Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexico. Show all posts

Friday, January 1, 2016

Mexico: University (UNAM)

The Universidad Nacional de Mexico (UNAM) celebrated its hundredth anniversary in 2010. The postal service commemorated the celebrate with the issuance of a six-stamp mini-sheet showing various historical and contemporary aspects of the university. First among these is a stamp showing the Simon Bolivar Auditorium at the inauguration of the school. Obvious at the rear of the stage is a pipe organ. Very little is known about the instrument. Through some international sleuthing Mark Jameson has come up with the following information (from his OCJ article (#11) covering organ/stamps from Mexico):

With the help of a number of members of OHS, and an appeal on the Facebook page of Organs of Mexico, I had a response from Jesús Bernal of the University of Mexico: “You are seeing [above] a superimposed fake facade over the real organ behind. It was a 1902 Schlag organ bought for the National Conservatory because the Amphiteater was used for many concerts as a second Conservatory auditorium. This organ was unfortunately destroyed in the 1980s.” As the organ builder went out of business in 1923 we are not likely to find what the covered organ was, unless someone has a specification. It was a long search that led to the making of many contacts and finding out a lot more about Mexican organs.

Sadly unless one can find a concert program perhaps, we are likely to never know the specification of this instrument. The sheet of six stamps is SCN 2695, the individual stamps are a, b, c and on the second row, d, e, f. All of the stamps are denominated $7.

I found this image for the music department at the university. One wonders if the arched opening in the wall is the very one shown in the stamp, with the non-speaking facade filling most of it?



The Mexican post office also issued a 100-label charity pane showing many of the same elements from the postal-use pane. The funds raised were designated to tuberculosis relief.

The sheet is quite large, not quite fitting on my scanning device.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Santo Domingo, Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca (Mexico)


This is one of two high-value stamps from the set of six, $13.50. It shows the organ in the Santo Domingo, Yanhuitlan. the church was built in 1548 and the organ in 1700. Like many instruments of this locale and era, the instrumenthas a single keyboard of 45 notes and no pedal division. The instrument was work done in 1886 (an inscription inside the instrument), and again in 1996-1998 by Pascal Quoirin from France. View more information about the instrument at the IOHIO site here.

Mark Jameson's article gives this specification:

Left hand
Flautado mayor 8'
Flautado bardon 8'
Octava 4'
Tapadillo 4'
Docena 2 2/3'
Quincena 2'
Diez y novena 1 1/3'
Veintodosena 1
Cimbala 2/3'
Lleno
Trompeta real 8'

Right hand
Trompeta real 8'
Clarin claro 8'
Flautado mayor 8'
Flautado bardon 8'
Octava 4'
Tapadillo 4'
Docena 2 2/3'
Quincena 2'
Diez y novena 1 1/3'
Veintidosena 1'
Cimbala 2/3'
Lleno

("Lleno" seems to refer to a sort of combining stop of several pitches.)

San Andres, Zautla, MEX (IOHIO)


One of two middle-value stamps from the IOHIO set, this shows the organ in San Andres Church in Zautla, Oaxaca. The church dates from the 17th century and the instrument from 1726. The IOHIO site divides organ history in Oaxaca into four periods; this instrument is placed in the first/earliest. The site also reports that there are faces painted on at least some of the facade pipes, making it a polychrome example. The case was restored in 1990 and the rest of the instrument in 1996 by Susan Tattershall. This stamp also has an "error" stamp associated with it. On some copies of the stamp the final "s" is missing for the word "Instrumentos."

Mark Jameson gives this specification of the instrument in his OCJ article. As with many smaller instruments this one has no unison pitch stop; the lowest register is a 4' flute. The single, 45-note, keyboard is divided. There is no pedal division.

Left-hand
Flautado 4'
Tambor
Veintidosena 1/2' - 1'
Diez y novena 2/3'
Quincena 1'
Octava 2'

Right-hand
Flautado I 4'
Pajaritos
Octava I 2'
Docena/Octava 1 1/3' - 1'
Flautado II 4'
Octava II 2'

An excellent summary article by David Warren Steel has includes information about each of the organs in the 2013 set of stamps, as well as photos.


IOHIO: Mexico


Mexico leaped into the organ-stamp world in 2010-2013. First came a mini-sheet celebrating the 100th anniversary of the National University of Mexico; one of the stamps showed an auditorium with an organ on the stage. On December 20, 2013 came a set of 6 stamps honoring the 10th anniversary of the Historical Institute of Organ based in Oaxaca. The sheet of stamps had 5 of each design. A pair of articles in the Organ Club Journal provides much of the information I have about the stamps and the organs shown. Dr. Barbara Owen's article discusses the history and work of the IOHIO; Mark Jameson's article gives very helpful details about each instrument shown on the stamps. Organs in Oaxaca are unique in that so many remain unused presently but capable and worthy of being restored. The organs reflect Spanish musical models, but incorporate distinctly Oaxacan artistic elements. This issue warrants individual posts on each stamp in the series.