The Organ in the Marjan Kozina Hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic
(Presentation of the new organ on its installation in 2002)
The idea of installing an organ in the Great Hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic dates back well into past decades. For the last decade, Dr Mirko Cuderman, conductor and choirmaster of the Slovenian Chamber Choir (today the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir; ed. note) has been a particularly ardent advocate of this project. On the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the founding of the predecessor of the Slovenian Philharmonic, Academia Philharmonicorum Labacensium, the management of the Slovenian Philharmonic accepted the challenge and realised this demanding idea.
An agreement on the production and installation of the organ was concluded with the contractor, the Diocesan Organ Workshop of Maribor, in December 1999. The initial expert basis for planning and purchasing the new organ was prepared by Dr Edo Škulj, an organ lecturer at the Ljubljana Academy of Music. Organists Maks Strmčnik, Tone Potočnik and Dalibor Miklavčič and organ tuner Tomaž Močnik also contributed their expert opinions. The exterior design of the organ cabinet is the joint work of architects Jurij Princes and Štefan Kacin from Bureau 71 in Ljubljana and Brane Košir from the Diocesan Organ Workshop of Maribor.
The arrangement of the organ is fully adapted to the spatial possibilities of the previous stage, which was very limited in depth and had a floor plan that was neither symmetrical nor rectangular.
The passage behind the organ, which is not visible from the hall, was also retained. All of this caused a number of problems in the design and planning of the organ. Due to the lack of space, the passages between the ranks of pipes are narrow (we jokingly say that the organ is for a slimmer organ maker) and the space beside the organ is used very efficiently.
Two large bellows, together with an electric fan, are located in a special space above the passage on the right side of the organ. These are the “lungs of the organ” from which air is supplied to a total of 2,614 different pipes, which make up 40 sounding registers. The largest pipes in the organ measure almost six meters in length, while the smallest are just a few millimetres long. The volume of the largest pipe is over 450 litres. The registers, which are groups of pipes of the same type and timbre, consist of four different ranks (units) connected by three manuals and a pedal on the console. A total of 39 registers were ordered, and the 40th register was donated by the Organ Workshop to mark the Slovenian Philharmonic’s jubilee. The console is built into the base of the central organ cabinet. The idea of constructing an additional portable console was abandoned due to the lack of space.
The organ pipes in the front panel of the organ show how the registers in the cabinets are arranged and located.
Directly above the console are the registers of manual III, the so-called continuo manual, which is especially suitable and necessary for the performance of Baroque vocal-instrumental compositions. Immediately behind them at the same height are the registers of manual I, the main manual. The fourteen registers of manual II are on the level above the main rank, “closed” in a special solidly constructed double-walled cabinet. This cabinet has shutters at the front that allow the organist to change the volume while playing. The pedal registers are divided into two parts (the C and the C-sharp side) and placed on both sides of the organ cabinet. According to its disposition (the selection of registers), the organ in the Great Hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic is a universal organ, which means that it enables the performance of compositions of various musical styles from the Baroque to the present day. The connections between the keys on the console and the pipes are mechanical, so we say that the organ has mechanical traction. Only with sensitive mechanical traction, which is standard today, can an organist influence the notes produced in the pipes. The registration traction is electrical, with the possibility of storing numerous combinations electronically, which is of great practical importance, especially at concerts.
After the organs in the nearby Franciscan Church and the chapel of the St Stanislav Institute in Ljubljana, the organ in the Great Hall of the Slovenian Philharmonic, known as Opus 61, is the third largest instrument created by the Diocesan Organ Workshop of Hoče, near Maribor. Planning, installing and tuning a hall organ is a particularly demanding task. With the new hall organ in the Slovenian Philharmonic, Ljubljana gains the rounded image of a genuine organ city. The organ is a symbol and one of the essential distinguishing characteristics of European civilisation and culture. The Academia Philharmonicorum Labacensium also chose the organ as a symbol. As we learn from the rules of the Academia, the purpose of the Ljubljana Philharmonic was “not merely to entertain ourselves in a dignified way from time to time with harmonious playing, but also to piously call to mind the eternal heavenly one: that is why the symbol of the Academia is the organ of the virgin St Cecilia, whose pipes spread pleasant harmony throughout the Earth, raising everyone to the heavens with the motto: GIVE REST, AND SHOW THE SPIRIT IMMORTALITY”. May the new organ, which stands mightily before us today, serve this noble vision.
Brane Košir
Diocesan Organ Workshop Maribor
Workshop Director
Disposition of the organ:
Manual I – main rank (C–g3)
- Principal 16´
2. Principal 8´
3. Double flute 8´
4. Octave 4´
5. Conical flute 4´
6. Quint 2 2/3´
7. Super octave 2´
8. Tierce 1 1/3´
9. Mixture V 1 1/3´
10. Trumpet 8´
Tremolo
Manual II – rank in shutters (C–g3)
- Sweet bourdon 16´
12. Principal 8´
13. Hollow flute 8´
14. Gamba 8´
15. Vox celeste 8´
16. Fugara 4´
17. Harmonic flute 4´
18. Nasard 2 2/3´
19. Horn 2´
20. Tierce 1 3/5´
21. Mixture IV – V 2´
22. Bassoon 16´
23. Oboe 8´
24. Harmonic clarion 4´
Tremolo
Manual II – positive (C–g3)
- Copula 8´
26. Quintadena 8´
27. Principal 4´
28. Pipe flute 4´
29. Octave 2´
30. Mixture III 1´
31. Vox humana 8´
Tremolo
Pedal (C–f1)
- Subbass 32´
33. Principalbass 16´
34. Subbass 16´
35. Octavebass 8´
36. Cello 8´
37. Choralbass 4´
38. Mixture IV 2 2/3´
39. Bombarde 16´
40. Trombone 8´
Mechanical Traction
Electrical register traction with electronic adjuster (3,072 settings) and sequencer
Crescendo with programming option: A, B
Mechanical Connections:
II – I
III – I
III – II
I – P
II – P
III – P