Thursday 23 October, 9.30, p.m. 
Church of São João Evangelista (Colégio) 

Joris Verdin: organ 

In the literature concerning organ music, the second half of the 18th century is generally described in terms of decay. The "Flemish School" was gradually dying out after the disappearance of Abraham Van den Kerckhoven. A parallel is often drawn with neighbouring countries, such as the decadence of the French classical organ and the decline of the "Bach tradition" in Germany. In the 18th century, organ building flourishing in Belgium, though the abundance of particularly valuable instruments on one hand, and the scarcity of published organ music on the other is a paradox in the history of Belgian organ music. But nowadays, musicians and musicologists agree on the fact that the distinction between harpsichord, organ and piano is a "modern" concept, and that in that time we should talk about "keyboard music". The best proof is that pieces such as those of Boutmy sound particularly well on the organ, probably even better than on the harpsichord. 

Rinck represents the German influence on Belgian organ music in the early years of the 19th century. After the Belgian Revolution and independence in 1830, the director of the Brussels Conservatory, François-Joseph Fétis, "imported" German musicians, German organ builders and obtained government funding for studies in Germany. This explains the link with Christian Heinrich Rinck (1770 - 1846), who was also consulted regarding new organs built in Brussels and Antwerp. The Flemish theme Ik zag Caecilia kommen is a melody found all over Europe and most famous through Smetana's Moldau. Lemmens was involved in the strategy of Fétis, but his Marche tends much more towards the French style than the traditional contrapuntal style, which was so much promoted by Fétis.

Georges Bizet unfortunately published only one organ piece. The title refers to the character, which is totally different from his other works. It is a real meditation in early 19th century terms, although still very galante. The programme skips a large part of the 19th century, because the organ music of that time is very much connected with a certain organ specification which is in many respects different from that of the instrument you will hear tonight.

In the 20th century, musicians rediscovered the music of the past, and organists especially tried to find inspiration in organs from before the French Revolution. Two ways of dealing with it are represented by Tournemire and Alain. The first was an improviser, finding inspiration in a certain image of the past; the second "simply" arranged works of ancient masters for the modern organ.

The Fantasía de quinto tono was inspired by the historical organ of 1753 by Gaspar de la Redonda in Torre de Juan Abad, Castilla-La Mancha, where Joris Verdin has been the "organista honorario" since 2003. A battle and no battle... The piece starts like any batalla, but it continues a little differently. Gradually the sound of postmodernism attains the upper hand as the number of participant voices increases. It does not exclude some intimate reflections in the midst of the classic story of clashing sounds, such as the nostalgic meditation in the middle or the sound of innocent birds towards the end. Playing techniques are classical, also covering styles other than Spanish. The still unknown folksong coming from northern countries calls for mercy and peace, and survives alone at the end.

Joris Verdin

Josse Boutmy (1697-1779)
Première suite
Ouverture - Vivace
Andante
La Coureuse
Sarabande
1er Menuet – 2e Menuet
Le Basque: Première Partie - Seconde Partie

Christian Heinrich Rinck (1770-1846)
Six variations for pedal organ on "Ik zag Caecilia kommen"

Georges Bizet (1838-1875)
Méditation religieuse

Jacques Nicolas Lemmens (1823-1881)
Marche triomphale

Charles Tournemire (1870-1939)
Caprice (Suite Evocatrice, 1938)

Jehan Alain (1911-1939)
Transcriptions of lute pieces by François Campion (1685/86-1748)
Prélude
Allemande
Courante
Sonatine
Rondeau

Joris Verdin (1952)
Fantasía de quinto tono (Nuovi Fiori Musicali, 2006)

Participants

Notes about the Organ

Church of São João Evangelista (Colégio), Funchal

This instrument, with 1586 sounding pipes, is situated in a religious space with certain particularities. As a church typical of those belonging to Jesuit colleges, with a broad nave and quite a gentle acoustic, the organ had to be specially conceived, especially with regard to the measurements of the pipes. Thus all the pipework of the instrument has been specifically tailored to produce a full sound, and each stop produces a timbre with an individual personality, forming part of a harmonic ensemble based more on the sound of fundamentals and less on harmonics. It was also felt to be essential to give the instrument a certain ‘latin’ sonority that would favour performance of ancient music of the Italian, Spanish and Portuguese schools of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Another aspect to be taken into consideration was the need to complement the current range of organs available locally: the new organ responds in an ideal fashion to the performance of works of periods and of technical and artistic requirements that none of the 24 historic instruments of Madeira cater adequately for. It also enhances the range of organs that constitute the island’s heritage by being present in this particular religious space, as well as by existing side by side with other historical instruments. In the decision to build it for this church, not only were the issues of acoustic, aesthetic and liturgical space taken into account, but also the presence there of an important historic instrument which is currently on the list of instruments undergoing restoration.

I Manual - Órgão Principal (C-g’’’)
Flautado aberto de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado tapado de 12 palmos (8’)
Oitava real (4’)
Tapado de 6 palmos (4’)
Quinzena (2’)
Dezanovena e 22ª
Mistura III
Corneta IV
Trompa de batalha* (bass)
Clarim* (treble)
Fagote* (bass)
Clarineta* (treble)

II Manual - Órgão Positivo (C-g’’’)
Flautado aberto de 12 palmos (8’)
Tapado de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado aberto de 6 palmos (4’)
Dozena (2 2/3’)
Quinzena (2’)
Dezassetena (1 3/5’)
Dezanovena (1 1/3)
Címbala III
Trompa real (8’)

Pedal (C-f’)
Tapado de 24 palmos (16’)
Bordão de 12 palmos (8’)
Flautado de 6 palmos (4’)
Contrafagote de 24 palmos (16’)
Trompa de 12 palmos (8’)

Couplers
II/I
I/Pedal
II/Pedal

* horizontal reeds