Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-03-12
HISTORIC ORGAN PIPE.
Found to Bear Ancient Inscription Say
,pr n WINS Sounded nv Handel,

Ing II WnS BOUNCED by HANDEL.
When tho first new memorial organ
was installed in the First Parish Church.
Scituate. Mass, the former instrument
was given to the Unitarian society in
Pa,o Alto, Cal In order to have II
properly set up and repaired Felix
Schcnstein. an expert from San Francis
co was engaged and in unpaeking the
instrument he found that two of the
smaller wooden pipes were Of different
material and workmanship from the
others. and that one of them was COW
cred on two sides with handwriting, so
faint as TO he almost undccI phcrahle.
He ut once concluded that when the or
gan was built tsoinc two or three de-
cadcs aso) these pipes had been taken
from still older organ--a practice not
al all uncommon. since the wooden pipes
like vio!ins. gain in sweetness and re-
sonancc with age. Careful examination
Of the inscriptions proved that he was
right. and that at least one OF the pipes
Che {, pipe) has seen nearly two centur-
les Of mo,odious service saws the Ros-
| ton Transcript.
On one side Of this pipe is written in
bold ld-fashoned hand. with many
1ourishee 20 the capitals. this legend ::
| Put up hy Gilbert & woodbridge, Or
sanders to his Honor" On the other.
in finer writing with many of tho words
very difficult 10 read, wore these: Put
up in So Reading, April, 1872" and
This pipe was made by Enetzer 60 in
| London about 30 years ago and has
been made to sound by Handel and was
heard by George washington when com
|
| bridge"
| Since these two last-ouoted inscriptions
are in ohviouslr different handuritinss.
the date given in the one IS OF no value
in fixing the about n hundred years
ago Of the other. If Handel ever made
it sound the pipe must have been con
structed at least as early as the middle
Of the lath century. for Handel died in
London in l15o rhs would make the
! pipe at least 10 yoars old. r.. as seems
reasonable. the two writings ware put
! in AT the SAM time but by different
hands. tho pip" would he nearly ~
years old From the quaint wording Of
tho inscription frst quoted it ie lik-'S
, that it was written by the earliest work
men on il. some z'here in old London
! Tho use Of the t'le "His Honor" woul6
indicate that it Was not. by Gilbert &
WOODBRIDGE. at least, set up in a church
| II is Likely that the pipe was made fo1
an organ used first in London. whcr,
Handel, who. in spite Of his blindness
continued TO play almost up to the TIM
Of his death, may have accompanied on'
Of his own oratorios upon it. Before tn,
American Revolution. the organ (an'
this pipe with it, must have been ship
ped to Cambridge perhaps in the sam
way that the organ which now contain
the pipe was shipped across the CONT
ncnt-as a gift from an old church Z
a pioneer.
In Cambridge it must have been plac
ed in Christ Church. in front Of which
under the old elm, Washington tool
command OF the continental army OF
July >. 1913. and where h. wo.shippe,
until in the succeeding spring ne force
the evacuation of Boston. 1t is doubt
full. moreover. IL an organ would hav
been desired or tolerated in the Purita
Cambridge Of that day, in any othe
meeting house save the Episcopaiia
Chris. Church.
This old London organ must have bee
torn out to make room for a new on
some time in the early decades Of tn
10th century. and one or possibly two O
its pipes have strayed into an instru
mcnt for church in South Reading
How these ever got into the organ i
the Scituate church there is nothing t
indicate.
The instrument. as has been found
, preparing for the installation was cS
trrmely we'll built in the first place an
, shows its honest quality now.