Ana Margarita Palma, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_bamboo.jpg"/></figure></div><p>LAS PINAS -- It has stood the test of time, survived several natural disasters, has been attacked by pests, and damaged by dust, grime, and disuse. Two hundred years later, the famed Bamboo Organ of the St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas still plays music beautifully.</p><p>Created by Spanish priest Fr. Diego Cera in 1816, the bamboo organ is essentially a retro-18th century Spanish organ (reminiscent of those built during the 18th and 19th centuries).</p><p>Fr. Cera, himself a musician and instrument builder, wanted to put a pipe organ in the parish church that was also being built. Instead of using metal tubes and pipes, he opted to use bamboo as a raw material. He applied his knowledge and asked help from Filipinos to collect bamboo and buried them in beach sand for about a year as a means to harden the bamboo, make them survive termite infestation, and last longer.</p><figure class="op-social"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="287" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/x428Au_GskU" width="510"></iframe></figure><p>It wasn’t until several years later that the bamboo organ was completed and became playable. With some fine tuning it produced sounds that were similar, if not better, than metal-based pipe organs.</p><p>&quot;Fr. Cera was not just an organ builder but he also was a scientist. He had experimented already with bamboo, how to make sounds out of bamboo, because the bamboo doesn&#x27;t speak by itself,” according to Fr. Leo Renier, a Belgian priest and musician.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_father.jpg"/></figure></div><div><strong>Saving a heritage</strong></div><p>When Renier arrived in the Philippines in 1969, the <a href="http://bambooorgan.org/"><strong>Bamboo Organ Foundation</strong></a>, at that time already over 150 years old, was badly deteriorated and was unplayable. It already suffered through several earthquakes and typhoons.</p><p>Together with Fr. Mark Lesage, they led the organ&#x27;s restoration, which started in 1973, with many of its parts sent to Bonn, Germany for extensive restoration. Fr. Renier himself took up a study trip in Spain to learn more about the bamboo organ’s original maker, Fr. Cera.</p><p>&quot;He (Fr. Cera) was planning to build an organ not for 10 years. But he was thinking really to build an organ that is going to be for centuries,&quot; Fr. Renier said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_bamboo2.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Upon completion of the restoration in 1975, the instrument was returned to the Philippines and it was then that Fr. Renier started the International Bamboo Organ Festival, which he headed as its executive director.</p><p>Since then, the festival is held to celebrate the organ&#x27;s restoration. Reinier claimed the organ has produced &quot;world-class sound&quot; since it was restored.</p><p>&quot;I&#x27;m sure even the maker, Fr. Cera, would never have heard the organ now the way he did before,&quot; Fr. Renier said.</p><p>According to Fr. Renier, this annual event is as much a celebration of classical, historical music in the Philippines as it is a means to preserve the instrument. In fact, the secret to preservation is perhaps the simplest one.</p><p>&quot;When it comes to the preservation there is nothing else to do. The only thing is that you have to blow into it. If you don&#x27;t play the organ regularly, then the dust will settle in the vents. The cockroaches will be there, and the rats will be there to settle in the pipes. And then the organ will not speak,&quot; Renier answered.</p><p>It is not every day that the organ is played by a professional organist : only then the audience can hear the beauty of the organ. Currently, Professor Armando Salarza is the one to play this 200-year old instrument regularly.</p><p>&quot;It is very important to realize that it is only now that we can really hear the beauty of the organ because of the organist we have,&quot; Fr. Renier said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_prof.jpg"/></figure></div><div><strong>An instrument of identity</strong></div><p>Aside from letting people hear tunes from the organ, Renier said their efforts are really about preservation of a heritage, which he believes is an important part of nation-building. The organ must be played regularly not only to keep it functioning properly but also to keep the pride and identity of a culture.</p><p>&quot;The purpose of heritage is it gives you a certain pride. It links people together. We have the bamboo organ. The bamboo organ is ours. You don&#x27;t say ‘ah this is Spanish’ because all the Filipinos will also say ‘this is ours,’&quot; Fr. Renier said.</p><p>&quot;And that is all part of the whole preservation of the bamboo organ.&quot;</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_choir2.jpg"/></figure></div><p>However, just like the bamboo organ that faced threats of destruction, the annual festival almost faced its own demise because of the dwindling funds from both the government and private corporations.</p><p>&quot;We get support from National Commission for Culture and the Arts, from the Department of Tourism but we would like to have a little bit more,&quot; Renier said.</p><p>According to him, some of their funds were taken from pork barrel. But due to the controversial pork barrel scam last year, getting funds from government officials became even more difficult.</p><p>The artists themselves are becoming sponsors of the festival. Foreign artists accept a honorarium of US$ 600, while their normal fee would be €1,000 per performance. They do this because they are passionate about preserving the bamboo organ and the festival.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2016/sports/02/19/021916_bamboofest.jpg"/></figure></div><p>Artists from Switzerland, Austria, France, and Australia will come over to play during the week-long event. The repertoire consists mainly of classical pieces from Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Antonio Vivaldi, and Francesco Durante, among others.</p><p>In spite of this situation, Renier assured that the festival remains in high spirits and will continue to highlight the beauty of the bamboo organ, as well as the talent of local and international musicians. He promised that the people who will see the organ this 41st International Bamboo Organ Festival will not be disappointed.</p><p>&quot;We will always focus on the beauty of the organ,” Fr. Renier said.</p>

Two hundred years later, the famed Bamboo Organ of the St. Joseph Parish Church in Las Piñas still plays music beautifully.

Playing to preserve the 200-year old Bamboo Organ

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Playing to preserve the 200-year old Bamboo Organ

Ana Margarita Palma,

ABS-CBN News

Published February 19, 2016 07:12 AM PHT

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Updated February 20, 2016 02:54 PM PHT

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