Music Council sings praises of pipe organ

Press, 17 June 1983, Page 5

Music Council sings praises of pipe organ

The Christchurch Civic Music Council says it is surprised and dismayed that the Christchurch Town Hall Board is considering buying an electronic organ. The council’s chairman, Mr Wallace Woodley, said yesterday that members of his organisation and the Christchurch Organists’ Association were adamant that this would be a retrograde step.

He said Christchurch had an internationally recognised concert hall and it should also have the best pipe organ possible. Mr Woodley’s comments were prompted by discussion at the Town Hall Board’s monthly meeting, reported in “The Press” yesterday. He said he was delighted to learn that there was already $92,000 in the Town Hall’s organ fund, but said it had been given for the purpose of buying a pipe organ and his council strongly opposed its being used to buy •an electronic organ.

Although a pipe organ could cost about $500,000, Mr Woodley said this amount could be trimmed by modifying present hopes. If the board could provide

some revenue and a cultural facilities grant was forthcoming, almost half the money would be raised, he said. ’There was a lot of public support for such a purchase and he had a long list of names of people willing to join a fund-raising team. A fine pipe organ would not cost much more than a good electronic organ, he said.

As Christchurch was generally recognised as the most musical of New Zealand’s cities, Mr Woodley was confident that a pipe organ would be used, for example, at organ recitals, civic ceremonial occasions, graduation ceremonies, choral performances, school music festivals, religious services, and at occasions

when a full orchestra would be too expensive. Mr Woodley said it was possible that a pipe organ could provide additional uses for the Town Hall and thereby generate greater revenue.

Claims that an electronic organ would be of more use were also questioned. Mr Woodley said such an organ would only have a life of about 20 ’ years in these times of rapid electronic advancement. A pipe organ would last more than 100 years, he said. His inquiries showed that all the organisations who had hired an organ to use at the Town Hall would have been able to use the facilities to greater advantage had a pipe organ been installed.