CONSERVATION OF THE HISTORIC ORGANS

DOCUMENTATION AND REGISTRATION IN THE DATABASE

As soon as the organ´s protection is assured, we focus on its documentation. The IOHIO has developed a database in which detailed information about the organs may be registered directly into the computer. The documentation includes measurements and photographs of the organ and its components, register of inscriptions (dates, names), tool marks, paint layers and decorative elements, descriptive analysis, and historical data.

The data are recorded in the following fields: • General information about the organ • Historical data and interventions • Case and façade pipes • Windchests and pallet boxes • Keyboards and key action • Stop action • Wind system • Pipework • Disposition • Church and community

Once an organ is completely registered, the information will be made available on this web site. A copy of the database entry will be given to each town, and the complete catalogue will be given to the INAH. In this way, the information will be available for further study, and if anything should happen to the organ, there will be a record of it.

A list on the wall of the IOHIO office indicates the name of each organ, the date of our last visit, pending work on that particular instrument, and a red X signifying that the INAH and IOHIO labels have been left on the organ and that it has been registered in the database.

On the facing wall, photos of all 69 organs are displayed in chronological order, as a reminder to all that these instruments are known to us and watched over as part of our project. It also provides a chronological and stylistic reference for visitors, particularly those who come from the towns with organs and may wish to compare their organs with other Oaxacan organs.