The Restoration of the Historic Pipe Organ in the Church of San Matías Jalatlaco, Oaxaca
After restoration
Before restoration
About the Organ
Construction date: 1866
Organ builder: Pedro Nibra (Oaxaca)
Characteristics: 8´stationary organ with seven registers on either side of the keyboard; 56 note chromatic keyboard divided c’/c#’; 382 flue, reed, and wooden pipes; pitch 396 Hz. height 4.46 m, width 2.91 m, depth 1.15 m.
Disposition
Left hand: 25 notes C – c’
1. Clarines (Bajoncillo) 4´
2. Flautado mayor 8´
3. Octava 4´
4. Docena 2 2/3´
5. Quincena 2´
6. Tapadillo 4´
7. Trompeta real 8´
Right hand: 31 notes c#’-g’’’
1. Clarines 8´
2. Flautado mayor 8´
3. Octava 4´
4. Docena 2 2/3´
5. Quincena 1° 2´
6. Tapadillo 4´
7. Quincena 2° 2´
Phase One: Restoration of the Case
December 2015 – March 2016
Dismantling the organ: removing the pipes
Dismantling the organ: removing the pipes
Removing the wind chest and the roller board
Removing the wind chest and the roller board
Removing the moldings and the"hip"
Removing the moldings and the"hip"
Fumigation and superficial cleaning
Fumigation and superficial cleaning
Removing the layers of grime to restore the original color of the organ
Removing the layers of grime to restore the original color of the organ
Cleaning the damaged “hip”
Attaching and reconstructing pieces of the moldings
Attaching and reconstructing pieces of the moldings
Attaching and reconstructing pieces of the moldings
Final details: touching up the paint
Final details: touching up the paint
The organ case is restored
Phase Two: Restoration of the Organ’s Mechanism and Sound
Dismantling the bellows
Dismantling the bellows (Oaxaca organbuilder David Antonio Reyes)
Dismantling and storing the pipes
Dismantling and storing the pipes
Dismantling and cleaning the wind chest
Dismantling and cleaning the wind chest
Dismantling the pallet box
Repairing the pallets
Repairing the wind chest
Repairing the wind chest
Repairing the roller board
Repairing the roller board
Dismantling the keyboard
Repairing the keyboard
Assembling the trundles
Assembling the trundles
Assembling the bellows
Assembling the bellows
Calibrating the keyboard
The finished keyboard (the initials “PN” in the central medallion refer to the organ builder Pedro Nibra)
Voicing and assembling the pipes
Voicing and assembling the pipes
Tuning the reed pipes
New back doors
The finished organ
Official Report
Restoration of the case: Usanza company, Eric González Castellanos (Oaxaca), director.
Restoration of the organ’s mechanism and sound: Gerhard Grenzing Organ Company (El Papiol, Spain), Andreas Fuchs, project director.
Project initiative and organization: Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca (IOHIO), Cicely Winter, director.
Financing: Fundación Alfredo Harp Helú Oaxaca (FAHHO), the Pro-Organ Committee of the Jalatlaco community, and the IOHIO.
Ecclesiastical support: Francisco Reyes Ochoa, the priest of the Jalatlaco church.
Institutional authorization and overview: Coordinación Nacional de Conservación del Patrimonio Cultural (CNCPC) del Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historía (INAH).
Main challenges: repair the woodworm damage of the case and interior components; replace the cancelled rank of horizontal reed pipes, other missing pipes, and pipe feet in the façade.
Reinauguration: July 16, 2016, exactly 150 years after Nibra finished the instrument on July 16, 1866 (confirmed by inscriptions inside the case); this significant date was celebrated by a mass followed by two concerts presented by Horacio Franco, José Suárez, and Cicely Winter; a follow-up concert took place February 10, 2017, to honor Don Alfredo Harp Helu and Dr. María Isabel Grañen for their support of the project.
Ongoing activity: The organ is played regularly for masses (including weddings, baptisms, quinceaños, and special religious festivities), and concerts; it is maintained by the IOHIO.