The organ builders' letter in MMD 09.22.01 is a very interesting issue.
The rebuild-as-new trend reminds me of the story of the 14th century
axe whose handle has been replaced 6 times and the head replaced three
times.  Simply, if you replace all an organ's pipework it isn't the
same organ anymore.  However the preserve vs. restore debate is a very
complex one.

Rebuidling:

Past repairs and rebuilds cannot necessarily legitimise returning
old organs back to original configurations.  Instruments such as the
White's Gavioli and the Thursford Gavioli have spent the majority of
their working lives as 98-key instruments, to no loss.  Indeed, it
would probably be a loss to revert them to their original respective
112- and 110-key configurations.

I'd consider their stacks of 98-key book music a unique integral and
inalienable part of those instruments themselves.  Unlike player pianos
or roll-operated band organs, much large-scale book music should be
regarded as either totally customized or limited editions.  I mention
these two instruments as I assume, though no-one has yet dared say so,
the organ causing all the stir is most probably the recently rebuilt
Jonas Gavioli converted from 98- to its original 110-keys.

 [ I believe the organ is known as the "Southsea Gavioli", which now
 [ seems a new instrument.  -- Robbie

The people who did this conversion are (justifiably) very proud, as
no doubt are the owners.  In the Bowers' Encyclopaedia an identical
instrument with its full facade is depicted under the "Berni" organ
section.  In fact, it may well be the exact same instrument with Berni
just doctoring Gavioli catalogue photos.  The several statues across
the front originally held up a long floral garland, which explains why
they all have their hands mysteriously in the air "garlandless".

The top half of the original organ is no longer present so enthusiasts
probably wonder how all the extra stuff originally behind a 110-key
facade is crammed into the bottom half that remains.  The original
110-key instrument was cut down long ago and the 98-key instrument made
with the pieces was itself in a very poor way.  My own opinion is that,
with such an organ being beyond sensible repair, a rebuild like this is
perhaps a good thing.  If people were to be informed as to how much
beyond repair the Jonas 98-key instrument was, then they might better
comprehend the rationale behind the rebuild and conversion.

Pipework and scales:

Large fairorgans were designed to whip up a terrific storm of music
at a volume astounding in the pre-amplification era.  The musical
arrangements were designed to be equally thrilling.  By design, they
reproduce band arrangements of the pre-WW1 era, i.e., the era of their
manufacture.  Playing music of that period they are most effective.

Generally, replacing their pipes with sweet sounding modern pipework
is akin to retiring an old soldier off to Pleasant Valleys Nursing
Home.  Whilst there is much to be said for organs having some books
of recent melodies, listeners can only fully appreciate what the
instrument was all about by hearing it playing music it was designed
to play, and this will easily make up for the unfamiliarity of the
older tunes.  If the original repertoire was mainly marches of 3 or 4
chords crammed against a non-chromatic scale, then surely that is what
the instrument is best served in playing.

Altering scales often enables a wider and newer range of music to be
played.  But this newer music often necessitates new pipework in order
to produce acceptable musical results, and this is the root of the
problem.  Owners must get to grips with the fact that fair organs will
not play "Meditation" from Thais any better than dance organs can pull
off Tannhauser Overture.  The solution is not to fit sweeter pipework.
Owners should buy an organ suited to their expectations or leave well
enough alone.

MIDI:

One of my earliest memories of mechanical music was being fascinated
watching a punched music book being fed into a large organ which then
proceeded to raise one helluva (musical) din.  Neither the passing
years, nor having gained the knowledge of how it all works, has
diminished that magic, and I suspect that many readers feel the same.

Modern MIDI-operated organs are often dull.  Sickly sweet sounding
pastiche musical arrangements chug away outside shopping malls for
the compulsory amusement of toddlers in prams.  Invisible music
meanders through virtual keyframes.  The only sign of life is the
ill-proportioned fibreglass bandmaster wagging away from time to time.

Whilst MIDI systems have certain benefits the instruments lack
something.  Mechanical organs are remarkable for their mechanisms and
the music.  If you "MIDI-fy" an organ you can only demonstrate how
remarkable 1980s computer technology was.  The fact that simple punched
cardboard works just as well is what is truly remarkable.

Well, those are my views -- let's hear the rest!

Yours

Adam Ramet