The Organ of the Augustinian Church in Vilnius
Acta Academiae Artium Vilnensis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37522/aaav.114.2024.251Keywords:
Vilnius Augustinian church, Vilnius Cathedral, Naujasis Daugėliškis church, Vilnius organ building school, Mikalojus Jantzonas, Joana Kotryna JantzonaitėAbstract
The article aims to resolve the authorship puzzle surrounding the organ of the Augustinian church in Vilnius from the late 18th century. During the mid-19th century, this organ underwent a transfer to Vilnius Cathedral, accompanied by a reconstruction. Later in the 19th century, the components of the instrument – namely, the organ pipes and bellows – found their way to the parish church in Naujasis Daugėliškis, while the original organ case remained at the Cathedral. Subsequent reconstructions of both the instrument and its case left the initial concept of the organ shrouded in mystery until the discovery of the archival description dating back to 1808. Building upon this historical account and the recent findings of Dr. Girėnas Povilionis, the article posits that the Augustinian church organ in Vilnius was crafted by Nicolaus Jantzon, the eminent figure in the Late Baroque Vilnius organ building school. Furthermore, by considering the prevailing local organ building traditions of the time, the article identifies distinctive features of the aforementioned instrument.
