The historic organ
business is, in a way, a curious phenomenon.
In the first instance it forms a bridge
between two worlds; the volatile environment
of historic art on the one hand, and
the comparatively mundane world of
heritage conservation on the other.
Interestingly, the factors governing
the funding needed to preserve the
historic art seemingly go hand in
hand with the strange irony of so
many historic instruments having been
altered according to ‘fashion’, funding
permitting. The conservationist attitude
to preserving old instruments, is,
when all is said and done, a modern
one. The results of altering ‘old
organs’ can be observed almost anywhere
with a long-standing organ culture,
marking, simultaneously, both the
natural flow of human invention, and
the destruction of historic art. Both
sides of the coin are represented
in the organ of Sencelles, Mallorca.
This is an interesting example of
the regional organ building school
developed by two of the famous Bosch
family, Matheu and Pere Josep. After
being altered, according to fashion,
on several occasions, it has recently
been restored to its original situation.
This new recording,
made by Roland Dopfer, the young cantor
of St. Laurentius in Wuppertal represents
a very interesting portrait of the
organ in Sencelles – but the instrument
is not the only interesting factor.The
programme presented here confronts
the listener with repertoire planned
indigenously and carefully around
the oeuvre of a contemporary of the
Bosch organ, Juan Bautista José
Cabanilles. The Batalla imperial,
formerly attributed to Cabanilles
(now known to have been composed by
Johann Caspar Kerll) opens the disc
and is followed by the famous Xácara
by Cabanilles and the Differencias
sobre la Gallarda Milanesa written
a century earlier by Antonio de Cabezón.
Then we hear Tiento de 2do Tono
por Ge sol re ut sobre la letania
de la Virgen by Pablo Bruna (1611-1679),
which leads us to the central point
of the disc, the Tiento based on the
hymn Ave maris stella by Juan
Cabanilles, surrounded by two Pasacalles.
The strong accent on the figure of
Maria is nicely resumed by the hymn
Salve, regina glorie from the
13th century Codex Las
Huelgas. The subsequent Gallarda
and Tiento de falsas by Cabanilles
form a nice counterpart to the Cabezon
Gallarda. The two pieces by
Samuel Scheidt: Alamande Bruynsmedelijn
and Toccata super: In the Domine
speravi, crown the project admirably.
I find the programming
ingenious, even illustrating the stylistic
connections between music written
in Spain and The Netherlands, which
at the time were bound both politically
and culturally. Roland Dopfer’s playing,
clear and vigorous, brings to mind
the best of the modern German organ
tradition. The booklet, well-designed,
and containing much interesting information
and complete registration details,
contributes positively to the release.
Maria Erdman
Roland Dopfer (organ) 
