Jasov

About the instrument

Abbey Church of St. John the Baptist

The original two-manual instrument was built in 1895 by the Rieger firm. It was rebuilt in 1942 by the Jozef Angster firm. This instrument is unique in its conception — both tonally and technically. Tonally it is a kind of synthesis of German and French Romantic sound. Since it was almost non-functional before the restoration (only an incomplete set of 5 stops was working), its tonal character was impossible to imagine. Despite the disparity between the stops of the original Rieger instrument and the enlarged Angster stops, the resulting colour of this instrument is absolutely unique.

Technically, placing the Manual II division with pneumatic action on the west gallery and a further division in the side oratory near the presbytery was an enormous challenge in the 1940s, when such solutions were exceptional. All the divisions (Manual III + pedal) are controlled from the three-manual electric console located down in the church. Originally a 90 m long cable ran from the console to the organ on the west gallery. Today this system has been replaced by Wi-Fi technology — in a manner that is, in turn, unique for our present day.

Heartfelt thanks are due to Abbot Ambróz Štrbák, who unequivocally insisted on the restoration, and thereby on the preservation of this musical and technical national cultural monument.