I have had the pleasure of playing concerts on the magnificent pipe organ in Rigas Doms (Riga Cathedral), Latvia, on several occasions. Though it's been a while since I last visited Riga, it is one of the organs (if not the) that has made the biggest impression on me, out of all the pipe organs I have played around the world.
Riga Cathedral from 1215-26 is the largest church in the baltic country Latvia. The organ in Riga Cathedral was build by the company E.F.Walcker & Sons in 1882-83 and was inaugurated on January 31th, 1884 (Franz Liszt composed a piece for the inauguration). The organ has 4 manuals and pedal, 116 voices, 124 stops, 144 ranks and 6718 pipes. 18 combinations and General Crescendo. At the time of its completion it was the largest organ (and indeed the largest and most advanced technical device) in the world! The cost of the instrument was 80,000 DEM - a most significant amount of money in 1883.
The organ was completely restored by the Dutch organ company "Flentrop" in 1981-83 and is now in perfect playing condition. When I was visiting in 93-94 two organ builders was responsible of keeping the instrument in good condition and tune, as their full time job! During my extended rehersals an organ builder was present at all times. He was sitting in a room inside the organ and could be contacted by pressing a small button next to the organ console.
The entire action is mechanical (tracker action) with "Barker" pneumatic levers on the 1st and 2nd manual to ease the otherwise enourmeous pressure. A picture of the console can be seen below:
However, what really stands out about this instrument is not its size, but the incredible beauty and quaility of the voices. Never, anywhere else, have I heard such beautiful flutes and strings. All the individual voices contain such warmth and expressiveness, yet without sacrifying clarity. The extremely high standard of quality is something that unfortunately seems to have been sacrficed in many later mammuth organs, where quantity seems to have been prioritized above quality. Not so in the 1883 Walcker organ in Riga Cathedral - and not only in regards to tonal quaility, back then the craftmanship was also of the very first class. Something I was able to see for myself, when I was given a tour inside the organ. The organ is huge: approx. 25 meters (82 feet) tall, 12.5 meters (41 feet) wide, and 10 meters (33 feet) deep. Inside there is web of stairways, ladders, platforms and bridges inbetween the pipes. The largest of the 6,718 pipes are actally more than 10 meters tall and 0.7 meters (2.3 feet) wide.
The picture of front of the organ below does not give the impression, but in the space between the Rückpositiv facade (the pipes closest to the camera) and the great (main) organ facade there is room for a symphony orchestra or a very large choir... The Walcker organ was build behind the original facade which was made by the organ builder Jacob Raab in 1601, but the facade was enlarged for the construction of the Walcker organ:
This is an organ that should be heard live. No recording can truly capture, but only hint at the magnificence of this instrument and the amazing acoustic quailities of the Riga Cathedral, something which is also of importance for the overall tonal quaility of the organ and the experience of the listener (and performer). I strongly recommend visiting Latvia and the great pipe organ in the Riga Cathedral.
When I visited in 1993 and 1994 some recordings was made of my concerts. The first concert in 1993 was broadcasted live on radio and televison and a recording of J.S. Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D-minor (BWV 565) can be downloaded here.
In 1994 I recorded a CD with my first Concerto for organ and orchestra and some of my organ works. The CD was called "The Infinite Second" - more info here
The Complete Stop List (Disposition) of the Organ in Riga Cathedral:
I. Hauptwerk
Principal 16'
Flauto major 16'
Viola di Gamba 16'
Octav 8'
Hohlflöte 8'
Viola di Gamba 8'
Doppelflöte 8'
Gemshorn 8'
Quintatön 8'
Bourdon 8'
Dulciana 8'
Quinte 5 1/3'
Octav 4'
Gemshorn 4'
Gamba 4'
Hohlflöte 4'
Rohrflöte 4'
Terz 3 1/5'
Quinte 2 2/3'
Octav 2'
Superoctav 1'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Cornet 5 fach 8'
Mixtur 6 fach 4'
Scharff 4 fach 1 1/3'
Contrafagott 16'
Tuba mirabilis 8'
Trompette harmonique 8'
Cor anglais 8'
Euphon 8'
Clairon 4'
Cornettino 2'
II. Brustwerk
Geigenprincipal 16'
Bourdon 16'
Principal 8'
Fugara 8'
Spitzflöte 8'
Rohrflöte 8'
Concertflöte 8'
Lieblich Gedeckt 8'
Viola di Alta 8'
Dolce 8'
Principal 4'
Fugara 4'
Salicet 4'
Flauto dolce 4'
Quinte 2 2/3'
Superoctav 2'
Waldflöte 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Cornet 5 fach 8'
Mixtur 5 fach 2 2/3'
Äolodicon 16'
Ophicleide 8'
Fagott & Oboe 8'
Oboe 4'
III. Oberwerk
Salicional 16'
Lieblich Gedeckt 16'
Geigenprincipal 8'
Viola d'amour 8'
Wienerflöte 8'
Gedeckt 8'
Salicional 8'
Harmonika 8'
Bourdon d'echo 8'
Bifra 8' + 4'
Geigenprincipal 4'
Spitzflöte 4'
Traversflöte 4'
Dolce 4'
Piccolo 2'
Mixtur 4 fach 2 2/3'
Vox humana 8'
Basson 8'
Clarinette 8'
IV. Schwellwerk
Quintatön 16'
Flötenprincipal 8'
Unda maris 8'
Melodica 8'
Flûte traversière 8'
Bourdon doux 8'
Äoline 8'
Voix céleste 8'
Viola tremolo 8'
Piffaro 8' + 2'
Flötenprincipal 4'
Gedecktflöte 4'
Vox angelica 4'
Salicet 2'
Harmonia ätheria 3 fach 2 2/3'
Trompete 8'
Physharmonika 8'
Pedal
Principalbaß 32'
Octavbaß 16'
Violonbaß 16'
Contraviolonbaß 16'
Subbaß 16'
Flötenbaß 16'
Gedecktbaß 16'
Quintbaß 10 2/3'
Octavbaß 8'
Hohlflötenbaß 8'
Gedecktbaß 8'
Violoncello 8'
Terzbaß 6 2/5'
Octavbaß 4'
Hohlflöte 4'
Octav 2'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Mixtur 5 fach 5 1/3'
Grand Bourdon 5 fach 32'
Bombardon 32'
Posaune 16'
Trompete 8'
Corno 4'
Schwellpedal
Violon 16'
Bourdon 16'
Dolceflöte 8'
Violon 8'
Viola 4'
Flautino 2'
Serpent 16'
Bassethorn 8'
Feel free to post your own comments about the organ in Riga Cathedral and this article. In order to do so you must first register a user name. It takes less than a minute: Click here to get started...
Riga Cathedral from 1215-26 is the largest church in the baltic country Latvia. The organ in Riga Cathedral was build by the company E.F.Walcker & Sons in 1882-83 and was inaugurated on January 31th, 1884 (Franz Liszt composed a piece for the inauguration). The organ has 4 manuals and pedal, 116 voices, 124 stops, 144 ranks and 6718 pipes. 18 combinations and General Crescendo. At the time of its completion it was the largest organ (and indeed the largest and most advanced technical device) in the world! The cost of the instrument was 80,000 DEM - a most significant amount of money in 1883.
The organ was completely restored by the Dutch organ company "Flentrop" in 1981-83 and is now in perfect playing condition. When I was visiting in 93-94 two organ builders was responsible of keeping the instrument in good condition and tune, as their full time job! During my extended rehersals an organ builder was present at all times. He was sitting in a room inside the organ and could be contacted by pressing a small button next to the organ console.
The entire action is mechanical (tracker action) with "Barker" pneumatic levers on the 1st and 2nd manual to ease the otherwise enourmeous pressure. A picture of the console can be seen below:
![riga-console.jpg](https://www.magle.dk/billeder/organ/riga-console.jpg)
However, what really stands out about this instrument is not its size, but the incredible beauty and quaility of the voices. Never, anywhere else, have I heard such beautiful flutes and strings. All the individual voices contain such warmth and expressiveness, yet without sacrifying clarity. The extremely high standard of quality is something that unfortunately seems to have been sacrficed in many later mammuth organs, where quantity seems to have been prioritized above quality. Not so in the 1883 Walcker organ in Riga Cathedral - and not only in regards to tonal quaility, back then the craftmanship was also of the very first class. Something I was able to see for myself, when I was given a tour inside the organ. The organ is huge: approx. 25 meters (82 feet) tall, 12.5 meters (41 feet) wide, and 10 meters (33 feet) deep. Inside there is web of stairways, ladders, platforms and bridges inbetween the pipes. The largest of the 6,718 pipes are actally more than 10 meters tall and 0.7 meters (2.3 feet) wide.
The picture of front of the organ below does not give the impression, but in the space between the Rückpositiv facade (the pipes closest to the camera) and the great (main) organ facade there is room for a symphony orchestra or a very large choir... The Walcker organ was build behind the original facade which was made by the organ builder Jacob Raab in 1601, but the facade was enlarged for the construction of the Walcker organ:
![riga-front.jpg](https://www.magle.dk/billeder/organ/riga-front.jpg)
This is an organ that should be heard live. No recording can truly capture, but only hint at the magnificence of this instrument and the amazing acoustic quailities of the Riga Cathedral, something which is also of importance for the overall tonal quaility of the organ and the experience of the listener (and performer). I strongly recommend visiting Latvia and the great pipe organ in the Riga Cathedral.
When I visited in 1993 and 1994 some recordings was made of my concerts. The first concert in 1993 was broadcasted live on radio and televison and a recording of J.S. Bach's Toccata & Fugue in D-minor (BWV 565) can be downloaded here.
In 1994 I recorded a CD with my first Concerto for organ and orchestra and some of my organ works. The CD was called "The Infinite Second" - more info here
The Complete Stop List (Disposition) of the Organ in Riga Cathedral:
I. Hauptwerk
Principal 16'
Flauto major 16'
Viola di Gamba 16'
Octav 8'
Hohlflöte 8'
Viola di Gamba 8'
Doppelflöte 8'
Gemshorn 8'
Quintatön 8'
Bourdon 8'
Dulciana 8'
Quinte 5 1/3'
Octav 4'
Gemshorn 4'
Gamba 4'
Hohlflöte 4'
Rohrflöte 4'
Terz 3 1/5'
Quinte 2 2/3'
Octav 2'
Superoctav 1'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Cornet 5 fach 8'
Mixtur 6 fach 4'
Scharff 4 fach 1 1/3'
Contrafagott 16'
Tuba mirabilis 8'
Trompette harmonique 8'
Cor anglais 8'
Euphon 8'
Clairon 4'
Cornettino 2'
II. Brustwerk
Geigenprincipal 16'
Bourdon 16'
Principal 8'
Fugara 8'
Spitzflöte 8'
Rohrflöte 8'
Concertflöte 8'
Lieblich Gedeckt 8'
Viola di Alta 8'
Dolce 8'
Principal 4'
Fugara 4'
Salicet 4'
Flauto dolce 4'
Quinte 2 2/3'
Superoctav 2'
Waldflöte 2'
Terz 1 3/5'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Cornet 5 fach 8'
Mixtur 5 fach 2 2/3'
Äolodicon 16'
Ophicleide 8'
Fagott & Oboe 8'
Oboe 4'
III. Oberwerk
Salicional 16'
Lieblich Gedeckt 16'
Geigenprincipal 8'
Viola d'amour 8'
Wienerflöte 8'
Gedeckt 8'
Salicional 8'
Harmonika 8'
Bourdon d'echo 8'
Bifra 8' + 4'
Geigenprincipal 4'
Spitzflöte 4'
Traversflöte 4'
Dolce 4'
Piccolo 2'
Mixtur 4 fach 2 2/3'
Vox humana 8'
Basson 8'
Clarinette 8'
IV. Schwellwerk
Quintatön 16'
Flötenprincipal 8'
Unda maris 8'
Melodica 8'
Flûte traversière 8'
Bourdon doux 8'
Äoline 8'
Voix céleste 8'
Viola tremolo 8'
Piffaro 8' + 2'
Flötenprincipal 4'
Gedecktflöte 4'
Vox angelica 4'
Salicet 2'
Harmonia ätheria 3 fach 2 2/3'
Trompete 8'
Physharmonika 8'
Pedal
Principalbaß 32'
Octavbaß 16'
Violonbaß 16'
Contraviolonbaß 16'
Subbaß 16'
Flötenbaß 16'
Gedecktbaß 16'
Quintbaß 10 2/3'
Octavbaß 8'
Hohlflötenbaß 8'
Gedecktbaß 8'
Violoncello 8'
Terzbaß 6 2/5'
Octavbaß 4'
Hohlflöte 4'
Octav 2'
Sexquialtera 2 fach
Mixtur 5 fach 5 1/3'
Grand Bourdon 5 fach 32'
Bombardon 32'
Posaune 16'
Trompete 8'
Corno 4'
Schwellpedal
Violon 16'
Bourdon 16'
Dolceflöte 8'
Violon 8'
Viola 4'
Flautino 2'
Serpent 16'
Bassethorn 8'
Feel free to post your own comments about the organ in Riga Cathedral and this article. In order to do so you must first register a user name. It takes less than a minute: Click here to get started...
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