Olavskirken på Avaldsnes

Address: Kong Augvaldsveg, 4262 Avaldsnes, Norway

The first organ in Olavskirken på Avaldsnes (Church of St Olav's) arrived in 1885, and was made by the Norwegian builder Jørgen Filtvedt. In 1929 this instrument was moved to Lygra kyrkje (Lygra Parish Church), north of Bergen, Hordaland. It was replaced by an organ made by E. F. Walcker & Co, Ludwigsburg, opus number 2292. It had 21 stops over two manuals and pedals, and when it was replaced by the new main organ in 1982 (pictured right), the pipes were kept in their original position in the attic above the nave. The console was also preserved in a local museum, but has now been moved into storage near the church.

In 1980, Marcussen & Søn (Aabenraa, Denmark) were commissioned to build two organs for the church. The main organ was paid for mainly by the local borough, whereas the congregation had to cover the cost of the choir organ. The main organ was first played at the morning service on Sunday 10th January 1982, and a concert was held 27 January which featured local musicians and choirs. The organ has mechanical stop and key action.

The choir organ was played for the first time on Christmas Eve 1982, and the inaugural concert took place on the 20th February 1983. In the original specification the organ did not have independent pedal stops. In 1996 Henrik Brinck-Hansen added the bottom octave of the pedal 16' Subbas. The Gedakt 8' forms the rest of the Subbas rank.