Luxembourg: Heiderscheid

The last stamp in the 2009 series, and presumably the last stamp in the fabulous series, features the organ in Saint-Pierre aux Liens in Heiderscheid. The modest-sized instrument (19 ranks) of two manuals and pedal was built by George Westenfelder in 1994. This stamp is B469 in the Scott catalogue.

Luxembourg: Nommern

Third in the set of four organ stamps from 2009 is the organ at the Church of the Virgin in Nommern. The church's original organ was a Stahlhuth instrument of 1910, which itself had begun life as an instrument for the Notre-Dame School. Most recently George Westenfelder worked on the instrument in 1999. It has two manuals and pedal. An image and the stoplist are here.

Luxembourg: Dudelange

The .70 Euro stamp in the 2009 tourism series featuring pipe organs is the organ of St. Martin's Church, Dudelange. The "Grand Orgue" was completed in 2001 by the Thomas Jann firm and has four manual divisions and pedal. It incorporates pipework from the church's earlier instrument by Stahlhuth, but reverses some mis-guided work on the 1960's and now encompasses 72 ranks of pipes. The impressive instrument, not surprisingly, is the focus of an international organ music festival each year. One may view the stoplist and image here.

I recently found this page which give some information about the organ (it's a CD sales site), and this page which describes concerts and other activities related to the instrument. I also found this image of the exterior of the church. The church appears by happenstance on a Luxembourg stamp issued in 1955 celebrating the completion of, of all things, a television antenna in the region. I'll load an image of that stamp soon.

Luxembourg: Philharmonie

In 2009 the Luxembourg post issued a fourth set of stamps in a series featuring pipe organs located in this small European nation. This set of four is much like the first three in many respects. Whereas the third set had blank selvage (paper bordering the stamp image) this set returns to using paper with musical notation on the selvage, as was the case with the first two sets.

The low-value in this set features the organ in the Philharmonie Hall, a Karl Schucke instrument completed in 2005. It is a massive instrument of four manuals and pedal, including a 32' stop in the Hauptwerk division. In addition to the stoplist, the hall has provided a few publicity shots of the instrument here.

Luxembourg Tourism Stamps (overview)

The tiny nation of Luxembourg embarked in 2006 on a series of tourism stamps featuring pipe organ found in that nation. The series included four sets of 4 stamps each, issued each year until 2009.

The pipe organ is indeed alive and well in this European nation, as revealed on the stamps featuring organ old and new. Many of the instruments have been worked upon by the Luxembourg firm of George Westenfelder. In addition to the stamps, the Luxembourg post has created two book-CD compilations. The sets include mint copies of the stamps, written details on the instruments, and recordings of music from each organ. The first of the two volumes includes the 2006, 2007 and 2008 series of stamps; the second is devoted to the last set issued in 2009. It's incredible that the postal service has taken such initiative to produce the fine written and recorded materials related to the stamps.

This set of stamps has been described and written about by a colleague of mine living in the UK, Mark Jameson. His writing on this series of stamps (from Luxembourg) appears in the 2010-3 issue of the Journal of The Organ Club. This club meets regularly throughout Great Britain (and occasionally abroad) to visit, learn about and hear pipe organs. Jameson's writings on pipe organ stamps spanned three issues of the Journal: the first two articles dealt with organ stamps issued by the British postal service, Liechtenstein, USSR/Russia, North America (US and Canada) and Nicaragua. The third article features the stamps of this one nation, Luxembourg. Jameson is to be commended for his painstaking research on his fine series of articles.

Luxembourg: Cathedral

The high-value stamp from 2008 features the cathedral in Luxembourg. The "classical" organ in the Cathedral is located in the rear gallery. George Westenfelder completed the most recent work on this organ in 1995. It has four manuals and pedal, the fourth manual being a battery of Spanish reed stops. This stamp is B464 in Scott's catalogue. Here are pictures and a stop list.

Luxembourg: Vianden

The third stamp in the 2008 series of tourism stamps features the Vianden organ. Once again a very old casework includes pipes from several eras. The most recent work was completed in 1993 by George Westenfelder. This stamp is B463 in the Scott catalogue. Photoes and a stoplist may be seen here.

Luxembourg: Mondorf-les-Bains

Second in the 2008 series is a stamp featuring the 1983 Oberlinger organ in Mondorf-les-Bains. The original organ endured many alterations over is 100+ year history, until it was decided to place a new organ in the old case. Several historic sets of pipes were retained. This site has several photos of the instrument, including some lovely close-ups of details of the casework, and a complete stop list.

Luxembourg: Junglinster

The Luxembourg postal service issed a third set of tourism sets featuring pipe organs in 2008. The low-value in the series features the organ at Junglinster. The casework dates from 1783; in 1887 Charles Wetzel moved the organ from its original location to Junglinster; further work was done in 1939. This stamp is B461 in the Scott catalogue. This site has a couple of photos of the organ and the stop-list.

Luxembourg: Grund

This is the high-value stamp in the 2006 tourism series featuring pipe organs. This organ was restored in 1979 by the Westenfelder firm. It would seem that the original instrument is 18th century, but I haven't found details yet. I would welcome any help!

Luxembourg: Mondercange

This is the third stamp in the 2006 series of tourism stamps featuring pipe organs. This instrument is in Mondercange. Built in 2004 by the Oberlinger firm one can view details about the instrument here. I would like to have the Scott catalogue number for this stamp, if anyone can share it.

Luxembourg: Bridel

This is the second stamp in the 2006 series of tourism stamps featuring pipe organs. It is another semi-postal, and features an organ from Bridel. I haven't found any other information on the instrument. Please let me know if you can provide a Scott catalogue number and/or details about the instrument.

Luxembourg: Conservatoire

This stamp is from the first set of tourism stamps featuring pipe organs issued by Luxembourg. This is also the low value in the set. All of the sets to date have been semi-postals, meaning part of the cost was used for special projects designated by the postal administration. (In the US the one and only semi-postal stamp issued by the USPS has been the breast cancer awareness stamp of 1998, the proceeds from which went toward breast cancer research.) I have not been able to find any details on this instrument. My friends at the Luxembourg Friends of the Organ site have two studio organs available, but not this instrument which is obviously larger and situated in a concert hall of some type. Please share any information, and a Scott catalogue number if you have such information.

Mark Jameson's 2010 article provdes the stoplist and the catalogue number (Scott B 451), which I have not been able to find anywhere else:

I. Positif
Glockenspiel
Quintaton 8
Holzgedackt 8
Prinzipal 4
Rohr Flute 4
Doublette 2
Sesquialter 1
Larigot 1 1/3
Cymbal IV
Rankett 16
Comorne 8
Tremulant

II. Grand Orgue
Gemshorn 16
Prinzipal 8
Gamba 8
Rohr Flote 8
Flute Harmonique 8
Prestant 4
Tierce 3 1/5
Quinte 2 2/3
Oktav 2
Cornet III-V
Mixture V-VII
Scharff IV
Fagott 16
Trompete 8
Chamade 8
Clarion 4
Tremulant

III. Expressive
Pommer 16
Geigenprincipal 8
Vox Coelestis II 8
Viola 4
Traversflote 4
Nazard 2 2/3
Octavin 1
Tierce 1 3/5
Octave 1
Fourniture VI
Trompette Harmonique 8
Hautbois 8
Vox humana 8
Clarion Harmonique 4
Tremulant

Pedale
Untersatz 32
Prinzipal 15
Subbass 16
Oktavbass 8
Gedackt 8
Choralbass 4
Hintersatz VI
Bombarder 16
Trompete 8
Clarion 4
Cornet 2
Tremulant

I/P, II/P, III/P, III/II, III/I, I/II

Luxembourg: St. Michel

Luxembourg issued this stamp (Scott #772) in 1987 to celebrate the millennium of the Church of St. Michael. It is part of a set of 2 stamps issued for that event. The other stamp features stained glass from the church. The organ was built in the French classical style by G. Westenfelder in 1971. Details in the Scott catalogue call this a "Baroque organ chest, 17th century." There are no details on the Luxenbourg Friends of the Organ site to help us know if the organ is contained in a very old case containing new works by Westenfelder, or if the whole instrument is new, built built in a 17th century style. If the latter then Scott errs slightly.

Luxembourg: Sandweiler

This is the second stamp in a set of four issued in 2007 by Luxembourg. I haven't found any information on the organ, so would welcome any help there. This is from the second set of organ stamps from Luxembourg, issued to promote tourism.

Luxembourg: Esch-Sur-Alzette

This is the last in a set of four stamps issued in 2007. Promoting tourism, this is the second set of stamps Luxembourg has issued featuring church organs. The "Friends of the Organ" association has a helpful site that includes details about many instruments in the country. The present instrument is in the church of St. Joseph in Esch-sur-Alzette. Here is the page for this instrument built in 1977 by G. Westenfelder.

I recently found this site that has more information on the four organs in this set. It includes nice details about each instrument. Very knowledgeable to be a stamp colelctors' site primarily!

Luxembourg: Neiderwiltz

This is the low-value stamp in a set of four issued in 2007, issued featuring church organs. I would welcome any help finding more about the instrument and or the builder.

Luxembourg: Echternach

The third in a set of four issued in 2007. Ostensibly issued to promote tourism, these charming instruments are an unusual "come-on" for the average tourist. This organ is found in the basilica in Echternach. It is opus 1010 of the Klais firm of Germany built in 1953. Here are some additional pictures and a stop list.