“Thank you for the opportunity to touch lofty art.”

“…My soul is carried high up into the sky and feels as if it were part of the Divine light!”

“Thank you for the eternity.”

(From the Book of Comments to the concerts of organ music held in the Cathedral)

Organ music has filled the hearts of people with noble feelings and makes one think over the eternal values of Man’s life for ages. This instrument was introduced into the Christian churches in the VII century A.D. The history of the organ is intimately connected with the history of the Western Christian culture, which has become the basis for the whole of the European society. It is not without reason that the organ is called “the king of the musical instruments” – this saying reflects both its ability to imitate the sounds of dozens of various musical instruments and the meaning which composers writing for the organ put into their works. As in Russia the organ is not so widespread as it is in the West, this instrument is particularly dear to the music admirers.

The art of playing the organ is different from that of playing the piano: it requires another position of hands and of the whole body of the organist, who also needs dexterity and an ability to use several keyboards, including the pedalboard. Each keyboard can produce deep and high sounds, depending on the combination of ranks, or registers, the organist chooses. The abundance of opportunities the organ gives allows mixing sounds like paints on a palette in order to create unforgettable hues. The goal of the organist is not only to play the piece technically perfectly: he assumes the role of a co-creator, who, thanks to his historical, technical and musical knowledge, can reveal the meaning of the piece he plays to the listeners.

The pipe-organ of Moscow Roman-Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary belongs to the few biggest pipe-organs of Russia (there are 74 ranks, 4 manuals and 5563 pipes). It is a gift of the Reformed Evangelical Basel-Münster Cathedral of the city of Basel in Switzerland, where it had been erected in 1955 by the firm “Kuhn”. This majestic instrument allows stylistically exact performance of the organ music of different epochs. The dismantlement and the installation of the organ in the new place was carried out by the German organ firm “Gerhard Schmid” (the city of Kaufbeuren), which was achieved with the help of the Order of the Sisters of the Family of Mary.

"The dismantlement of the “Kuhn” organ began in Basel in January 2002. All the parts of the organ, except for Principalbass 32’, which was built into the new Basler-Münster organ, were transported to Moscow. The works of dismantlement and installation were carried out by a number of assistants and employees of the organ firm “Schmid”. Gerhard Schmid, the organ builder, directed the installation personally on the site and worked out the new timbre faculties of the organ. All the ranks were thoroughly cleaned and tuned anew, all the mixtures renovated, taking into account the homogeneity of the formation of sounds. The parts of the organ differ in pitch character and dynamics, but when used together, they exhibit a well-balanced choir of voices.

The façade of the organ, refurbished by new gilding, fits the inner space of the Cathedral very well. The unique acoustics of the church is able to expose the rich timbre qualities of its sound in a special way.

This project was one of the last works of Gerhard Schmid’s eventful life. He was working on it with particular patience and devotion. On 9 September 2004 Gerhard Schmid left us at the age of 79. We look back with deepest respect and see the things he had accomplished. He had built more than 200 organs in Europe and about 150 instruments were renovated by him.

As a successor of my Father, I was allowed to complete the works on the organ. I would like to thank everyone who took part in the project. Let the organ sing the glory of the Lord!” (Organ builder Gunnar Schmid)

On 16 Janurary 2005 a solemn Holy Mass with the consecration of the new Cathedral's organ was celebrated by the Metropolitan Archbishop Tadeusz Kondrusiewicz. On the same day the First International Festival of Christian Music "The Music of World Cathedrals" was opened. The new organ was played by the organists of the most famous churches of the world.

The Disposition of the "Kuhn" organ

Brustwerk IV 1. Schalmei 4’ 2. Regal 8’ 3. Terzzimbel 3f .1/5’ 4. Scharf 4f 1’ 5. Sifflote 1’ 6. Larigot 1 1/3’ 7. Flageolet 2’ 8. Quintflote 2 2/3’ 9. Gedaktflote 4’ 10. Oktave 4’ 11. Gedakt 8’ 12. Suavial 8’ Rukpositiv I 13. Musette 4’ * 14. Cromorne 8’ 15. Dulzian 16’ 16. Zimbel 3f .1/2’ 17. Mixfur 4f .1’ 18. Sesquialtera 2 2/3’ + 1 3/5’ 19. Flote 2’ 20. Superoktave 2’ 21. Rohrflote 4’ 22. Praestant 4’ 23. Quintaden 8’ 24. Gedakt 8’ 25. Prinzipal 8’ Oberwerk III 26. Clairon 4’ 27. Oboe 8’ 28. Tromp. harm.8’ 29. Basson 16’ 30. Scharf 4f 1’ 31. Mixtur 4-5t 2’ 32. Terz 1 3/5’ 33. Quinte 2 2/3’ 34. Waldflote 2’ 35. Superoktave 2’ 36. Nachthorn 4’ 37. Oktave 4’ 38. Unda maris 8’ 39. Salizional 8’ 40. Rohrflote 8’ 41. Prinzipal 8’ 42. Gedaсkt 16’ 43. OW+BW IV/III

43. OW+BW IV/III 44. HW+OW III/II 45. HW+RP I/II 46. P+BW 47. P+OW 48. P+HW 49. P+RP Hauptwerk II 50. Prinzipal 16’ 51. Quintaden 16’ 52. Prinzipal 8’ 53. Bordun 8’ 54. Offenflote 8’ 55. Oktave 4’ 56. Hohlflote 4’ 57. Gemshorn 4’ 58. Superoktave 2’ 59. Mixtur maj. 5 f .2’ 60. Mixtur min. 5 f .1’ 61. Kornett 5 f .1’ 62. Bombarbe 16’ 63. Trompete 8’ 64. Clairon 4’ Pedal 65. Prinzipal bass 32’ * 66. Prinzipal bass 16’ 67. Subbass 16’ 68. Gedackt bass 16’ 69. Prinzipal 8’ 70. Gedackt 8’ 71. Spitzflote 8’ 72. Oktave 4’ 73. Flote 4’ 74. Nachthorn 2’ 75. Rausch-pfeifen 5 f 4’ 76. Acuta 5 f 2’ 77. Posaune 16’ 78. Sordun 16’ 79. Zink 8’ 80. Dulzian 8’ * 81. Klarine 4’ * Schweller auf III, IV Crescendo * - not installed yet or temporarily out of service