122-yr-old pipe organ gets fresh lease of life

Chennai, Jan 5: An 18th century old pipe organ adorning the historic St Mary's Church here, has regained its melody after a gap of two years, thanks to the efforts by an English pipe organ restorer.

The 122-year old musical instrument was idle since 2004 due to damage in its main pipes.

Christopher Gray, a pipe organ maker and restorer from the United Kingdom gave the heritage instrument a new lease of life.

It would be rededicated to the Church this Sunday by Dr Richard Marlow, a renowned artist, professor and Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge, at 'A Pipe Organ Recital' function.

The instrument was brought to the church at Fort St George in the 18th century from England at a cost of Rs 7,120, St Mary's Church authority Tony Freeman told UNI.

It was regularly played for the past 110 years during the Sunday service, he said and added it was out-of-use since 2004 due to dirt accumulation and damage of metal pipes.

According to the official, the CSI Madras Diocese provided space for Gray to set up a workshop in the CSI School for the Deaf, where he disassembled the pipes, cleaned the woodwork and put in leather stoppers as part of the cleaning process.

'He brought with him the work materials from UK', Mr Tony said.

The damage was much worse compared to similar instruments of comparable age elsewhere. 'It was more due to lack of knowledge about proper maintenance,' he added.

According to reports, there are not many antique pipe organs in use in Chennai now. Organists narrate a litany of woe about the condition of these magnificent instruments that are over 100 years old. Earlier, Cleve Johnson, a trained musicologist and pipe organ consultant from the US visited Chennai and prepared a detailed report on the condition of these instruments in the city. Mr Gray, on knowing the sorry tale, expressed his willingness to restore them.

Gray was recently in Chennai to look at pipe organs, especially those at St Mary's Church, St George's Cathedral, Egmore Wesley and St Andrew's Kirk.

His visit is the outcome of a series of measures taken by American composer Randall Giles, now in the city, to give these heritage instruments a new lease of life.

Mr Gray's musical background begins with singing in a church choir as a child. After graduating in music, he went in for a Masters in Organ Historiography.

Today, he has a five-member company- 'The Midland Organ Company' in Leicestershire.

St Mary's Church, built in 1678-80, was the first English Church in Chennai and the oldest surviving British Church in India.

There are reminders in the Church of Clive, who was married here in 1753, and of Elihu Yale, the early Governor of Chennai who later founded the famous American University bearing his name.

UNI