Restored Rotunda pipe organ inaugurated

The restored pipe organ at the Rotunda in Mosta, has just been inaugurated.

The historical instrument is the island's largest pipe organ. Installed in 1885 and made by the firm Pacifico Inzoli of Crema in Italy, the organ cost £900, not a sum to sniff at in those days.

But with the passage of time and lack of proper maintenance, the mechanical parts fell into disrepair and the organ was in dire need of restoration.

In 2002, then Mosta archpriest Fr Joe Carabott started lobbying for the organ's revamp. During the inauguration of the new premises of the Mosta Gunners FC, he suggested that the club's committee could help in raising funds for this task. Although a small club, the enterprising Gunners came up with the first Lm1,000.

Some days later, during a wedding reception, through the initiative of Miriam Vassallo, a number of contractors from Mosta pledged to donate Lm100 each towards this cause.

The new archpriest Mario Tong backed the project and worked hand in hand with the Mosta Gunners, led by the club's president Vince Farrugia, to see this job through. Parishioners also contributed to the restoration.

Restorer Robert Buhagiar dismantled the organ and took it to his workshop in Zabbar. The restoration job took him four years of painstaking work to complete.

Mr Buhagiar's experience in this kind of work is quite extensive, having repaired pipe organs in the parishes of Siggiewi, Naxxar, Qrendi, Nadur, Fontana, the Mdina cathedral and Balzan.

The completed restoration was marked by a grand concert presided over by the Archbishop Paul Cremona. The concert opened with Mr Buhagiar himself playing Virgo Prudentissima by Mro Paolo Nani.

The rest of the concert featured organist Ugo Agius Muscat accompanied by soprano Miriam Gauci.

Mgr Cremona blessed a commemorative plaque designed by Joe Micallef.