Protection of the Historic Pipe Organs
SOME RISKS TO THE ORGANS CANNOT BE PREVENTED
Political upheaval in Mexico has led to the destruction of organs and other church art.
The photograph shows the interior of the church of Santo Domingo de Guzmán after being sacked during the Reform Period in the 1860s. Two organs faced each other, indicated by their balcony railings. On the left, the undecorated wall behind the larger of the two organs reveals its silhouette. The semicircular opening led to the bellows on the other side of the wall. On the right, the edge of the tribune is barely visible. This photograph may be the only remaining evidence of the organs.
During the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), troops were often quartered in the churches and sometimes removed the organ pipes, a convenient source of raw material to melt down for munitions. It is said that in Santa María Tiltepec, which houses some of the most splendid baroque art in the state, an altarpiece was burned for firewood, although fortunately the organ was spared. In Santa Catarina Ixtepeji, the entire interior of the immense church was burned, including a large 18th century organ documented in the contract for its construction. The tragic destruction of Catholic church art during wartime is unfortunately not only restricted to Mexico, but is painfully familiar for Europeans.
Recent earthquakes damaged the domes over some choir lofts, but fortunately spared the organs.
After the 2017 earthquake, the pipes of some organs were jiggled out of place, but they were easily repositioned. However, the roofs of many churches were damaged requiring extensive repairs, so the organs were wrapped up for protection. The damage to the church in Santiago Lachiguiri was so severe, that the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) stepped in to supervise the dismantling of the unrestored organ, which was lowered in pieces from the choir loft for storage in the sacristy. It is uncertain if it will ever be reassembled. The organs in Concepción Buenavista (1999) and Santa María Suchixtlán (1973) were not so lucky, since they were damaged during previous earthquakes when institutional support was not available. They were likewise lowered with ropes from the choir loft as the roof was being repaired, but fell apart while they were being raised up again. The unrestored organ in Concepción was reassembled, but in Suchixtlan the organ remains in pieces in the church.
The organ in Santa María Suchixtlán was lowered on ropes to the church floor for protection during a roof repair after the 1973 earthquake, but it fell apart while being raised up again to the choir loft. The pipes and various pieces of the organ were scattered around in the village but have since been gathered together and stored in the church.
Choir loft in Lachiguiri after the 2017 earthquake.
Migration to nearby cities, to the north of Mexico, or to the U.S. has drastically reduced the population in many communities.
Along with the shortage of priests, this means that many churches are rarely open. As a consequence, local people have lost contact with the furnishings of their churches. When they accompany us to the choir loft, some will admit that this is the first time they have ever been up there or seen the organ.
SOME RISKS CAN BE PREVENTED BY RAISING AWARENESS
Modernization projects are particularly dangerous.
These clean-up activities are usually instigated by the municipal authority or the priest, with the goal of getting rid of everything that is old, damaged, looks bad, or simply “doesn’t work anymore.” For this reason, a countless number of religious objects, not only organs, have been lost. We heard of two organs that were destroyed by order of the priest or president in the years just before the IOHIO was founded in 2000. However, since the IOHIO has been publicizing the organs, only one badly deteriorated windchest has disappeared.
Protection is possible only if local people understand the historic value of the organs.
Unfortunately, in most communities the organs have not functioned for years, there is no memory of their sound or their use as a musical instrument, and they may be referred to as a piece of furniture or even as an armoire. Organs are frequently dismembered with their windchests used for fence construction, their pipes removed and melted down by blacksmiths, and their carved decorations taken as pretty curiosities.
Damage by fire can be prevented.
The table organ in Santiago Tlazoyaltepec, built in 1724 by Marcial Ruiz Maldonado, was severely damaged in January 2013. A reflector lamp had been positioned in the window of the choir loft in order to illuminate the atrium during a village celebration. After the event the lamp was not removed and disconnected, but rather left face down on top of a pile of old documents we had stored inside the case. The cable extended down to the church floor and someone flipped the switch without knowing what it was connected to. The lamp overheated, burned through a Dominican missal and some loose papers, and began to consume the windchest of the organ. Had the papers not delayed the fire, the organ could have turned into a torch.
The smoke pouring out of the church alerted the townspeople who happened to be in a meeting next door. They located the source of the fire through the dense smoke, ran upstairs to the choir loft, and extinguished the fire with their bottles of soda. If not for this Sunday meeting with the authorities gathered right next to the church, it is likely that the organ, and perhaps the entire church with its wooden roof, would have been destroyed. Fortunately, the windchest had been carefully documented and photographed and, if necessary, could be rebuilt. Ironically, our protection sheets were still in place next to the organ while all this occurred.
Such a tragedy could have happened in any number of churches, since the window of the choir loft is always used to hang the lighting for a town celebration. In the case of Tlazoyaltepec, a switch was turned on, but a short circuit is even more likely and could set any church ablaze. We were especially concerned to see electric cables leading up to the window of the choir loft in the church of Santa María Tiltepec, a treasure of baroque art. We explained the risk of fire to the authorities and recommended that they install their reflector lamps outside by the stone base of the church, as many other churches have already done.
In San Melchor Yatzachi el Bajo, the entire interior of the church, including the grand but deteriorated organ, was destroyed by fire in 1997. Candles had been left burning all night for the annual saint’s day celebration, and one of them ignited the robe of the statue of a saint. When the doors of the church were opened the next morning and the wind rushed in, what had been smoldering all night turned into a fire storm and spread out of control.
This seems to be the only photo of the 8´ 19th century Yatzachi organ before it was destroyed. Unfortunately, the IOHIO did not exist then so it was never documented except for this photo from a contact in the town. All that remain are the bellows, which had been stacked in a protected niche in the choir loft, and various melted, deformed pipes. The INAH has published a guide book for the conservation of church art. It stresses the importance of placing candles far from altarpieces and statues and to extinguish them at the end of the day. At least some churches have taken this into account.
ORGANS MAY BE PRESERVED IN UNEXPECTED WAYS
San Pedro Cholula (before)
San Pedro Cholula (after)
If the cases of non-functioning organs can be utilized in some way, even if they are modified in the process, at least they are still preserved.
The 18th century table organ in San Pedro Cholula, painted with red enamel in the 1990s, was found on the church floor full of old papers. Its original table was upstairs in the choir loft. The incomplete bellows had been used in church repairs. The organ has since been reassembled.
The organ case in San Juan Teitipac was painted blue and converted into a confessional in the mid-20th century. The upper case of the organ in Santiago Ihuitlan Plumas has been used as an altar piece. (retablo).
The table organ in San Juan Bautista Coixtlahuaca became a decorative piece of furniture in the priest’s bedroom in the 1950s. A shelf was installed inside the case and a drawer replaced the keyboard. It is now protected in the museum of colonial art in the former convent.
Discarded windchests used for construction rather than firewood provide enough information to understand the organ’s basic construction.
Outdoor kitchen construction in Apazco
Wall construction in Suchixtlán
SPECIFIC PROTECTIVE MEASURES
We leave two printed information sheets on or near the organ.
The first bears the logo of SECULTA/INAH (the Secretaría de Cultura y las Artes and the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia), federal institutions which oversee the protection of the national heritage. It states:“The historic organ of (the name of the church) belongs to the national patrimony and is protected by the Federal Law for Archeological, Artistic and Historical Zones and Monuments. Take care of it because it is a part of the history of your community.” The implication is that the municipal or ecclesiastical authorities cannot do whatever they please with the organ--“fix” it, clean or paint it, sell it, dismember it for its parts particularly its pipes, or destroy it--, because the organs are protected by federal law.
The second sheet includes the logo of the IOHIO and information about the organ. It states the specific or approximate date of the organ’s construction, the name of the builder if known, special characteristics of the organ, a list of similar organs, and what the community should and should not do to protect and conserve it. It also contains contact information of the IOHIO and the dates of our visits.
YES - Restrict access to the choir loft and keep the area clean
YES - Install screens on the windows and doors of the church to keep out birds or other animals
YES – Cover the organ during any church projects which might affect it
NO - Clean the organ, except to dust it off
NO - Remove any pieces of the organ
NO - Store objects unrelated to the organ in the interior of the case or on the bellows
We collaborate with the INAH for legal matters.
In December 2018 the 18th century wind chest of the organ in the Basílica de la Soledad was returned to Oaxaca, a process initiated by the IOHIO and carried out by the offices of the INAH in Oaxaca and the neighboring state of Puebla. It had been stored in the organbuilder’s home in Puebla since the restoration was finished in 2000, because at the time it turned out to be cheaper and easier to build a new chest rather than restore the old one. This large piece (2.30 m side to side) would probably would have been forgotten in Puebla if the IOHIO had not alerted the INAH which ordered its return to the Basilica. Around the same time, we discovered the fourth large bellows of the organ in a store room of the church and stored it on the lower tier of the table we had built for the chest.
We distribute tangible information -- brochures, CDs, and photographs - which describe the organs and explain the mission of the IOHIO to protect and promote them.
Since the municipal authorities and priests change regularly and our visits to the outlying communities are infrequent, verbal information is typically not passed on. The CD presents recognizable Oaxaca music played on the Cathedral organ, so that people can imagine how their organ once may have sounded.
We leave a framed photo of the organ for public view in the municipal or church office.
The brochures and CDs may disappear once the authorities finish their term, but the photos are still on the wall years later.
We established an off-limits zone around two decorated organs.
The intention is to protect them from curious children in catechism classes or musicians in the choir loft who might be tempted to pick at the paint or push and pull the stops. The information sheets are evident on or near the organs.
Protection of the organs is an ongoing challenge.
We hope that the ever-increasing number of people who have listened to or heard about the organs (the buzz words seem to be “restoration” and “Tlacochahuaya”) will spread the word, especially outside the city where it matters the most. In this way, unknown organs may be discovered and rescued.