The organ in China

A digital organ at the Music Expo in 2012

Under the government led by Mao Tse Tung, the pipe organ was banned in China, as it was the musical symbol of Western Religion’s ideology and dogma. So even though there are some large Western style churches remaining in China, there are no organs in these buildings. The best example of a Western Cathedral that I saw was the Jesuit Church at Xujiahui in Shanghai. The building has an architectural style that is reminiscent of the neogothic style, but when one enters and gazes up at the choir loft, there is no organ, only a great empty space where an instrument once stood, before it was likely removed sometime after 1949, the year the Communists came to power. But with the technological revolution and the growth in popularity of Western music, there have appeared all types of instruments, among them the digital organ. Although I would love to see the pipe organ re-introduced to China, the cost and the lack of skilled players would present a serious obstacle to the instrument’s gaining any kind of widespread popularity. But the availability of digital instruments like the one seen here, are gaining traction and sparking interest. So I have been paying attention to these digital instruments and, since they are clearly the future in terms of affordability and practicality, I am always on the lookout for models that can play the repertoire that was composed for the traditional pipe organ. I hope to present a more complete picture of the organ’s future (pipe and digital) in a more extensive article.

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