Spiritual sounds for secular times
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In an increasingly secular world, it's not just church-goers who attend the Prague International Organ Festival. The event continues to draw in performers and guests from all over the world and this year marks the festival's 15th anniversary.
Held in the beautiful baroque St James Basilica right beside Prague's Old Town square, the International Organ Festival offers the opportunity to hear some of the world's best players perform.
This year's line up includes guests from the USA, France, Japan and Slovakia who will be performing a series of eight concerts over a six-week period.
The 300-year-old church is home to the Czech Republic's best and biggest organ.
The idea to host a festival dedicated purely to organ music was put forward by Irena Chřibková, the organist at St James, after noticing there was a lack of foreign organists performing in Prague.
Under the Czech Republic's Communist regime, the Basilica was the only church where concerts took place and it became a refuge for academics and intellectuals.
It was here that Dr Jiří Ropek, one of the country's most famous 20th century organists, played for 46 years and drew in large crowds.
This year's festival is dedicated to the late Dr Ropek.
Since its humble beginnings in 1996, the festival has now grown into a significant international event and today boasts video projections allowing the audience to see the organists play on the big screen.
