Rabštejn nad Střelou, 1793 [Hauptwerk]

Rabštejn nad Střelou Organ Model (1793)

The instrument built in 1793 by Antonín Reis (1741-1815) in the church of Rabštejn nad Střelou bears all the typical characteristics of the Czech traditional organ building. According to the view of prominent experts, this is one of very few Czech historical organs where the voicing of the Principals was never altered by later restorations and it was conserved in the original form (cited from the materials of the diocesan organ-surveyor Marek Cihar). The last major repair of the instrument was done in 1878, more than a century ago.

Rabštejn nas Střelou - regardless of its importance in the history - is today somewhat deserted location. It is one of those rare places where you feel you escaped the civilization. Perhaps thanks to this remoteness, the instrument is preserved in its ancient state. It does not even have an electric blower. On the other hand, this instrument is threatened by the long-term lack of regular care and its slow decay seems inevitable. It is not an exaggeration to say that we were perhaps among the last people who found the instrument in a playable state. 

The virtual organ presented here offers the original form of the instrument, reproducing the short octaves, the original layout and appearance of the drawstops, the limited stoplist and the pedal compass. Apart from the documentation of the present situation, this makes it possible to study the appropriate organ music in perfectly adequate conditions.