The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1897-07-06
HILO'S NEW ORGAN.
Successful Dedication of a Fine In
StrIIment Saturday Evening.

StrumSnt SATURDAY Evening".
HILO, July 3.-The great event of
the week here has been the dedication
of the fine new pipe organ, recently
erected in the Foreign Church by the
John Bergstrom & Sons Organ Manu-
featuring Company of San Francisco.
II has been looked forward TO by our
residents and surrounding neighbors
for several weeks. At one time il was
thought that both the organ and
church would be dedicated during the
Victoria Jubilee week, but this was
found TO be impracticable. However,
the eve of the Glorious Fourth was
considered to be an opportune time to
have the first pipe organ erected on
the Island of Hawaii dedicated.
Arrangements had been made some
time previous with Mr.. Wray Taylor,
the well-known organist of st. An
drew's Cathedral, Honolulu, to come up
and assist at the dedication exercises.
He came on the S. s. Kinau and
brought with him Mr.. B. l.. Marx, a
skflful violinist There was much re-
that, owing to indisposition, Mrs. E.
D. Tenney would not be able to take
part. Owing to the steamer Kinau
leaving Immediately after the concert,
your correspondent is, in a certain
way, limited as to his account of this
very pleasant concert 1t was a de-
cided success in every way. The
church was crowded in every part with
ntu h
urbs There is no need to say any
thing of the church itself, only that it
is an elegant structure, and will be
dedicated on Sunday, July 4th, with
appropriate exercises.
The program for the organ dedica-
ton contained II number, of which
five were organ solos by Mr.. Wray
Taylor He was perfectly at home at
the large instrument, and his fine play
ing was a delightful enjoyment to the
audience The various stops in the or
gan were displayed in such a manner
as to show that he was handling an
instrument that was a credit to it's
builders. In the second part of the
program, Mr.. Taylor received quite an
ovation, and was twice encored, after
playing a Scotch air, which charmed
the audience His imitation of the bag
pipes was perfect, and many in the au-
dience imagined themselves once
more in Bonnie Scotland. After play
ing Wagners "Tannhauser March, -
the last number on the program, Mr.
Taylor gave the "Star Spangled Ban
ner' and t.Auld Lang Syne" and then
left the church direct for the steamer
Kinau, waiting for him to return home
Miss Willis, of Wainaku, sang an
ave Maria" by Gounod, with accom-
paniment of violin, organ and piano
in fine style and deserved in every way
the encore accorded her She also rem
dered several solos in the anthems.
The church choir, under the direc-
ton of Mr. F. M. Wakefield, rendered
three anthems and a ''Te Deum" dur
ing the evening. Their singing was ex-
cellent, and reflected much credit on
the director, who also ably presided at
the organ. We feel proud of our
choir. But the gem of the evening was
the Largo" by Handel, played by
Mr.. Marx, violin; Mr.. Wakefield, piano.
and Mr.. Taylor, organ. 1t was grandly
played and the audience insisted on
it's repetition.
Hilo has never had a more delightful
concert. Mr.. Taylor stated to your
correspondent that the organ was an
unusually fine instrument, and we'll
built in every particular. Some of the
stops are remarkably sweet, and the
organ is a decided ornament to the
church. 1t has two rows of keys and
26 stops. The action is reversed, so
that the player sits with his back to
the instrument. The case is made of
oak, and the two fronts of pipes are
richly decorated in gold, cream, white
and light blue. Mr.. Taylor further
stated that the Hilo people were fortu-
nate in having the services Of Mr..
Wakefield as organist and director Of
the music in the church