Gavioli & Cie. (Paris, France, and Waldkirch, Germany)
300 in. x 228 in. x 90 in.
The Andrews Collection
Gavioli 110-Key Fairground Organ
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$460,000 USD | Sold
| Fort Worth, Texas
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The acclaimed Gavioli & Cie. was the largest and most successful of the French fairground organ builders, as it had 300 employees in the main factory in Paris and branches in both New York City and Waldkirch, Germany. Their organs feature gleaming ranks of brass clarinets, trumpets, and piccolos, along with the many ranks of wooden pipes.
This magnificent Gavioli organ has been superbly restored and expanded from a smaller version to the 110-key scale by master organ specialist Johnny Verbeeck in Belgium. The façade now includes eleven cherubs, four dancing couples, two bell ringers, two rotating figures, a bandleader, and five imposing gold-leafed griffins. The organ plays from either cardboard book music or from a MIDI player system, and its instrumentation is extensive, as it represents the playing of over 100 musicians. Ten large cardboard books and 114 MIDI files accompany the instrument.
Very few fairground organs in the world are as elaborate and musically powerful as this stunning instrument.
