Right notes after 100 yrs
The lively and non-tiring antique pipe-organ at the Christ Church in Shimla seems to exude real history. When this organ is played, the notes reach out and surround the congregation. The pipe-organ — the biggest in the subcontinent — has been encouraging and supporting singing at the prayers even after 100 years of its existence.
“The organ is played on special occasions now. The organs that tend to ‘speak’ most eloquently to listeners. The sound that this pipe makes is similar in harmonic content to the human voice,” says a caretaker of the church. After the erection, the church held its dedication and opening recital on September 28, 1899.
The beautiful “king of instruments” was built by Morgan and Smith of Brighton (England) at a cost of Rs 23,000. It was extensively repaired in 1932.
The two most expensive stops were presented by Air Mackworth Young and Sir James Walker, while the cost of decorating the pipes was defrayed by the Countess of Elgin to commemorate the marriage of her daughter Lady Elizabeth Bruce to H. Babington Smith on September 22, 1898.
By Mail Today Bureauin New Delhi