Dome Pipe Organ (), the second largest
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...
in
Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...
, is located in
Riga Cathedral
Riga Cathedral (; ) formally The Cathedral Church of Saint Mary, is the Evangelical Lutheran cathedral in Riga, Latvia. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Riga.
The cathedral is one of the most recognizable landmarks in Latvia, and is featur ...
. The largest mechanical pipe organ in Latvia is located in
Liepāja Holy Trinity Cathedral
Liepāja () (formerly: Libau) is a state city in western Latvia
Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Li ...
.
History
The first known Riga Cathedral organ was the largest in the world, but was lost in 1547 during a fire. In the 16th century, the Cathedral Church built a new organ, which sounded for 280 years. Jacob Raab made out of the damaged organ's remains a prospect in
mannerism
Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
style with some baroque elements complemented later by other masters. Today the vocal organ is more than a century old; it was built by the German firm
E.F. Walcker & Sons in
Ludwigsburg
Ludwigsburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ludisburg'') is a Cities of Germany, city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg (district), Lu ...
in 1882-83 and was inaugurated on January 31, 1884. In 1983 the organ was reconstructed by
Flentrop Orgelbouw of
Zaandam
Zaandam () is a city in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland, Netherlands. It is the main city of the municipality of Zaanstad and received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1811. It is located on the river Zaan ...
, Netherlands, retaining its distinctive sound and look. During reconstruction, the organ was completely dismantled and then reassembled, the second console restored, and later were added three stops.
Specification
The instrument is playable from two consoles. Its main console is located at the upper gallery and has 4 manuals and a pedal. The second console is on the lower gallery and it duplicates the fourth manual of the main console. The organ has 124 stops, which sound from 6,718 pipes arranged on 26 wind chests. The longest pipe is about 10 metres long, the shortest one is only 13 mm. Pipe diameters are from 50 cm to 4 mm. The materials used in the pipes include pine, fir, maple, oak, beech, and pear and different metal alloys. There are 116 voices, 144 ranks; 18 combinations and General
Crescendo
In music, the dynamics of a piece are the variation in loudness between notes or phrases. Dynamics are indicated by specific musical notation, often in some detail. However, dynamics markings require interpretation by the performer depending ...
.
[Magle, Frederik. "The Walcker Organ in Riga Cathedral". http://www.magle.dk/music-forums/801-walcker-organ-riga-cathedral.html. Retrieved on 2007-07-11]
* ''
Couplers:'' II/I, III/I, IV/I, III/II, IV/II, I/P, II/P, III/P, IV/P, I–IV/P, P/I ''(„noli me tangere“)''.
References
{{reflist
External links
YouTube - Riga 'Dome' Cathedral, Organ Recital
Latvian musical instruments
Individual pipe organs