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SA’s ‘sweetest’ organ turns 100 BY PADDY KEARNEY
T
HE centenary of the dedication of the organ of Emmanuel cathedral in Durban will be marked by a unique recital on April 17 at 13:00, when six well-known organists will display their talents as well as the celebrated sound of the cathedral organ. Entry for the recital is free, with no need to book. A hundred years ago, on April 17, 1912, a large crowd of music lovers flocked to Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral to hear the first recital on the new organ, filling the church long before the starting time of 19:30. The Natal Advertiser publicised three organ recitals for that week. On the next day, St James’s Anglican church in Morningside would be dedicating their organ, and on the Saturday evening there would be a grand recital in Durban’s City Hall. That was clearly a heyday for organ music: today we count ourselves lucky if there are three organ recitals in one year, and the magnificent organ in the City Hall has long been silent. Over the past one hundred years this organ has added splendour and dignity to countless liturgical celebrations and special events including the consecration of the cathedral in 1939, the consecration of 31year old Bishop Denis Hurley in 1947, many special celebrations during the Marian Congress of 1952, the installation of Archbishop (now Cardinal) Wilfrid Napier in 1992, the burial of Archbishop Hurley in 2004 and the centenary of the cathedral in the same year. The organ 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. 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. For the occasion of the dedication a hundred years ago, the Cathedral Choir was augmented to 67 voices (21 sopranos, 17 altos, 14 tenors and 15 basses) conducted by their
The 100-year-old organ of Durban’s Emmanuel cathedral and (inset, from left) organ builder Joop Admiraal, cathedral musical director Pinkie Mtshali and cathedral administrator Fr Stephen Tully. (Photos: Costa Criticos) choir master, Patrick Beresford Smyly, and with F E Lee from Johannesburg brought in specially to play the organ for this great occasion. Admission was by ticket only and these could be purchased “on the payment of a small charge” of 2s 6d at the various “music sellers” in town. Ladies were reminded that “hats must be worn in the church”. The organ recital included music by Bach, Mozart, Rossini and Mendelssohn and a few less well-known composers.
The organ has come to be regarded as the finest “romantic” organ in KwaZuluNatal. Mr Admiraal said it is “unrivalled in South Africa for the sweetness of its sound”. For the centenary, Pinkie Mtshali, director of music at Emmanuel cathedral, has organised a unique ecumenical recital in which six local organists will play on April 17. They are Fr Henry Ratering CMM, organist of the Monastery church in Mariannhill; Christopher Cockburn of the University of
KwaZulu-Natal’s Music School; Melvin Peters, organist of St Paul’s Anglican church in Durban; Barry Carbis, former organist of Emmanuel cathedral; Peter Carruthers, organist of Durban North and Stamford Hill Methodist churches; Don Powell, organist for several Congregational and Methodist Churches. 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.
German students give school a make-over MAURICIO LANGA
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Two students from Düsseldorf fix German and South African flags on top of Mariannhill Primary School, which they helped to renovate. (Photo: Mauricio Langa)
ARIANNHILL Primary School pupils received a pleasant surprise when they returned from their Easter break to a renovated school, thanks to the work of a group of German high school students who pooled their time and resources to give the school a make-over. A group of 14 students and two mentors from Max-Planck-Gymnasium in Düsseldorf gave the Mariannhill Primary School, which had been in a dilapidated state, a facelift. They were inspired to do so after meeting Bishop Pius Dlungwane of Mariannhill. Max-Planck-Gymnasium has an organisation known as Signs of Life for Africa as a component of its social responsibility programme. As part of the project, the group worked tirelessly in renovating the school during the Easter holidays. The refurbishments included fixing broken windows, replacing gutters, and painting the roof, doors, window frames and classroom walls.
“As we carry on with this comprehensive refurbishment, we hope to maintain this good relationship with the school and ensure that the children not only get a good education, but also that they study in a good and conducive environment,” said Carl-Wilhelm Bienfeld, a religion teacher at Max-Planck-Gymnasium. “We call it concrete peace service as we are committed in helping people of Africa in different ways, hence the name ‘Signs of Life for Africa’,” he said, adding that as a teacher for religious studies he came to understand that it is not enough to provide religious teaching without putting it into practice. Student Jakob Pluschke said the group found the experience fulfilling and interesting. The Signs of Life for Africa was established soon after the devastating tsunami of Boxing Day 2004 that killed hundreds of thousands in Asia. The organisation is currently also building a nursing training college in Uganda.