The Organ
This set of documents under the name of “l’Orgue de Rivoli” contains information about the Chapel’s organ, Originally built for the famous cinema Rivoli that was burned during the anti British riots in 1952.
The country’s largest and only theater organ was bought and installed in a wooden housing designed by architect Naom Chébib, a former student of the school, designer of Cairo Tower and Al Ahram Building.
During the 1960s, discussions about the renovation of this organ were influenced by the gradual disappearance of the neighborhood’s cosmopolitanism, resulting in a change in the student population.
This was a consequence of President Nasser’s nationalist ideology and pan-Arabism and the suez crisis, which led to the expulsion of many foreigners and the nationalization of their properties.
Faced with these changes, the brothers started a deeper cultural adaptation, raising questions about the importance and necessity of renewing such an organ, considering that Coptic liturgy would increasingly take precedence in celebrations where this instrument is not used. All of this was accompanied by emerging financial pressures.
