The Last Goršič Pipe Organ

In 1898, as his 66th and final project, Franc Goršič crafted an organ for the church of St. Lenart in Sveti Lenart nad Škofjo Loko. According to publication Cerkveni glasbenik (CG 1898, Nos. 7, 8, p. 62), the organ was commissioned and funded by a local man, Dr. Jernej Zupanc, a notary. It featured 9 voicing registers on manual and pedal, a pedal and octave coupler, as well as Forte and Tutti fixed combinations. Fran Ferjančič, the article’s author, noted that the organ was made on cones (cone chest). Since the organ was destroyed along with the church in 1944, it remained unclear until recently whether it was mechanically or pneumatically operated. A letter dated June 24, 1913, from Janez Borštnar, the parish administrator at Sveti Lenart nad Škofjo Loko, for Premrl’s Statistics of the Organs of the Ljubljana Diocese did not provide clarity either. However, a report by fr. Angelik Hribar published in the newspaper Slovenec (July 5, 1898, No. 149, p. 3) stated, “It is also a pity that this organ is not made according to the latest pneumatic system, but on cones”, confirming that the organ was mechanical. This contradicts the statement made in the article “Pipe Organs“ by Franc Goršič, published in 2020 in the publication Cerkveni glasbenik (CG 2020, No. 113, pp. 13-16).

The only pneumatic instrument made by Franc Goršič is the organ in the parish church of St. Egidius in Mokronog (Franc Goršič, Op. 65, 1898)

Organ disposition

The disposition of the Goršič organ from the church of Sveti Lenart nad Škofjo Loko can be seen from the contribution by Fran Ferjančič in the publication Cerkveni glasbenik (CG 1898, Nos. 7, 8, p. 62).

The organ operated mechanically with a slider windchest.