THE PECULIAR TIMBRE OF A GERMAN BAROQUE ORGAN

A concert of the Festival de Música Antigua de Tenerife [Tenerife Early Music Festival].

The extraordinary array of organs available in Tenerife is quite striking as it includes several instruments from north Germany that were brought to the island in the 18th century. The characteristics of these organs make you think that the Spanish repertoire from the 16th century on could be played in them; but you may also wonder whether German music came along with these instruments.  That is why today’s programme is a dialogue of German and Spanish authors from the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries that establishes a sharp contrast between compositional styles and organistic languages.

There are three recurring compositional elements in this concert. On the one hand, the counterpoint, which is present in the works of Buxtehude, Correa de Arauxo and Bach. On the other hand, the use of the glosa or diminution to vary a musical fragment is widely found in works by Cabezón, Böhm and Scheidemann. The third element involves variations on a harmonic pattern that is constantly repeated and is usually called “chaconne” or “passacaglia”, is present in the works of Muffat, Caroso and the anonymous pieces collected by Martín y Coll. 

Ángel Montero