Updates for April 2025
30 April 2025The Pipe Organ in China Project has one update for this month, but it is an interesting one, and a long-overdue installation.
This is the Wurlitzer Style H theater organ, given many years ago to the Gulangyu Organ Arts Centre/Museum in Xiamen. Restoration of the instrument was finally completed by Shanghai Pi Organ Industrial and Australian organ builder Ian Wakeley in February this year. It has been added to the Census as FCW2025. This bring to two the number of restored cinema organs in China, preceded last year by the restoration of PEK1920, the Kimball organ at PUMC. There was, of course, an earlier Wurlitzer in China, SHA1918, about which very little is known at present. The Project is grateful to organist Scott Harrison for the photo of FCW2025 and the specs.
The Xiamen institution is now sometimes found to be referred to with its pre-1949 geographical name, Kulangsu Organ Arts Centre. Although confusing, this is an interesting instance of what has recently been identified as hypercoloniality (so-called ‘colonial’ history shorn of its contumely and negative political baggage, and re-imagined as part of mere ‘lifestyle’ and leisure activities.) The Project has noted in the past two years a few other locations in former Treaty Port areas reverting to Wade-Giles or other old local romanization spellings.
Organs in the Census: 213
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