The Current Organ

The Current Organ - The Melzer Organ

With the advancing completion of the Cathedral in the early years of the 20^th century, the question arose as to the acquisition of a "decent" organ for the "Basilica Major of Saint Vitus at Prague Castle ". In addition to the construction and equipment of the interior of the Cathedral, the Association for the Construction of the Basilica was entrusted with the acquisition of the new grand organ, under the general responsibility of the architect, Kamil Hilbert.

Until 1923, debate and discussion centered around a major conversion and extension of the Gartner Baroque organ located on the upper level of the re-sited choir loft by Wohlmut. More specifically, consideration was given to the use of the old organ pipes and other parts of the mechanism for the construction of the new instrument.

However, the situation was more complex, and the ideas and interests of the various interested parties were very different. Three areas were available for the new organ: the western choir loft, constructed by the architect Josef Mocker, the upper and lower levels of the Wohlmut choir loft and the space above the St. Wenceslas Chapel. There were three conflicting requirements. The first was a space to accommodate the organ, singers and musicians in one place. Secondly, the artistic ideas of various interested parties and thirdly, the differing ideas about the function of the instrument. The potential outcome was also influenced by the directors of the Association for the Completion of the Cathedral, that the work was to be done by a domestic firm, which also had to give an undertaking that all the parts used in the instrument were of domestic manufacture.

Naturally, large domestic organ manufacturers competed for the contract by offering ‘attractive prices’ and by lobbying through various associations related to politicians and organ ‘experts’ with the aim of gaining the contract. In an attempt to eliminate the competition, they did not hesitate to play the ‘Nationalist’ and ‘Jewish’ cards, which resonated strongly among some of the members of the Association for the Construction of the Cathedral.

In these circumstances, the architect Kamil Hilbert turned to the generally recognized pipe organ expert and virtuoso, Professor Bedřich A. Wiedermann, who, in 1928, had been entrusted by the Association with making recommendations about the disposition and arrangement of the new instrument. Already earlier in 1926, Hilbert had consulted with Wiedermann on a number of issues regarding the placement of the new organ and gradually a proposition had crystallized for a gigantic instrument to be installed in four different locations in the cathedral comprising a central console of five manuals and a total of 229 stops.

Wiedermann’s proposal was accepted by the organ authorities of the time who appreciated the modernity and the careful planning of the disposition of the instrument. In August, 1928, this proposal became the basis for the selection of an organ manufacturer. Although the instrument had been allocated quite a substantial amount of money, Hilbert suspected that this would be insufficient for such a large instrument and therefore asked Widermannn to prepare the specifications for a smaller organ with four manuals and 130 registers.

Several domestic companies were invited to submit tenders. The tenders were to include proposals for a large and a smaller instrument. The companies invited to tender included Emmanuel Š. Petr from Prague, Joseph Melzer of Kutna Hora and the brothers Rieger from Krnov. In the course of the selection process friction occurred between the members of the selection committee of the Association, fanned by the ‘Nationalist’ question and artistic rivalry. Rieger submitted the cheapest bid for both versions of the organ and also had by far the best testimonials and reviews. The majority of the selection committee was against the Rieger proposal for the reasons given above. They also attacked the suitability of the Wiedermann disposition for the organ including its appropriateness for concert and liturgical use. Further, they were prejudiced against the electro-mechanical action proposed and they were unhappy about contraventions to church rules in regard to music and liturgy etc. Hilbert, frustrated and exhausted and under time pressure, suggested the construction of a ‘provisional’ instrument with two manuals and 35 registers on the lower level of the Wohlmut choir loft, according to the disposition set out by Professor Wiedermann. Josef Melzer was chosen to build the instrument as there were no complaints about the firm’s lack of ‘Czechness’. The instrument was planned for completion by the end of June 1929. Professor Wiedermann, unhappy with the way matters were unfolding, withdrew from the project leaving it to be salvaged by the cathedral organist, Antonin Janda.

From the start, it was clear to Janda that such a small instrument was inadequate and so he pushed to increase the number of registers by five. Even so, it was pointed out that such a small organ, located under the low vault of the choir loft, would be in an acoustical shadow and fears grew that the project would end in disgrace. The directors of the Association no longer wanted anything further to do with the organ, as they claimed that they had fulfilled their obligations by ordering an instrument. Subsequently, the Cathedral Chapter, aware of the potential disgrace and following pressure from Janda, agreed to release extra funds to increase the number of manuals by one. It also allowed the console to be built in such a manner as to enable future extensions to the instrument. The original completion date of June 1929 was stretched to October 1930, when the part of the instrument ordered by Janda was completed. It took another year to complete the entire organ.

The current Melzer instrument has three manuals and a total of 58 registers. It stands on the lower level of the Wohlmut choir loft and the asymmetrical organ case indicates the space made available for future expansion of the instrument. Because the projected extensions to the pedal board never eventuated, the current disposition of the pedal board is unbalanced and even with the use of couplers, the pedal section lacks power. Moreover, the unsuitable location of the instrument under a low vault prevents the organ sound from adequately filling the great space of the basilica.

The appointment of the firm Melzer to build the organ proved to be an unfortunate decision. As early as 1938 the instrument had to be repaired after suffering serious breakdowns. The next scheduled repairs, planned for 1951, had to be postponed due to the negative impact of the monetary reforms. In the 1960’s the cooperative organ firm, Igra Praha, performed required repairs and these continued to be necessary every decade.

During the restoration of the instrument during the years 2000-2001, carried out by the organ building and reconstruction company Kánský-Brachtl , the full extent of poor workmanship, which did not reflect even the basic standard of craftsmanship of the period, as well as the unsatisfactory standard of materials used throughout the instrument, was made abundantly clear. Only through careful and demanding restoration work was this ‘provisional’ instrument able to fulfill its function as the main organ of the cathedral to the present day.