Organs of Mexico City Cathedral

Abstract

Published as part of <I>Visitatio Organorum</I>, a tribute to Dr. Maarten Vente, <I>The Organs of Mexico City Cathedral</I> gives a description of the two cathedral organs based on information gathered during their restoration under the author&amp;apos;s direction.<br/>A brief description of the first cathedral organ, made in Spain by Jorge de Sesma and set up in the Cathedral by Tiburcio Sans in 1693, is followed by a detailed account of the two existing organs, their muscial resources, and their restoration. Both instruments were probably made in Mexico by José Nassarre, a Spanish builder, and both were completed in 1735-1736. They are the largest eighteenth-century organs in the Americas and constitute a splendid monument to Spanish culture in the New World. It is likely that some parts of an earlier organ were incorporated into one or both of the present instruments, and Flentrop notes the problems of dating them precisely.<br/>The restoration, begun in 1975 and completed in 1978, is described in detail; changes found to have been made in the original instruments are noted. Pipe scales and dispositions for both organs are given, along with other technical information about their design and construction.