The organ originally comes from Cambron Abbey. In 1693 Matthieu Le Roy built the organ for the abbey church. The organ was enlarged in 1767 by Armand-Joseph Lion, who probably gave the case the monumental aspect. This sideboard was also modernized around 1780.
In 1783, Emperor Joseph II closed the abbey and the organ was sold to the church of Saint-Jacques-Sur-Coudenberg in Brussels. In December 1789, during the Brabant Revolution, the Sovereign Council of Hainaut restored the abbey, and the organ, which was barely rebuilt in Brussels, it was dismantled again. The French occupation finally put an end to the existence of the monastery in 1791. The organ, still not reassembled at the time, was hidden in several places.
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After the concordat of 1803, the collegiate church became a parish church. The congregation bought back the Cambron organ and had the instrument rebuilt by Eugène Ermel. The re-commissioning of the organ takes place on March 28, 1811.
In 1948 the organ was rebuilt again, this time by Maurice Delmotte, it took three years to fully restore. It now has 70 registers spread over 4 manual keyboards and a pedal for a total of more than 4,400 pipes. The transmissions combine mechanics, electricity, and computers. The contribution of modern technology to an age-old tradition gives the organist almost unlimited possibilities to play and makes it possible to play a large part of the repertoire from the 17th century up to the present day in the right sound. The collegiate church with its organ is listed as an exceptional heritage in Wallonia, Belgium.
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