G. Frescobaldi - Partita Sopra Passacagli (G. Kviklys at the organ in Šešuoliai)

Описание

The Organ in St. Joseph Church of Šešuoliai dates from the first half of the 18th century, attributable to the Vilnius organ school masters, although the builders' names remain unknown to this day. There are no archival mentions of the installing work of the organ, but there is evidence of organ restoration, the important ones occurring first sometime in the 19th century, then in 1914 (when repairing work was also done to the church overall), and 1983, when the organ underwent significant alterations. This last restoration, done by 'Litrestavratsia' organ shop (with the participation of the great organist Bernardas Vasiliauskas, who also tuned the organ), reconstructed the disposition of the registers (previously there was no record of their names) and the restorers were capable to reconstruct all the manuals using the old pipes (it turned out that the builders collected them from several 18th century intruments). Also, the original air distribution and the mechanics survive to this day.
While originally the organ had a short octave (with no semitones), later the chromatic scale was added; sometime in the early 20th century most probably, a pedal was added as well.
The organ is characterized by rare registers, such as the 4ft 'soft-sounding Jula' (the name given to the 'Spitzflote', most probably coming from the term 'Julaquinte' that has been used to designate a similar stop). Although such a register was common in the 18th century, with the coming of romanticism it has been replaced by the more common today 'soft flute'; however, the masters that undertook the repairing in the 19th century decided to leave this Baroque-specific register in place, rendering it today quite rare.
Other rare registers that the organ possesses are the 'star bells' and the somewhat more common 'acoustic drums'. The first has been usually used in the Eucharist prayers, while the latter is more prone to emphasize an uplifting mood during indulgences or celebrations.
The organ is modest in shape and decor, although on its both side-wings it has impressive carvings with acanthus leaves and seagrass motifs, with a bright blue eye in the middle. The acanthus rings and leaves also decorate the three pipe columns in the middle, while above its highest column there is a sun in the charcater of the Lithuanian folk art.

References:
Karolina Jutkaitė - Šešuolių Šv. Juozapo bažnyčios sakralinis paveldas: išsaugojimo aspektas
R. Gučas - Lietuvos vargonai (liner notes)
George Ashdown Audsley - Organ Stops and their Artistic Registration


Gediminas Kviklys (b. 1946, Vilnius) is one of the most famous Lithuanian musicians, a classical player and an organist, whose name and creative activity are inextricably linked to the promotion of European Baroque music.
Gediminas Kviklys graduated from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater (organ class of Leopold Digrio) and as a soloist has given more than 1,000 organ music concerts. The performer's repertoire is very wide - it includes opuses of both Baroque and Classicist epochs, as well as contemporary foreign and Lithuanian composers. The performer recorded the historical Sesuoliai organ of the 18th-19th centuries for the album "Lithuanian Organ".
He teaches at M.K.Čiurlionis Arts Gymnasium (since 1967) and the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater (since 1988). For ten years he has been the head of the Department of Organ and Harpsichord at the Lithuanian Academy of Arts.

LP transfer, Melodiya, C10 21111 003, 1984