Even though this restoration project was performed years ago, I would like to dedicate this article to Gaston & Lucienne Arel, who were greatly responsible for the installation of this fantastic Beckerath organ. I had the chance to visit them at their house right before the pandemic lockdown. Gaston Arel died December 28, 2021, and this article is written in his memory.
Having tuned and maintained the organ for about ten years, we had a good idea of what was needed to get the organ back into first class condition. There were a number of dead notes, and the organ would not stay in tune. The organ had survived remarkably well, having very little work done to it since 1928 when it was installed as Skinner Organ Company Opus 736.
The Netherlands Carillon monument, located in Arlington, Virginia, next to the Arlington National Cemetery and Iwo Jima Memorial, was a gift from the Netherlands to the United States in gratitude for their liberation during World War II and Marshall Plan aid. A Dutch press officer, Govert Verheul, had dreamed up the idea of giving the United States a carillon at a time when the administration was searching for an appropriate present for their generous benefactor.
