Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ played on Asia’s largest pipe organ is a life-affirming musical experience

16 June 2020, 11:57 | Updated: 16 June 2020, 12:08

‘Nimrod’ on Asia's largest pipe organ
‘Nimrod’ on Asia’s largest pipe organ. Picture: Jonathan Scott/YouTube

By Maddy Shaw Roberts

No orchestra, just an organ filling a concert hall with a mass of sound. Here’s proof that music is magic.

If ever you’re feeling delicate, Edward Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’ can be an overwhelming listen, from the fluctuating dynamics and rousing timpani rolls to that final swelling, tear-inducing crescendo.

Now, try watching it performed on the largest pipe organ in Asia.

In the video below, Jonathan Scott performs his solo arrangement of ‘Nimrod’ from Elgar’s Enigma Variations on the great organ at the National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts WeiWuYing.

Read more: Try playing a 17th-century Baroque organ from your laptop >

Watch the largest pipe organ in Asia being played

WeiWuYing is a performing arts centre in the Fengshan District of Kaohsiung, in Taiwan.

Completed in 2018 by Orgelbau Klais Bonn, the centre’s great instrument has 127 stops and 9,085 pipes. By all accounts, it is the largest pipe organ in Asia.

And it sounds absolutely glorious. *wipes tear from cheek*

Download the score for Jonathan’s organ transcription here >