Organological study of the Harmonium of the Guayacn Church

Sebastin Carrasco Mendoza This work talks about several problematic but it is mainly centered in the relation between an instrument and it socio-historical context. For that was necessary make a multidisciplinary focusing, but at the same time it must include each point of view, this referral to the conception of the music like a phenomenon, this idea was taken from the focusing from the Samuel Claros Musicology, then was used the concepts about the historical fact and hermeneutics from the Carl Dahlhauss Historical Musicology, the historical need and social role from the Kurt Blaupkofs Sociology of the Music and the ideas to described an instrument from the Curt Sachss Organology. From this point of view is understandable the Guayacns Harmonium1 like an axis to the cultural development from there and therefore like a unification agent of the towns identity that was reflected through of polls and interviews in the town and the church from there. For that was worked about the town history, because dont exist a one big text about it history and the important facts that enable comprehend the rise, decline and stagnation current, although the town was very important in the second half of the XIXs century, not just in Chile also in the world. Now the problem is that many springs to understand the reasons about the actual scenery have disappeared by the dead of Guayacn inhabitants, and their history, traditions and culture have been transmitted orally, aspect that during the development of the research is significant to understand the actual relation between the harmonium and its environment. Is important to say that in the no-commons aspects of this instrument, one of these is that it was made by a company that in the XIXs century was important, Mason & Hamlin was became in one of the biggest competitors of the Steinwayn & Sons. The Mason & Hamlin power has a direct relation with power that had the Urmeneta-Errzuriz family, owners of the factories, port and mines in the Coquimbo Region, and for that they were the towns owners. The Guayacn history was divided in 3 big periods, the first one was the beginning and the rise of it, in which is possible remark the importance that was generated in a town far away from Santiago, the Chiles Capital, being the biggest copper refinery from the world, giving much power to its owners who were influent politics and businessman in Chile. In this way, the church arrived to the town from the Eiffel workshop and was purchase by a Urmenetas daughter. This church is where the harmonium has been until today. The second period is characterized by the bankrupt of all companies from the town, the dead of the owners, these two subjects made the decline of the town and it did that the English people that came to work like engineers emigrated out of the town, leaving mainly the poor people, who were the social base of the current town; and the last important fact was the transfer of the companies to the state and it killed the development of the town, closed all production in 1925, but also arrived the priest Juan Van Hecke 2, who raised the tradition from the church and relived the religion in the town, his dead is the beginning of the third and actual period, which is characterized for the high
1 2

Guayacn is a little town at the south from Coquimbo, in the Coquimbo Region in Chile. All the people from there said the name from him is Juan, but he is from Netherland, and nobody knew the exact date of his dead.

unemployed, but with a significant conscience of the identity of the town people and the elements that include their identity, where are the architecture, history, traditions like the religious holidays, the mass, inter alias; thus achieving the recognition of the town and it church like National Inheritage by the National Council of Monument. The church is unique in Chile. Is important note that one of the most important consequences from the bankrupt was the emigration of the rich people, mainly English and aristocrats, making the actual homogenization of the town, being almost all of the inhabitants from the same social and cultural origin. For that reasons, the harmonium occupy an important role in the cultural progress of that zone, as well it is in the same place that was since arrived and many people go to the mass from there for harmonium, mainly old people, just by the sonority that has this instrument, being to them like a medium3 to get closer to God. Actually, the harmonium isnt used often, but its just why nobody in the town knows play it and read the music that it has, generating a great frustrating between the people desire and it realization. To the people from there the history, mechanism and the music sheets that has the harmonium are an enigma, nevertheless many people knows very significance information about it, but just keeping orally and mixed with some folktales. The harmonium history is very linked with the town history, for that is divided in 3 periods also. The first is when it arrived to the church, but this fact keep being a mysterious, as was identified a Liverpool like the port where it came. At the beginning the harmonium was very important, because the owners of the church knew play music and always went to Europe to buy organs, harmoniums or things to the churches in Chile, making a historical need. The second period is related with the economic decline of the town, but the harmonium had a rise with the arrived of the priest Juan Van Hecke, who tried to rescue that tradition and in this time many books with music arrived to the church, but to many people from the town the priest destroyed their inheritage as the church was painted with other color and some stuff from inside disappeared, also the harmonium was included and just appeared in 20014. When this priest died, the harmonium dont use more being this it current status but just is used to the Novena, a holyday that begin nine days before the big Religious Holyday in January. The research included a complete examination of the instrument that was opened fully to identify the year of it, which model is and the mechanism that it has, because Mason & Hamlin was characterized by the way that it built instruments so much different than the Europeans harmoniums, in fact many of it recognition was by the innovations that putted in the instruments. Is important to say that it company had a history very similar with the town, was one of the most productive instruments builders and then was bankrupt but actually it just builds pianos. In this way the instrument was dated to 1874 and it is a model Style T, kind of harmonium that appear just in that year and never more was sold. Other important fact is when it was revised, was possible to see that it wasnt modified and is in its original status. It shows that the people are caring a lot of this instrument and also to them is a symbol of the Guayacn rise period. The material that was found inside of the harmonium are very interested and clarifier to understand the role of the musician in the Catholic Church before the Second Vatican Council. This council is one of the most important reasons why the organs and harmoniums itching to not be used, mainly in Latin America. Between
3

The word that they used was Va in Spanish. I propose to see in the translation like a medium because is the meaning closer to the idea that they give, because the harmonium transfer them to God. 4 To see more information about the transformation about the church you can visit the next website http://www.vitruvius.com.br/revistas/read/minhacidade/07.077/1934

the texts found were: Harmonium Schule de August Reinhard (1906), Lira Religiosa Americana (1906), Gloria al Seor!, Cancionero popular parroquial (1955), Cnticos para las funciones de la igleisa con acompaamiento del armonio (1957)5, inter alias. All of its have musical material to harmonium with voices in Latin and Spanish, also have prologue that explains how the musician should be prepared to play and how they should organize the music to the mass. Also is relevant to note that always the musician must be anonymous during the mass and all the voices must sound like just one. To close is remarkable the relation that the instrument had with it social context, as well it was strongly linked with the families own of the town, who had a strong attachment with the Catholic Church, that reflects in the purchase of many church including this, the obtaining of the harmonium and many travels that they did to Holy Land, this aspect is very typical in the Chilean aristocrat of the XIX century, also with a pyramidal society, where in the head is the families Urmeneta-Quiroga and Errzuriz-Urmeneta; in the middle with the engineers principally English people that believed in the protestant religion6; and at the end, the workers that in the mostly were Chileans that arrived to Guayacn looking work and despite they lived in a catholic society, they werent too close with the official religion, but rather they made their religiosity through popular traditions and beliefs like the Religious Holiday. Like the result of the historical process that had the town, actually the society from there is very homogenous, this characteristic is reflected in the cohesion and in the development of a transversal identity covering all the ages of the people, but now the biggest social differentiation is the relation that have each one with the past of the town, when they arrived for example, for those arrived in the last year are seeing like guilty of the poor, the crime, the bad image of the town and that to them dont bother the inheritgae of there. In this way the harmonium like a musical instrument, allow understand a part of the identity of the town and it people, because in it is possible to see how the inhabitants want to rescue their past and rise again, but in a cultural way. Also it shows the importance that has to them the music in the religion, where actually the priest doesnt care in preserve the traditional music and language, also is possible see that a musical instrument is in the same way a mystic object that in the beginning was far of this people but now they appropriated it and put inside of their identity being a very non-common case in the Coquimbo Region, even though all these social facts are very representative of the Chilean history.

This book is very important because was printed in Chile and the version that was found is the 4 edition from it that shows an important harmonium activity in Chile in the first half of the XXs century. 6 Was found a recording that talk about a little chapel that they had but it was destroyed and also they founded a secular cementary where is buried jewish and protestants that someones fought in the WWI with Great Britain flag.

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