(Organ builder Joop Admiraal, with Pinkie Mtshali, Emmanuel Cathedral music director, and Father Stephen Tully. Photo supplied by Costas Criticos)A rare chance for enthusiasts to experience the majesty of music’s ‘King of Instruments’… (by William Charlton-Perkins, courtesy of The Mercury)
While the Durban City Hall’s external renovations drag on, symphony seasons come and go, and music lovers inside the building continue to gaze at its long-defunct grand organ as a mute if resplendent backdrop to the KZN Philharmonic Orchestra in concert mode.
So in the interests of alerting readers to a special chance of hearing another fine city representative of the ‘King of Instruments’ in action, this column carries an edited version of an article sent me courtesy of Paddy Kearney, announcing the centenary celebration of Emmanuel Cathedral’s organ.
Pinkie Mtshali, the Cathedral’s director of music, has organised a unique ecumenical recital in which six local organists will play from 13h00 to 14h00 on April 17. They are: Father Henry Ratering CMM, Organist of the Monastery Church, Mariannhill; Christopher Cockburn of the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s Music School; Melvin Peters, Organist of St Paul’s Anglican Church, Durban; Barry Carbis, former Organist of Emmanuel Cathedral; Peter Carruthers, Organist of Durban North and Stamford Hill Methodist Churches; and Don Powell, Organist for several Congregational and Methodist Churches.
Harking back a century, Kearney writes that a large crowd of music lovers flocked to Durban’s Emmanuel Cathedral on April 17, 1912, eager to hear the first recital on the new organ, filling the church long before the starting time of 19h30.
Over the past 10 decades, this organ has added splendour and dignity to countless liturgical celebrations and special events. It has survived ‘being rebuilt and converted to electric action’ in the early 1950s, and being put out of action when an electric storm in late 2010 totally destroyed the computers in the console and the organ itself. A slow process of replacing various parts with spares flown out from Germany as well as insurance complications, caused a delay of nearly eight months, according to Pretoria organ builder, Joop Admiraal.
Kearny relates how the instrument, described as an English Romantic organ, originally took six months to build in the Abbott and Smith factory in Leeds, England. Before it was dismantled and packed for the long sea voyage to Durban, it was tested by several leading British organists including Dr RR Terry of Westminster Cathedral, who did some final overhauling before endorsing its readiness for Durban’s Cathedral. Then it was loaded onto the SS Umgeni. Mr HP Naylor travelled on the same ship to supervise the installation in Durban.
Kearney records the organ’s arrival in Durban harbour on January 12, 1912, caused much excitement at Emmanuel Cathedral. Over the following six weeks Naylor supervised its assembly in the Cathedral choir loft by W. Kemp of City Organ Works, Pietermaritzburg, with a further week for tuning and finishing touches. “The assembling must have been a huge and complex task with 1,773 pipes of different sizes ranging from 16 feet to 1.5 inches in length, 46 stops, and weighing altogether about 13 tons, to be hauled up into the choir loft and carefully put into place. The wooden case in which the organ stands is itself a work of art, made of Austrian oak, designed in Durban by TPC McEvilly, with architectural features of several English churches including Westminster Abbey.”
The dedication saw the Cathedral Choir augmented to 67 voices with Mr FE Lee from Johannesburg brought in specially to play the organ for the occasion. The inauguration of what was one of the country’s largest organs, renowned today for its sweetness of sound, included music by Bach, Mozart, Rossini and Mendelssohn.
Fast forward to next week’s special centenary recital, for which the Cathedral benches will be turned around so that the audience will face the organ. A retiring collection will be taken at the end of the recital to help defray expenses. Secure parking will be available in the Cathedral grounds.
On another note, The KZN Philharmonic launches a new series titled “Intimate Encounters”, on April 15 and 22 at 18h00 at the Jewish Club. These concerts are geared for a smaller orchestra in a relaxed, weekend atmosphere, enabling the musicians to mingle with patrons during interval while enjoying snacks and drinks from the cash bar.
This new series is partly an offshoot of the orchestra’s new music programme. This involves reading sessions to give South African composers an opportunity to hear their works in rehearsal and discuss their music with the coordinator of the New Music Initiative, composer David Plylar. Scores from around the country are reviewed and selected by Plylar and conductor Lykele Temmingh; then chosen on merit and on the educational impact that a live reading would have on the composer. Submitted pieces are also considered for performance.
The programme of April 15 includes: Fauré’s Masques et bergamasques; Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin; Shostakovich’s Chamber Symphony; as well as Angie Mullins’ Murder in the Kitchen. On April 22 the orchestra will perform: Malcolm Dedman’s Danses Concertantes; Ernest Bloch’s Concerto Grosso No 1 with guest pianist Liezel-Maret Jacobs from UKZN; Stravinsky’s Pulcinella Suite; and Walton’s Façade Suite No 1. Both concerts will conducted by Lykele Temmingh. Tickets available at the door are R60. For enquiries call 031 369 9438. – William Charlton-Perkins
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