Šiluvos ir Seinų bazilikų vargonai: tiesos ir istorinių sąsajų paieškos

Abstract

The history of the organ of the Šiluva Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary is rather complicated. Neither the exact date of the creation nor masters of the organ have been precisely specified. Archival sources talk about it especially modestly and the composition of the present instrument does not in the least reflect the look of an initial creation. Researching the history of Lithuanian Baroque organ-building art, it was noticed that the facade of the Šiluva organ has no analogues in Lithuania. Its architectural design greatly differs from facades of the Vilnius late Baroque organ-building school most widespread in Lithuania. It is not known precisely where from this organ facade was moved to the Šiluva church around 1895. Several similar organ facades have survived in Latvia: Holy Trinity Church in Liepaja and St. Jacob Church in Riga; today the resemblance is also borne by the organ of the Basilica of Sejny. One of the most nearly situated analogues of the Šiluva organ is the facade of the organ of the Sejny Basilica. Both facades are unified by the lying behind them Romantic instruments of the work of the Kaunas master Jonas Garalevičius. However, having researched more thoroughly, the question arises whether the facade of the Sejny Basilica organ is a contemporaneous and authentic Baroque creation or an excellently produced and hidden neobaroque imitation. In the second half of the 19th – the beginning of the 20th centuries, organs were quite frequently replaced with new ones, leaving only an old and ornate facade and mounting a completely new instrument in the inside. The article thoroughly explores the question whether the facade of the organ of the Sejny Basilica is truly a repetition, what its prototype is and whether its author could be the master Jonas Garalevičius. The hypotheses about an initial appearance of the facade of the organ have been raised and related views of earlier published researchers have been analyzed.