Local craftspeople build huge pipe organ<\/p>\n
By Yudha Kartohadiprodjo<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Although pipe organs are most commonly
\nassociated with the grand cathedrals of Europe, it is the hands
\nof Sukabumi craftspeople which are responsible for creating the
\nlargest organ in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
The organ in question is found in Paulus Church, Jl. Taman
\nSuropati, Central Jakarta, and will be inaugurated tonight, the
\n62nd anniversary of the church.<\/p>\n
Over a three year period, craftspeople from Prajawidya
\nInstrumentalia, led by Suwandi, worked to assemble the largest
\norgan in Indonesia using only local and salvaged materials.<\/p>\n
The group has successfully made pipe organs out of bamboo in
\nthe past and one of their organs now has pride of place in a
\nsmall Catholic chapel in a Protestant dominated area of Belgium.<\/p>\n
The workers also manufacture bamboo harpsichords.<\/p>\n
Paulus Church elders decided to replace the old organ because
\nit did not properly fill the large church, which was built in
\n1936 to accommodate a much bigger organ.<\/p>\n
The new organ cost the church Rp 120 million, well below what
\nit would have cost had it been purchased from Europe.<\/p>\n
\"We were fortunate, the last shipment of used pipes for the
\norgan was ordered from the Netherlands just before the monetary
\ncrisis hit Indonesia,\" said Joan Henuhilli Raturandang, chairman
\nof the organ inauguration committee.<\/p>\n
The pleasant acoustics of his church inspired Rev. Van Dop, an
\necclesiastical music and church acoustics expert, to search high
\nand low for a better organ.<\/p>\n
The reverend began to salvage bits of old Indonesian organs
\nwith a view to building a bigger organ for the church, but his
\npainstaking search eventually lead him to seek out old organs in
\nthe Netherlands.<\/p>\n
He then put his organ project into the capable hands of
\nSuwandi and his eager craftsman and set them to work on it.<\/p>\n
In three years they succeeded in assembling the biggest pipe
\norgan in Indonesia. With 22 stops and 1,392 pipes, the huge
\ninstrument now sits gracefully on top of the congregation
\nplatform in Paulus Church.<\/p>\n
\"We only planned to assemble a pipe organ with 16 stops. But
\nwhen we reached 16 stops we said to ourselves: 'Why not try for
\nsome more?'\" Rev. Van Dop said.<\/p>\n
Good acoustics and correct placement are essential to get the
\nbest out of an organ. A resonant room with 3 seconds or more
\nreverberation is desirable.<\/p>\n
The earliest organ was made in Alexandria around the 3rd
\ncentury B.C. by Ctesbius, a Greek engineer. It was called
\nhydraulus on account of the drum partially filled with water
\nwhich it used to emit sound. The hydraulus is viewed by organ
\nenthusiasts as a prototype of today's instruments.<\/p>\n
Organs first appeared in church services in the 8th century.
\nIt has a range unattainable by any other instrument and this
\nhelped it to create a divine atmosphere for church congregations.<\/p>\n
Organ development is indebted to the Christian devotion to
\npraising God. Kingdoms in Europe throughout the middle ages
\ncompeted with each other over the size of their organs.<\/p>\n
Organ music then reached a peak in the 18th century. Johann
\nSebastian Bach, who started his career as the organist in St.
\nJames Church, Hamburg, in 1703, wrote the most famous works for
\nthe organ during the 18th century, the best known of which is the
\nMass in B Minor.<\/p>\n
However, thereafter the popularity of organ music waned and
\nwas eclipsed by orchestral and operatic music, and the rise of
\nother keyboard instruments.<\/p>",
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