The Restoration of the Historic Pipe Organ in the Church of San Matías Jalatlaco, Oaxaca

An antique pipe organ with ornate wooden carvings painted in light blue, displaying multiple pipes of varying sizes, situated against a red wall with part of a staircase on the left.

A decorative pipe organ with intricate carvings and a small piano below, set against a yellow and cream wall.

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

Removing the wind chest and the roller board

Removing the layers of grime to restore the original color of the organ

Attaching and reconstructing pieces of the moldings

Phase Two: Restoration of the Organ’s Mechanism and Sound

Dismantling the bellows (Oaxaca organbuilder David Antonio Reyes)

The finished keyboard (the initials “PN” in the central medallion refer to the organ builder Pedro Nibra)

Photograph of a large, ornate blue and white pipe organ in a church, with decorative carvings and pipes, situated on a wooden floor with stacked foam pads and a small bench nearby. Text at the top of the image reads: "El órgano histórico de la Iglesia de San Matías de Jalatlaco, Oaxaca (México)."

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.

The Restoration of the Historic Pipe Organ in the Church of San Matías Jalatlaco, Oaxaca

Instituto deÓrganosHistóricos deOaxaca, A.C.

Instituto de
Órganos
Históricos de
Oaxaca, A.C.