Sound Design of the New Pipe Organ for the Church in Šentvid pri Stični

We aimed for the new organ in Šentvid pri Stični to reflect the essence of late Romantic period organs, along with their various influences. To achieve this, in November 2021, Luka Posavec and Aleš Razpotnik visited the German town of Hoffenheim, where they partly documented the world-famous organ of the master Eberhard Friedrich Walcker (1794-1872) from 1846. Walcker’s organ is internationally recognised for its sound uniqueness and is considered one of the finest organs of the time. They inventoried four registers or about 200 pipes, which will be reproduced for the Šentvid pri Stični organ in the Močnik Organ Workshop.

The cultural legacy of the Walcker Organ Workshop has significantly influenced the contemporary perspective on organ building, shaping the landscape of organ construction today, including in Slovenia. In Slovenia, Walcker’s ideas were taken up, among others, by the organ builder Franc Goršič from Ljubljana (1836-1898).

The visit and study of Walcker’s organ in Hoffenheim was repeated in March 2022 by Luka Posavec and Aleš Razpotnik, accompanied by Tomaž Močnik and his colleagues.

In shaping the sound profile of the new instrument, we sought to build on and stylistically expand the sound design of the Šentvid old organ from 1912, crafted by the Mayer brothers’ organ workshop. The new sound frame is partly inspired by the masterpiece that our renowned organ builder Franc Goršič (1836-1898) installed in 1891 in the Ursuline Church in Ljubljana, and is considered to be his best work. Contributing significantly to the sound design of the new organ were Prof. Dr. h.c. Christoph Bossert and Jan Doležel from the University of Music Würzburg, as well as Prof. Martin Sturm from the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar.

From Vipava to Šentvid pri Stični

During the plannning phase of the new organ, a unique opportunity appeared. In the Vipava parish, after the installation of the new instrument (Op. 11, 2005), the Močnik Organ Workshop bought old pipes from 1892, which were made by Franc Goršič as his 57th work.

It turned out that we could incorporate a total of 14 registers or sound colours from the old Goršič organ from Vipava. Among these registers, ten were metal pipes of high quality, made before 1892 in the German organ workshop Gebrüder Link, and four registers were made of wood that Franc Goršič bought at his supplier in the Tuhinj valley.

As a tribute to the famous 19th-century German organ builder Eberhardu Friedrichu Walckerju (1794-1872), the new organ in Šentvid pri Stični will contain the five sound colours of the world-famous organ in Hoffenheim. We also shouldn’t forget the virtually untouched technical gem of Slovenian late Romanticism, the organ in the Ljubljana Cathedral from 1911, which is the largest and most important work of Ivan Milavec (1873-1915). From this organ, we will imitate the rare sound colour called Kvintaten or Quintatön, which was pioneered in our area by Ivan Milavec.

This way, the organ in Šentvid pri Stični will revive ideas about the aesthetics of sound that were present in the 19th century, both in our region and in the wider region.