deserves to be mentioned is the organ built in 1854 for Normlösa Church (Östergötland County). It has a single keyboard with pull-down pedals and the façade is made of silent pipes. The disposition is the following:
Manual (Great) [C-f3]: Borduna 16 (bass/treble), Principal 8, Fugara 8, Fleut d’Amour 8, Octava 4, Flöjt 4, Qvinta 2 2/3, Octava 2, Basun 16 (bass), Trumpet 16 (treble), Trumpet 8 (bass/treble)
Pedal [C-h]: pull-downs.
The reeds have a remarkable powerful and round sound, documented in a short improvisation with Principal 8, Fleut d’Amour 8, Octava 4, Qvinta 3, Basun 16 (bass), Trumpet 16 (treble), Trumpet 8 (bass/treble).
The organs at Nykil (Östergötland County) and Kuddby (Östergötland County) are among the best preserved of the two different collaboration periods of the two brothers. The organ at Nykil Church was built in 1862, when Erik was an apprentice at his brother’s workshop. It is a two-manual organ with pull-down pedals, tracker action and manual ventils as in the 18th century Swedish tradition. The organ at Kuddby Church was built in 1882, when Erik was in business with Sven in the new Eksjö workshop. I visited this instrument in August 2021 and recorded some music by 19th century German composers; the recording is available on my YouTube channel.
The organ in Kuddby is built in a more “continental” way, with very few divided stops, detached console and independent pedal division, with some similarities with French and German organs of the same period. It has two manuals, pedals and tracker action. The disposition is as follows:
1 Manual (Great) [C-f3]: Borduna 16, Principal 8, Borduna 8, Gamba 8, Octava 4, Qvinta 3, Octava 2, Trumpet 8 (bass/treble)
2 Manual (Positive) [C-f3]: Borduna 8, Violin 8, Principal 4, Fleut octaviand 4, Fagott 8 (bass), Oboé 8 (treble)
Pedal [C-c1]: Subbas 16, Principal 8, Octava 4, Basun 16
Couplers: II-I, I-P, I-I 4.
The work of the Nordström brothers represents an important chapter in the history of Swedish organ building between Classicism and Romanticism. They worked in a smaller and local scale, but the surviving instruments are a precious witness of their craftsmanship.
