Lithuanian Historical Organs

Vilnius

Vilnius district/region
Church of St. Francis and St. Bernard (Bernardine)
Vilnius deanery, Vilnius archdiocese

Organ not survived. In 1765, master Nicolaus Jantzon built a new organ; the 1614 organ was dismantled, some parts used in the new organ.

Building of 1614 organ was funded by Jonas Karolis Chodkevičius (1560–1621) and / or Jeronimas Chodkevičius (1560–1617).

In 1737, organ repaired by master Józef Olszynski [1].

Hypothetically the authorship may be attributed to master Johann Koppelmann because of some similarities in organ stops. Koppelmann was an apprentice of Julius Anthoni Friese from Gdansk. The same pedal stop – free reed Cornett 2’ was specific for Merten Friese’s organ in Gdansk St. John’s church, Julius Anthoni Friese’s organ in Gdansk Holy Virgin Mary church and the organ in Vilnius Bernardine church; all three instruments had a stop Schallmej 4’ (Schalmeyen) in the Rückpositiv. Possibly a pedal stop Durflet 1’ in Vilnius Bernardine organ was incorrectly recorded in the archival document and probably corresponds to Burflet 1’ that was characteristic in the organs by Gdansk masters Friese. Whereas Burflet was a rarely used organ stop, likely the coincidence wasn’t accidental. [2]

Church interior panoramic views: before and after restoration of interior.

Information about 1614 organ in the archival chronicle of Vilnius Bernardine monastery: Chronologia erectionis et fundatiotis conventus et custodiae Vilnensis ADS: Franciscum ordinis minorum de de observantia ex varijs vetustissimis condicibus ac monumentis Patrum Nostrum diligenter collecta conscriptaque per A.R.P. Thomam Digon praedicatorem generalem Patrem provinciae ac ahronologum sub officio A.V.P. Stephani Romanowicz custodis ac gvardiani Vilnen: Anno Dni 1668 (Photocopy, f. 5, ap. 9, b. 9, t. 5, pp. 265–268).

[1] Chronologia erectionis et fundatiotis conventus et custodiae Vilnensis ADS…, p. 169.

[2] Other possible versions of Burflet stop notation: Pauflet, Paurfleuten, Bauer-Flöte, Bauerflöte, Burflöt, Puhrflöt, Paurpfeifen–Baß, Bauernpfeife.

• Stoplist