It is an instrument which has its antecedents in the distant
past. The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving
pressurized air (called wind) through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard.
The origins of the pipe organ can be traced back to the hydraulis in Ancient
Greece, in the 3rd century BC, in which the wind supply was created by the
weight of displaced water in an airtight container. Pipe organs are installed
in churches, synagogues, concert halls, schools, other public buildings and in
private properties. This paper revealed earlier in the week the pipe organ at
the Rachol Seminary was restored by Fernando Fernandes and his daughter Fara
along with the carpenter Damiao D’sa. This pipe organ is one of seven in Goa.
They were transported over by sea from Germany anytime between 1888 and 1897.
No records remain of the transfer of these magnificent beasts.
These are monumental machines that create music when handled
with love. The job came to Fernando after father Doel Dias, familiar with his
ability called him and enquired if he would be interested in taking up the
task. Fernando said “I can open anything and repair them. I have worked on a
ship and done a lot of electrical, mechanical and electronic repair work. I had
an assignment at the Panjim church which I completed successfully followed by
similar work at the Holy Spirit Church in Margao”. These are machines which are
pretty complex and require time to be devoted to them. For the two jobs
mentioned earlier it took him almost four years to repair them.
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The organ in Rachol took him two years and four months to
repair. He said he stripped down the entire organ and created parts that were
spoiled. He said “I made machine parts since nothing was available. I had to
make complicated valves, pipes with holes and bring back to life dead pipes. It
was very complicated and every micro-inch mattered.”
In this endeavour he was assisted by his daughter Fara who is a
dentist. Fernando said since all the measurements were in micrometers, his
daughter was very helpful because she was very good at it.
He was sometimes forced to bring work home and had created
machinery to help him. He said there was no literature to help him. If he was
stuck he smiled and said he would take a nap and would usually wake up with a
germ of an idea. The seminary, he said, was kind enough to provide him with a
room to stay over at night if he wished but he preferred going home.
The
work he said was very intense but very rewarding and it would be great when the
inauguration would take place. That is happening today at the seminary and one
can only hope the music that emerges from its depths will be innards and will
be satisfying to everyone.
