Orgelbau Vleugels is a pipe organ company producing organs in modern design and restoring historic instruments. The workshop is located in Hardheim, Germany. The owner is master pipe organ builder Hans-Georg Vleugels. Organ building in Hardheim, Germany has an over 150 year history.
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Pipe organ manufacturing in Hardheim has existed since 1855, when organ-builder Ignaz Dörr startet his own workshop. In 1958 Orgelbaumeister Hans Theodor Vleugels (born 1931) took over Maximilian Bader's workshop and two years later his brother's Wilhelm Bader. From 1960 to 1966 Paul Mund and Hans Theodor Vleugels led the company together. In 1967 Hans Theodor Vleugels founded the Orgelbau-Vleugels GmbH. In 1991 Hans-Georg Vleugels (born 1958) took over the company chair and currently runs the company together with his son Johannes D.C. Vleugels (born 1983) in the second and third generation. Today there are three generations of master pipe organ builders in the Vleugels family working together.
Initially, the majority of Hans Theodor Vleugels Organs were produced for the Southern German and Swedish markets. In addition to the production of instruments in accordance with classical principals, organ building in Hardheim stepped into new territories and established new accents in the field of organ building. Milestones include organs with electric action, the organ from Cologne-Gremberg, which set on a concrete mushroom shaped pedestal; a new smaller console (i.e. in Sinsheim III/36); and stops set on the side of the console which can be moved around (i.e. in Stuttgart-Möhringen III/37). Another highlight was the restoration of a decaying, but priceless baroque organ case (Walldürn, Basilika III/40). The voicing of the organ in Stuttgart-Giebel III/35 sounds so beautiful that a reed pipe manufacturer produces a record advertising its wonderful sound. The positioning of a free-hanging organ in a steel frame, the use of Plexiglas for a swell box (expansion chamber), roller boards, and a transparent console were only a few of the features that often caused surprised and sometimes shocked reactions.
In the 1970s the company returned to the use of solid local woods and thus greatly reduced the use of tropical woods and laminates. The use of electric actions was also reduced. In Assamstadt (III/28), the artistic side of the company was further developed with creative pipe placement and paintings.
The 1980s followed with a specialization in the restoration sector. Ever since the end of the 1970s, restoring valve chest organs and pneumatic actions had become fashionable again. In the fight against timber worm and other natural enemies more environmental friendly and material safe techniques, such as gassing, were being used. Also in the 1980s, the company concentrated in voicing in the Southern German baroque style. This characteristic of the instruments was enhanced by restoring old baroque organ pipes. However, organs with a strong romantic sound where also inherited. Thus the symphonic organ was blessed with the Hardheim-signature sound of the German romantic period.
In 1988 the company moved to a new large, open and modern workshop and prepared to change leadership. Positive developments under master organ builder Hans-Georg Vleugels (born in Stuttgart 1958) shaped organ building in Hardheim in the 1990s and into the 21st century:
The company currently operates out of a contemporary workshop and uses optimized work-processes consisting of modern machines and CAD. Employees in the design and construction departments produce designs with the latest 3D-software. Three voicers with the special talent of producing magnificent sound have mastered the art of "Vleugels-voicing". Each voicer has also gained proficiency in their own special areas. Their sound matches the highest musical and artistic standards. The highly sensitive and constantly refined actions are intoned by specialists as well. They developed a method to adjust the required key pressure - in order to be personally suited for the individual playing style of the organist. Nearly all action is produced without the disturbing felt pieces; instead, the company relies on the use of wood. Special construction techniques allows for quick disassembly in order to save expenses later on.
The opus list, startet in 1958, includes more than 400 instruments. These are new instruments as well as extensive restorations: