The Golden Organ
Cases unlock in order, like levels. This is case 97 of 100.
Ouro Preto Winter Festival, Matriz do Pilar church, 11:05 pm. Aurélio Fontes, the church organist for forty years, was found dead in the upper choir loft, at the foot of the organ bench.
A blow to the back of the head, between 10:15 pm and 10:40 pm. The premiere concert of the Winter Mass ended at 9:50 pm and the church emptied at 10 pm. One of the choir's bronze candlesticks is missing.
Only three people could get into the church after that. One of them did not leave when they claim.
The sacristy of the Matriz, jacaranda chests, a smell of wax and the mountain cold creeping in through the cracks.
Suspects
Lívia CamposOrgan restorer, 38
Otaviano BragaChoir conductor, 54
Benedito RochaSexton of the Matriz, 68
The real case
The "Japanese Beethoven" who did not compose
Japan, February 2014
This case is a work of fiction. The characters, names, places and events in the game do not portray real people. The account below is a factual summary, based on public sources, of the case that served as inspiration.
Mamoru Samuragochi was celebrated in Japan as a deaf composer, author of a symphony dedicated to Hiroshima and of video game scores. In February 2014, music teacher Takashi Niigaki revealed that he had composed Samuragochi's works for eighteen years, based on instructions and sketches, and that the composer could hear better than he claimed.
Samuragochi admitted the deception; recordings were withdrawn, concerts canceled and Symphony No. 1 was dropped from programs. Niigaki continued his career as a composer under his own name.
The game borrows the famous musician who signs work composed by someone else and the risk of the true authorship coming out. The murder, the characters and the outcome are fiction.
Sources
Case glossary
Words from this case you might not know.
- choir loft
- An upper gallery in a church where the choir sings and the organ often stands.
- sacristy
- A room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments are kept and the clergy prepare for services.
- sexton
- A church caretaker who looks after the building, rings the bells and keeps the keys.
- jacaranda
- A tropical tree with purple flowers; also the dark, hard Brazilian rosewood prized in old furniture.
- Matriz
- Portuguese for a town's mother church, its main parish church.