Organ of the Convent of St Clare

Under this heading, the Funchal Diário de Notícias of 22 November 1924 published a short article that aroused particular interest at the time; the historical claim it put forward went entirely unchallenged. We reproduce it here in full, and refer the reader to the articles Convent of St Clare (Santa Clara) and Children and Sons-in-Law of Zarco, which shed useful light on the subject.

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The old organ of the extinct Convent of St Clare, which had lain dismantled for some years, has been sent for repair. The work was entrusted to the well-known and distinguished musicians Mr César R. Nascimento and Mr Guilherme H. Lino, who have just completed their task.

As early as tomorrow the ancient instrument will be heard at the feast of St Cecilia, patron of musicians, which a group of devotees is having celebrated in that church.

Mr César Nascimento and Mr Guilherme Lino carried out investigations inside the organ and established that it had been commissioned by the children of João Gonçalves Zarco, who presented it to the convent in the reign of Manuel I, in 1498, seventy-nine years after their father had discovered Madeira.

The instrument is therefore 426 years old and is regarded as a relic on account of its age.

For this reason the restorers, conscientious artists, took a great interest in repairing it, even though they had at one point resolved to abandon the task, since the organ was badly damaged – indeed, one might say, almost beyond use.

After work that demanded great patience as well as their extensive artistic knowledge, they succeeded in bringing it to a successful conclusion, preserving all the principal parts of the old organ so as not to diminish the value its antiquity confers on it.

The holes made by woodworm were skilfully filled with inlaid work (embutidos). The repair, which was finished a few days ago, had begun in October 1923.

Some years ago this organ was put up for public auction together with other property belonging to religious congregations. It was bought by Dr Romano Santa Clara Gomes, who kept it for a long time in an outbuilding of that former convent.

Last year he gave it to the confraternity of St Clare so that it could be repaired and used in the religious services of that church.

It was then that Mr Raimundo de Freitas, the worthy custodian of that church, commissioned Mr César Nascimento and Mr Guilherme Lino to repair it.

Last year the same craftsmen repaired the organ of the parish church of Machico, a gift from King Manuel I made in 1499. That organ, too, had become almost unusable. It is now a fine instrument once more, and it is also of great value, being 425 years old.

As is well known, the church of St Clare, which suffered serious damage on 12 December 1917 when it was hit by a shell from the submarine that bombarded Funchal, is classed as a National Monument (monumento nacional), and its upkeep is the responsibility of the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal).’