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| pipe organ St. John's Baptist church, Secunderabad, medium.com |
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| St. John's Babtist church, Seconderabad, Telengana .tripadvisor.in |
Above image: A historical and heritage church in India, presently, under the CSI, it is the twin city of Secunderabd, Telengana More than 208 years old St. John’s Church is the oldest church in the capital. it was in February 2013 the thanksgiving celebrations and special service programs took place to mark the occasion, themed ‘Crossing the Centuries with Christ’, is being conducted from 5.30 p.m. on 8 Feb Saturday.
Part of CSI, belonging to the Medak Diocese., it was consecrated and dedicated in 1813. Built in in cruciform of Tuscan architecture architecture, the church apart from being home to one of a rare old pipe organ and a stained glass depicting John The Baptist, located above the altar, it initially served the spiritual needs of the British Forces stationed at Lancer’s line, Secunderabad. Rev. J. Brackenbury was the first Presbyter of this church in 1813. The rare16-foot tall pipe organ occupies the space of a small bedroom in here. Presently, the church is serving a large community in the city. An awardee of the Heritage Award in 1998 by Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, the church boasts of aesthetically patterned Minton tiles, a rare feature in churches.........
During the mass in the historical churches playing pipe organs was an integral part of it. As a matter of fact organ music is the soul of mass in any church, be it historical or a new one. Particularly, singing of classic Christmas Carols is the attraction of many churches. The mellowed voice of the choir accompanied by pipe organ in a divine ambiance is quite soul-stirring and exhilarating, keeping our attention focused on the mass prayer.
In the last several decades the old organs in the churches are being replaced by modern sole less electronic instruments, part of the reason is there are no expert technicians to fix the faulty organs and secondly, their mechanical and delicate parts that are subject to wear and tear. Not withstanding such fundamental difficulties, the worn out spares are neither available in India nor in Europe. The foreign firms that made them may be out of business or not in a position to make the spares. Yet another hitch is if the needed spares can be remade, the cost is prohibitive. As for the quality of sound, from modern organs. frankly speaking, in places of divinity, it does not match the vibrant sound of old pipe organs.
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| Pipe organ (left), St. John's Babtist church, Secunderabad, medium.com/ |
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| pipe organ St. John's Babtist church, Secunderabad, timesofindia.indiatimes.com |
In India there about 200 pipe organs or a few more in the churches. Considering as the legacy of the British, it is sad that many of them either lie unused or set aside in the corner of the church for want of repair, spares and of, course funds. Many of the vintage churches in the cities do have pipe organs, but they face the similar fate. There is no factory in India catering exclusively to the old pipe organs and replacement of spares.
The pipe organ in the historical St John's Baptist Church, East Marredpally, Secunderabad is one of the few churches that is still functional and has been a pride of this place of worship. This 115 year pipe organ has a total of 590 pipes in it.
The structure being a complicated one, the organist has to play it with dexterity using both hands and leg at the same time to control the sound. Playing it effortlessly comes with experience. The English made organ has three manuals or layers, two of which rest on the top, to be played by hand, while one at bottom is a pedal manual operated with the feet. The complex structure that enables the instrument to produce difficult notes effortlessly like reaching the crescendo before beginning vocal music.
Yet another interesting and essential features are the three keys of the manuals attached to numerous wooden and metallic pipes, which blow air in and out, creating musical vibrations. To help the pitch of the sound change there is a set of ‘stops’ or levers to regulate the “sweetness’ of the music. To play before a solemn gathering or a silent prayer subdued or soft music has to be played. This is achieved by pulling the stop. On important festive occasions like Christmas, to create vibrant and grand music all the stops are pulled to make 'loud & bright” sound.
The parishioners who were accustomed to listening to the vibrant sound of the organ in 1994 were quite sad as all the four pipes went silent. Disappointed as they were, church keepers, with no funds had tried to fix the problem by attaching an electronic piano, but it ended in fiasco; the sound did not yield the desired quality.
It was one Commodore TMJ Champion, a Navy engineer who studied the technical aspect of the old organ sough the help of Timothy Valecott, an engineer from England, who took up the ingenious job with care, procured the needed spares from England and finally, he along with Com. Champion, set the old pipe organ back in form in 2003. The English man made a few trips here on his own and met the expenses from his own. Indeed a good gesture on his part. According to the Pastor, the maintenance of the instrument is done thrice in a year by Dr Timothy Velacott. Commodore Champion, the chief organist, has been playing the instrument for the past 42 years,
Quite surprising that other organs at the old churches in this city have fallen midway and are not functional. To the church officials of St. John's the pipe organ is part of every sacred mass and its periodic up-keep is a must. Further, coming under the control of CSI - Church of South India, the church has made no compromise on its church prayer protocols and has stuck to its 200-year-old Anglican roots by following the sermon patterns and music of the age-old Church of England. This means the masses will have more singing of hymns and playing organ is part of it.
It was in December 2017, the pipe organ got ready for the 110 th Christmas, a gala function here. Despite the time factor and the onslaught of so many matching electronic organs with modern technology, there is no surpassing of the quality of sound produced by pipe organs that enhances the ambiance in the prayer hall.
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