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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Organs as an exemplification of the material heritage of Montenegrin culture. Part. 2: St. Nicholas' Church and the Church of Our Lady of the Rock in Perast

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Montenegro became a union republic of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia (1945–1992) after the Second World War and the political changes and wars in the Balkans at the turn of the 20th and 21st century. Montenegro proclaimed its independence on 3rd June 2006. As an independent state, this former republic of socialist Yugoslavia takes action to gather and scientifically describe its remarkable cultural heritage. In 2019 Cetinje Academy of Music, which is part of the University of Montenegro, decided to carry out a scientific project aimed at depicting this entire cultural heritage. Folk culture and Orthodoxy are the dominant features of this whole opus, thus it is not surprising that cultural products are mostly associated with these two cultural factors. Catholics constitute a group of about 3.5%, which amounts to a relatively small number of believers. Though they are a small community, they also left their mark on culture. One of the important factors in the Catholic worship is the pipe organ. This article is a second part of the texts on organs in Montenegro, in which organs from two churches in Perast were described: St. Nicholas’ Church and the Church of Our Lady of the Rock. Both churches contain two small instruments displaying predilections to Italian organ building, which left its mark on the eastern Adriatic coast. Political contacts with Venice and cultural relations strongly influenced this part of the Balkans, including organ building. However, the history of organ building at the Bay of Kotor and, more generally, in Montenegro remains highly unrecognised. With a high degree of likelihood, due to the existing knowledge it can be concluded that the region does not have its own distinct tradition of organ building. Nevertheless, there is an evident tradition of organ music performance dating back to the 16th century, which is supported by numerous references to organists in various archives. Boka Kotorska belonged to the Dalmatian cultural circle. In this region, the organist Petar Nakić (1694–1769; Italian version of his name: Pietro Nacchini or Nachielli) and his school of organ-building left their mark. Both instruments from the churches of Perast were damaged by the passage of time as well as the lack of professional repairs preceded by an instrumentological analysis of the existing material. Yet, it appears despite the circumstances that these organs have largely retained their originality and restoring them to full working order is a challenge of the present day. There can be no ad hoc rectification of defects in this case. A comprehensive organ-building intervention at the highest level of expertise is highly required. Therefore, on the basis of some international funds (after all, Europe begins in village churches) it could be sensible to entrust the organ renovation and all the preceding and following scientific activities to people and institutions from outside Montenegro, but only and exclusively with the aim of forming the nucleus of Montenegrin instrumentology (including organology) and organ building.