As part of the international project “Digitalisation, Networking, and Mediation in the Teaching of International Organ Art” – DVVLIO (Digitalisierung, Vernetzung und Vermittlung in der Lehre der Internationalen Orgelkunst), led by Prof. Dr. Christoph Bossert, an educational video on the historic organ in Lepoglava, Croatia, has been published in the Digital Learning Library – DLB (Digitalen Lehrbibliothek). Organistica was involved in the organisation of the video recording.
The organ in the Church of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in Lepoglava, dates back to 1649 and is one of the oldest surviving working mechanical organs in the world. Unfortunately, there is no reliable information about its builder, as the monastery archives and the rich library were dispersed after the abolition of the Pauline Order in 1786. These materials are now located in Vienna, Budapest, Varaždin, and Zagreb.
Photo: Pavao Mašić
The unknown organ builder
So far, no one in Croatia has yet found an unambiguous record of the builder of the organ in Lepoglava. However, a comparison with instruments from the middle of the 17th century in the Central European cultural area shows that the organ in Lepoglava is visually quite similar to the organ constructed by Johann Georg Freundt of Passau in 1642, located in the Augustinian monastery church in Klosterneuburg near Vienna. The most noticeable similarities include the flat design of both facades – the front one facing the altar and the back one facing the chancel – as well as the design of the volute beneath the upper, wider section of the case and the artistic elements at the very top of the case. But there are also important differences, and there are not enough clear technical analogies to conclusively support the thesis that the builder of the organ in Lepoglava was indeed J. G. Freundt.
On the other hand, the Bavarian organologist Otmar Heinz in his work “Early Baroque Organs in Steiermark” (Frühbarock Orgeln in der Steiermark) states that the builder of the organ in Lepoglava was Sebald Manderscheidt. Additionally, in an article published in the Freiburger Geschichtsblatter in 2015, Heinz also listed newly discovered works by the master, among which the town of Lepoglava is mentioned.
The most reliable and oldest piece of information about the organ in Lepoglava is the Latin inscription on the organ itself, on the back of the case, which faces the choir stalls on the gallery. It reads: ‘ORATE FRATRES PRO PATRE PAVLO IVANOVICH VICAR QVI HOC OPUS CVRAVIT AD MDCXLIX’. This inscription expresses gratitude to father Pavel Ivanovič (who was a vicar) for the commission to build the new monastery organ in 1649.
Photo: Pavao Mašić
About the educational video
This educational video about the historic organ in Lepoglava, Croatia, outlines the historical circumstances and key milestones related to the repairs and reconstructions of the instrument from the time of its construction to the present day. The organ registers are presented in detail. Additionally, to showcase the sound of this revered historical instrument, the video also includes performances of several musical pieces from the organ literature.