SHA1857

Census IDSHA1857
LocationShanghai, Dongjiadu (Tungkadoo, Church of St. Francis Xavier)
BuilderFrancois Ravary/Leopold Deleuze
SpecsI/9 + Pedal
ActionMechanical
Note:This is the famous 'Bamboo Organ of Tungkadoo'.

SHA1857 was the famous ‘Bamboo Organ of Tungkadoo’. It stood in a spacious organ loft, an addition to the original church and specifically built for its installation. Constructed at the workshops at Zikawei (Xujiahui) in 1856-57 by Fr. François Ravary (1823-91) and Br. Léopold Deleuze (1818-65), the pipes were made entirely of locally-sourced bamboo.

 Grande-Orgue (C to c3)

Flûte (open) 8′

Flûte (stopped) 8′

Musette (reed) (?) 4′

Trompette (reed, to Tenor c [?]) 8′

Flûte douce (To Tenor c) 4′

Fifre (from Middle c) 2′

Clarinette (reed) 8′

‘Orgue chinois’ (sheng, from Middle c [?]) 4′

Pedal (C to c1) Bourdon (also playable on manual) 16′

The organ was enlarged several times. See: SHA1861, and SHA1881. The builders appear to have been ignorant for the most part of the bamboo organs constructed in the Philippines during the first quarter of the 19th C. by Fr. Diego Cera, of which the sole surviving instrument is the Bamboo Organ of Las Piñas (see: http://bambooorgan.org/).

In August 1966 the ‘Bamboo Organ of Tungkadoo’ was destroyed by Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.

Dongjiadu Church (Church of St. Francis Xavier), 2013.

Dongjiadu Church, looking down the nave from the organ gallery. 1930s photograph.

Organ loft, Dongjiadu, 2013.