The classical organ is the largest, most technically complex and sonically richest instrument with keys. The organ as a whole can be viewed from several different perspectives, such as musical-phonic, architectural-artistic, spatial-acoustic and structural-technological, none of which should be neglected when designing and making a new instrument. This paper will provide an overview of the conception and construction of a new classical organ for the Cathedral of St. Jakov in Šibenik, starting with a historical overview of the organ in the cathedral. After that, an analysis of instruments of similar size and purpose in the Republic of Croatia and beyond will be made, in order to get a clearer picture of the size of instruments built for similar spaces. This will be followed by the selection of the number and type of registers, that is, the selection of the disposition in accordance with the performed analysis as well as the desire to preserve the historical heritage stored in the currently built cathedral organ. An analysis of the dimensions, i.e. the scale, of the pipes of the basic registers of the classical organ will be made, on the basis of which the tubes, the air supply system, and the bearing structure of the tubes will be dimensioned later. The paper will present a visual representation of the conceptual solution for the placement of all subsystems necessary for the harmonious functioning of the entire instrument, as well as the spatial arrangement of the components in the cathedral itself. A technical specification of the organ will be prepared for the chosen arrangement and scales of the pipe, and a computer 3D model will be created. For the selected arrangement of the organ, the scales of the pipes of individual registers will be tabulated, as well as a visual representation of the type of pipes used to achieve the desired acoustic image of the new organ.
Benjamin Horvat
2022
Master thesis
