Re: The Taj Mahal
By Bob Conant
Dear Rocci,
The Taj Mahal was sold some years back and the last I knew was in Switzerland. This was quite an organ. It was a Mortier 101 key (the largest Mortiers were 121 key) Belgian dance organ. It had over 700 pipes and many registers under automatic control of the music books. The facade was done with towers and minarets in a style that led to the name Taj Mahal. There were two larger than life sized female figures on the facade, one in a significant state of undress, but at 7 I am sure you did not notice that. The organ was owned in the 1970's by Q. David Bowers who, at the time, was the proprietor of American International Galleries in Irvine, CA. His partners were Bonnie Tekstra and the late Claes O. Frieberg of Denmark. They were perveyors of all forms of automatic musical instruments and many of the finest European organs and orchestrions passed through their hands. The Taj Mahal was on display there for quite some time before the business was liquidated. I was fortunate to be able to visit there in 1980 and saw and heard the Taj Mahal at that time. There was a record album produced of that instrument which may be found at MBSI marts occasionally. This was before digital recording however but is a good recording nonetheless.
Incidentally, there was another smaller Mortier constructed with a similar but smaller facade. This has sometimes been called the "Baby Taj Mahal". I believe this organ is in Europe at this time also.
I hope this information has been of use to you.
Bob Conant
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(Message sent Sat 9 Nov 1996, 02:49:11 GMT, from time zone GMT-0500.) |
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