THE CASE

Cases were designed to accommodate the pipes and the windchest as efficiently as possible.

The grandest, monumental organs were destined for the most significant churches with secure financing. Their cases were wide and tall enough to display the entire principal (flautado) register and even part of the octave (octava) or 15th (quincena) across the façade. However, most organs adapted to the less imposing architecture of their churches. They were relatively small, wide at the base, and not terribly tall in order to withstand an earthquake or fit in a choir loft with a low roof. Since their budgets were usually restricted, organ builders were challenged to produce instruments with the most compact cases possible to house the pipes and the windchest.

The windchest determined the minimum width of the case, while the keyboard compass and the layout of the pipes determined the width of the chest. The pipes may have been crowded together or more spread out if there was extra room inside the case, often depending on the façade design. The depth of the case correlated with the number of ranks to achieve the desired sound. 

Oaxaca organs are categorized according to three standard sizes. 

These groupings are based on the height of the tallest principal pipe, the cylindrical form from below the mouth to the top, which was usually but not always the central façade pipe. The organs range in size from 8´ foot (2.44 m) stationary (or fixed) organs, to 4´ (1.22 m) stationary and table organs, to 2´ (0.61 m) table organs. Their cases were designed to accommodate the number and height of the pipes. 

The tallest pipes with the lowest pitch were often made of wood, square and capped at the top. Up to eight wooden pipes could fit neatly behind the rank of façade pipes on a large organ. Stopped pipes could produce a sound equivalent to an open pipe with only half the length. Therefore, if the largest pipes were made of wood rather than metal, the case could be shorter and the overall cost reduced. Sometimes, the tallest metal pipes protruded through the roof.

Santa María Tiltepec

The tallest metal façade pipe sounds C (bass) on an 8´ organ or c (tenor) on a 4´, and its complete height would be visually apparent. However, if the lowest octave or part of it were of stopped wood, only half as tall and hidden in the case, the tallest metal façade pipe would be that much shorter, sounding, for example, G on an 8´ organ (four wooden pipes if the keyboard has a short octave, seven if it is chromatic), or g on a 4´ organ (four wooden pipes with a short octave). If stopped wooden pipes were incorporated, the central metal pipe would not be a reference for measuring feet. 

8´ monumental organ, Santo Domingo Yanhuitlán: The principal rank stretches across the façade. The tallest pipe sounds C.

The upper cases of 4´ and 8´ stationary organs were divided into three or five sections or towers with semi-circular, flat, or pointed profiles.

Pipes were arranged diatonically (i.e., alternating right–left– right, etc.) in each section of the case for visual symmetry and to blend the sound. The number of pipes in the central tower was always odd, usually five and sometimes seven, and positioned around the largest middle pipe--5 3 1 2 4. The side towers on either side of the central tower were always in mirror image; in towers with semi-circular or triangular bases, they were arranged in pyramid form. The number of pipes in towers with flat bases could be odd or even and were usually in ascending or descending order from the middle to the edge. The resulting open space above the pipes was filled in with carved decorative pipe shades.

Small towers projecting from the sides of the case may or may not have speaking pipes. If they were purely decorative, the dummy (non-speaking or mute) pipes were made of wood and painted silver or of metal to match the others. The organs in the Oaxaca Cathedral and Yanhuitlán are exceptions with seven sections; both have dummy pipes in the upper sections of the flat towers. 

Most stationary organs had three towers and all or most of the tall left-hand principal pipes were displayed across the façade. If the organ had a horizontal trumpet (clarín), the left-hand pipes (bajoncillo) or the entire rank could be visible. A layout of 8-5-8 in three towers would cover all 21 notes. However, the rank was often cut short because the case wasn’t wide enough. The smallest pipes were then positioned inside the organ just behind the façade on separate toe boards.  Such distributions could be 6-5-6 with 17 pipes in front and four inside, or 7-5-7 or 6-7-6 with 19 pipes in front and two inside. The Jalatlaco organ has a 56-note keyboard with a full, chromatic bass and the façade pipes are distributed 9-5-9, with 23 pipes in front and two inside, for a total of 25 left-hand pipes. The displacement of a few façade pipes was yet another strategy to keep the case as compact as possible.

The façade pipes of 4´ table organs were arranged diatonically in three sections. Most table organs had front doors that protected the façade pipes. They were shaped to cover the tall middle section of 4´ organs. The doors on 2´ organs were rectangular and, when opened, revealed the entire pipework.

Most Oaxaca organ cases were built of pine. 

Resistant heartwood (ayacahuite) was preferred, but woodworm damage was and continues to be a constant risk, depending on the final location of the organ. The case was usually built onsite, and some contracts stipulated that the community rather than the organ builder supply the wood. Some organ cases are in generally good condition except for a particular impost, molding, or panel built with more porous pine and nearly hollowed out by woodworm. Woodworm enters the organ from the floor and chews upward, so the lower case may be ruined while the upper case remains in excellent condition. Cedar is impervious to woodworm, so cedar cases are well-preserved if the community could afford it.

The frame of the windchest and the toeboards were usually made of pine. The sliders and pallets were mainly made of cedar or sometimes of the heart of pine (ayacahuite), because damage or warping of these small, critical components would jeopardize the functioning of the entire mechanism. The organs were assembled with hand-forged iron nails with round or square heads until the mid-19th century when modern factory-made nails and screws became available. A mix of both types indicates a later intervention.

Hips on the sides of the lower case distinguish organs or their cases built in Oaxaca.

The rounded protuberances seem to have been an intentional identifying feature of locally built organs. The hips create an unusual case profile that contrasts with the relatively straight sides of the case of most organs built in Mexico or abroad. They were already present on the early 18th-century organs in Tiltepec, the Basilica de la Soledad, and Yanhuitlán and must have originated during the 17th century or even earlier. One wonders if the stationary organ built in 1569 by Agustín de Santiago for the Oaxaca Cathedral had hips. Why was this construction detail incorporated into Oaxaca-built organ cases without exception over the centuries? Perhaps the hips originated as a whimsical detail by one case builder, inspired by the filler between a wider upper and narrower lower case; they then became fashionable and were somehow formalized.

Hips vary in size and shape, and their curved profile softened the straight lines of the organ. Some were integral parts of the case, while others were attached separately. They added width to the organ and made it appear more imposing; they might also have provided extra weight during an earthquake. Their curved contour was sometimes repeated on the lower case. Even if the organ builder responsible for the mechanics were from Puebla or elsewhere, the carpenter associated with the project would have been obliged to add hips to his case design. Hips are occasionally seen on European organs but more as a random decorative element than a consistent design feature. 

Small table organs were practical for small churches during the 18th century.

In this study, the term 2´ table organ is used to describe what is commonly known as a “processional” organ. These small organs were the first to arrive in New Spain after the Conquest. They were carried around in processions to aid the missionary effort during the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 18th century, they were usually located in fixed positions in choir lofts, lateral tribunes attached to the loft, or designated areas on the church floor; they were no longer moved. The term “realejo,” a Spanish term for a portable organ, is sometimes used, as well as “baldachin” (baldaquín) in reference to the curved, detachable top of the case that recalls a decorative canopy over a throne or altar. The term processional organ may adequately describe the instrument’s appearance based on European models, but not its use. “Earthquake” and “evangelizing” are the key words that distinguish the Mexican context from the European. Rather than linking one type of organ to the other with shared terminology, generic descriptions— 2´ and 4´ table organs-- have proved to be more workable. 

A group of six similar instruments built ca. 1720- 1730 suggests that this type of organ might have been common in the Mixteca Alta region in the 18th century or earlier and may resemble their 16th-century predecessors. The region of the Central Valleys around the City of Oaxaca does not include a similar sample. These organs generally had four to six registers enhanced with nightingale (pajaritos) and drum accessories, and their high pitch could adequately outline and accompany hymns and chants. They were always painted, sometimes lavishly, and were often preserved as decorated storage boxes when no longer in use.

This could have been true with the organ in San Lucas Quiavini, the one exception from the region of the Central Valleys. Its deteriorated and recently lost windchest appears to have belonged to a 2´ table organ (it would have been the eighth in the group). Perhaps the decorated case is preserved somewhere. The seventh 2´ organ is smaller than the others with only two registers, a 2´ principal and a 4´ stopped flute (bardón). It was built for the narrow tribune of the baroque chapel in Santa María Tlacolula and also seems to date from the early 18th century. Several 2´ organs currently survive in European museums, whereas in Oaxaca and most of Mexico, they are located in churches.

Seven 4´ table organs are enlarged versions of smaller 2´ organs. 

These organs originated in Oaxaca during the mid-18th century. They combine the mechanical layout of 2´ table organs with the size, weight, and façade design of 4´ stationary organs. Organ builder Susan Tattershall refers to these organs as “hybrids.” They seem to be a distinctly regional manifestation; possibly only two of this type exist in Tlaxcala and one from the collection of Chapultepec Castle, Mexico City, currently in the Museum of Oaxaca Cultures in the ex-convent of Santo Domingo. These organs were too heavy and awkward to move around, other than for protection from a leaky roof or during a church repair.

The organs in San Andrés Zautla, San Pedro Quiatoni, and San Pedro Mártir Yucuxaco are nearly identical in their original construction. However, Oaxaca organ building was not standardized in the 18th century, and the other four in this category— Santiago Guevea, Santa María Peñoles, San Andrés Huayapam, and San Miguel del Valle—are unique and even a bit odd. The case of the Peñoles organ is 2.55 m / 8.5 feet tall, and the keyboard of the Guevea organ is located in the back (see “Organs Continue to Surprise Us” below). 

The organs sat on one or two low tables (approximately 65 cm/ 25.5 inches high), the second for the bellows behind. The tables had to be strong enough to bear the increased weight of the 4´ open and often 8´ stopped pipes. There may have been a tipping point where the pipes and mechanism were simply too heavy for a table and required a more substantial base on the floor. Table organs were often decorated with religious imagery and served as the principal organ in a small church. Some were initially positioned on the church floor and then moved up to the new choir loft. Others were removed from the old choir loft and repositioned when the new one was built with a lower roof. 

When he was a young man, an organist from San Pedro Quiatoni played an organ in a neighboring Mixe village which, from his description, sounded similar to the 4´ Quiatoni table organ. Unfortunately, it was destroyed decades ago by the local authorities, with the usual justification that “it didn’t work anymore.” This village is quite remote, and it’s amazing to think that there was an organ there at all. 

The 4´ table organs in San Miguel Tequixtepec and Concepción Buenavista resemble those from the Puebla/Tlaxcala area and look completely different from Oaxaca organs (see Key Action below). After 1800, all Oaxaca organs were stationary. Churches were more permanent and included more parishioners.

Organs built partially or entirely in Puebla were imported to communities in northern Oaxaca. 

Transportation from Puebla over relatively flat terrain was less complicated than along the mountainous route to Oaxaca City or other points in the Mixteca Alta. In addition, the organ-building infrastructure was more advanced overall in the urban regions to the north. Most Puebla organs in Oaxaca seem to have originated in the Castro organ building shop, based on their similarity of style with Castro organs in Puebla from the same period.

Until around 1850, the cases of Puebla organs were built onsite in Oaxaca to accommodate the finished imported interior parts. Four organs remain of what may have been a larger group identified by a distinctive curved profile above the flat towers. The central tower is capped with a rounded pipe shade and an elaborate crest. The lower case is slightly narrower than the upper. Yet these organs all have hips. Their addition to the case seems to have been obligatory for an organ destined for communities in Oaxaca territory since it was not part of the Puebla tradition.

By the mid to late 19th century, transportation and communication had improved to the point that the entire organ, including the disassembled case built in the Castro workshop, could be transported from Puebla. The sides of these cases were straight with no concessions for Oaxaca hips, and their decoration, neo-classic rather than baroque, was austere by comparison. Rectangular relief panels adorn the entire case, while latticed slats or symmetrical perforations appear on the sides and back to enhance the acoustics and blend the sound. This innovation finally caught on near the end of Oaxaca organ building (Coixtlahuaca 1876, San Antonino el Alto in crude fashion 1864). These Castro organs are among the latest in the state, dating from 1852 – 1891. The organ in Tamazola is a typical example. The older Chazumba organ is an exception and contrasts with the photos below. It also seems to have been built entirely, including the case without hips, in Puebla just across the border.