Prague’s St. Vitus Cathedral, a 700-year-old landmark and the largest church in the Czech Republic, inaugurates a new pipe organ on Monday. The ceremony includes a blessing by Prague Archbishop Stanislav Pribyl as part of Mass, with music performed by the Czech Philharmonic. Reports say the programme features Antonín Dvořák’s “The Luzany Mass” and works by Georg Friedrich Handel, Camille Saint-Saëns and Joseph Haydn.
All accounts describe the organ as an added instrument for both religious services and concerts, giving the cathedral a new sound to accompany ongoing events. After the inauguration, the cathedral plans a series of eight concerts to present the instrument in the days ahead.
The organ was built by German organ maker Gerhard Grenzing, in El Papiol near Barcelona, Spain. According to one report, once construction is completed in Spain, the organ is disassembled and its components are transported for reassembly in Prague. Pribyl describes the organ as a “new voice” that communicates without words, emphasizing its role in worship and musical performance.
