Many years ago, probably about 1963, I went to see a primary
school friend off on holiday. She and her parents were leaving
from Glasgow Renfrew Airport and were bound for Majorca. I remember
poring over the atlas with my father looking for this new ‘Morecambe’.
A few years earlier, my Auntie Mary and her friend Queenie had
visited this Mediterranean paradise and had brought me back
a toy drum, a pair of castanets and a packet of stamps for my
album featuring General Franco. I still have the drum! Both
my school-friend and my aunt were pioneers at the beginning
of the post-war package holiday boom. It was to be another forty-odd
years before I set foot on one of the Balearic Islands. And
it was to Palma Cathedral that I immediately made tracks. Luckily
the Gabriel Blancafort organ was playing when I arrived. Although
I explored a few more churches, I heard no further music.
Just to expel any doubt, the Balearics are an archipelago of
islands in the Western Mediterranean off the eastern coast of
Spain. There are four principal islands: Mallorca, Menorca,
Ibiza and Formentera. The present two CDs showcase music from
the first three islands although it does concentrate on Mallorca
and Palma, its main town.
Although these two CDs were released in 2009 and 2011, all the
recordings were made by Michal Novenko and Arnau Reynés during
a five-day sojourn on the islands in May 2006. It must have
been a major ‘organ bash’ indeed and one to be envied by most
organ enthusiasts.
It is useful to note a few of biographical details about the
performers. The Czech-born Michal Novenko (b.1962) studied organ,
composition and conducting at the Prague Conservatoire and the
Academy of Music and Arts in Prague. At present he is a professor
of music at the Conservatoire but also extends his teaching
to master-classes at home and abroad. He is widely noted as
being an expert in historical organs and has made many recordings
of historic instruments. Three of Novenko’s works appear on
these CDs – Two Hymn Preludes on Volume 1 are improvisations
on Balearic hymn tunes and the short Prelude on ‘Good tidings
are announced’ (Volume 2) is based on a Czech carol.
Arnau Reynés (b.1957) is a local boy: he was born at Campanet,
Mallorca. He studied piano and organ locally at the Conservatory
of Baleares and later on the Spanish mainland at the Conservatory
of Valencia. At present he is a professor of music at the University
of Baleares and is also the titular organist of the Basilica
de Sant Francesc, Palma de Mallorca. He has also written a book
about Mallorcan organs. Two short works are recorded in the
church at Reynés’ birth-place: Jaume Palou’s Deo Gratias
and Antoni Martorell’s Misterio della Cena.
The liner-notes make a justified claim that the ‘Island of Mallorca’
belongs to one of the most interesting and richest (of organ)
territories. Now I have not read Arnau Reynés’ book, but even
the most cursory of hearings of these two CDs will impress the
truth of the assertion on the listener. The notes accept that
that majority of fine instruments are on Mallorca, but suggest
that both Menorca and Ibiza have fine instruments. However the
most exciting fact is that the ‘organ world’ on the Balearics
has been fortunate in having a number of recent new instruments
as well as some important rebuilds and restorations.
I have included a list of organs, their locations and their
builders and dates below for reference:-
Church/Town |
Island |
Organ Builder and Build Date |
Sant Josep de sa Talaia, Ibiza |
Ibiza |
Pere Reynés i Florit 2006 |
Basilica de Sant Francesc, Palma de Mallorca |
Mallorca |
Gerhard Grenzing 2008 |
Campenet |
Mallorca |
Pere Reynés i Florit 1996 |
Convent de Sant Domingo, Pollenca |
Mallorca |
Lluís Navarro, 1732 |
Palma Cathedral, ‘La Seu’ |
Mallorca |
Gabriel Blancafort, 1993 |
Església del Socors, Palma de Mallorca |
Mallorca |
Caymari Brothers 1702 |
Sant Domingo, Inca |
Mallorca |
Caymari Brothers c.1690 |
Santa Creu, Palma de Mallorca |
Mallorca |
Pere Josep Bosch 1770 and Julià Munar 1900 |
Santa Jaume, Palma de Mallorca |
Mallorca |
Antoni Portell 1837-53 |
Santa Maria la Major, Inca |
Mallorca |
Gabriel Thomás 1816-22 and 1827-32 |
Santa Maria del Camí |
Mallorca |
Lluís Navarro, 1742 |
Sencelles |
Mallorca |
Matheu Bosch, 1746 |
Ciutadella Cathedral |
Menorca |
Gabriel Blancafort, 1993 |
Santa Maria, Maó |
Menorca |
Johannes Kyburz, 1810 |
Someone once said to me that all ‘church’ organs sound the same.
I guess that I can partly sympathise with this view: it may often
seem like this in some churches where registration amounts to
the use of only 8 stops played in a reverential pianissimo for
five minutes before the service begins. However the present selection
of organs blows away this stereotype. I do not think I have ever
heard such a large variety of timbres, pipe voicings and registrations
as presented on these two discs.
I do not intend to review each and every piece; however it is
useful to note that they fall largely into two groups. The first
is the typical Iberian - including the Portuguese composer Diego
de Conceiçao - music from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries
featuring a fair selection of works by Antonio de Cabezón who
is regarded as the ‘spiritual father of Spanish organ music’.
Other composers from this period include Francisco de Peraza and
Joan Cabanilles who was one of the most important composers of
Baroque music and has been hailed as the ‘Spanish Bach’.
The second group of composers is from the twentieth century. All
of these names are unfamiliar to me; however I expect that they
are or will be an important part of the organists’ world in Spain
… and the Czech Republic.
I was particularly impressed with the Czech composer Richard Stehlik’s
Toccata which is given a fine performance in Basilica de Sant
Francis, Palma de Mallorca. Another war-horse is the ‘Toccata
de Pasqua’ by Miquel Angel Roig-Francoli. It is a complex set
of variations on a plain-song theme. I enjoyed Miguel Capllonch’s
Marxa (March) Pontifical and its mind-blowing use of reed
stops is absolutely stunning. It ought to be a favourite far beyond
Mallorca where it was composed. Finally, J.S. Bach is represented
with one work – the Chorale and variations: ‘Wer nur den lieben
Gott lasst walten’.
My recommendation for listening to these CDs is to take them a
‘church at a time’ rather than listen to the entire 140 minutes
plus. Only then will the fine variety of both music and organ
sound be appreciated.
The production is excellent. How the producer managed to balance
the recordings of the organs in the churches and chapels is a
mystery to me. Yet each location naturally has its own acoustic
and this is convincingly translated onto the individual tracks.
The liner-notes provide the essential organ specification details
which make fascinating reading. Of especial interest is the ‘Batalla’
manual on the organ of Palma Cathedral which is a collection of
‘heavy’ reed stops no doubt once used to simulate a ‘battle’!
There are some superb illustrations of the instruments in the
CD booklets.
It is virtually impossible to find any criticisms of these discs.
However, one or two minor details did cross my mind. Firstly,
there is precious little written about the music – just enough
to enable an enjoyable hearing, but not enough to satisfy the
most curious of listeners. This is a repertoire that is largely
unknown to the majority of British music enthusiasts. Most of
the pieces lacked any ‘date of composition’ – it is only possible
to situate most of these pieces in their era.
Finally, the composer Jaume Palou is shown on the track-listings
as being born in 1988 and dying in 2002. The oldest he could have
been when he wrote his excellent
Deo Gratias is fourteen
years old. Is this a typo?
Yet these are minor points: anyone interested in the life and
works of Joan Cabanilles or Bartolomeu Veny i Vidal can look them
up on the net or in Grove.
These are two excellent CDs that explore an area of Spain that
is well loved by many people living in Britain. I guess that for
every ten thousand tourists who step off the plane at Aeroport
de Palma de Mallorca only one will have pipe organs on their holiday
agenda. However, many will visit Palma Cathedral and some of the
other churches as either sight-seers or worshippers. Whatever
the case, these CDs are a stimulating memento of these superb
instruments. They are also an encouragement to explore the organs
and churches of the Balearics, and an invitation to enjoy some
(largely) Spanish organ music that is relatively little known
in the United Kingdom. Next time I am in Palma, I will spend a
little less time eating the delicious paella and imbibing the
local red wine, and a little more time in church!
John France
Track-listing
Volume 1
Església del Socors, Palma de Mallorca (AR)
Antoni MATHEU (1933-1984)
Introitus for organ [3:02]
Diego da CONCEIÇÄO
(17th century)
Batalha [5:27]
Joan CABANILLES (1644-1712)
Gallardas [6:10]
Santa Maria del Camí (AR)
Joan CABANILLES
Tiento partido de mano derecha [8:04]
Sencelles (MN)
Joan CABANILLES
Tiento de falsas [4:12]
Francisco de PERAZA (1564-1598)
Medio reistro alto, 1. tono [3:13]
Antonio de CABEZÓN (1510-1566)
Composiciones para dos partes [2:12]
Versos del 1 tono [2:18]
Ciutadella Cathedral (Menorca) (MN)
Michal NOVENKO (b.1962)
Hymn prelude [4:06]
Hymn prelude [2:56]
Palma Cathedral, ‘La Seu’ (MN)
Michal NOVENKO
Capriccio [2:58]
Bartomeu VENY I
VIDAL (b.1940)
Recordança [4:38]
Variations [9:49]
Campenet (AR)
Jaume PALOU (19??-2002)
Deo Gratias [3:57]
Antoni MARTORELL (1913-2009)
Misterio della Cena [4:00]
Santa Maria, Maó (Menorca) (AR)
Miguel CAPLLONCH (1861-1935)
Marxa pontifical [9:40]
Volume 2
Santa Creu, Palma de Mallorca (MN)
ANON (18th century) Batalla
in C [2:57]
Juan SESSE (1736-1801)
Paso sobre el Himno ‘O Gloriosa Virginum’ [7:24]
Santa Jaume, Palma de Mallorca (MN)
Juan SESSE
Preludio y Intento en Fa [(6:43]
Convent de Sant Domingo, Pollenca (MN)
Alonso MUDARRA (c 1510-1580)
Tiento para harpa o organo [1:10]
Joan CABANILLES (1644-1712)
Tiento de falsas [5:37]
(attrib.) Tiento Ileno [5:23]
ANON.
Anonymous Piece [0:34]
ANON.
Cocquiel Manuscript (1741) Cornet [0:53]
Sant Domingo, Inca (MN)
Antonio de CABEZÓN (1510-1566)
Magnificat quarti toni [5:01]
4 versos tertii toni *[2:52] (2:52]
Tiento sobre ‘Qui la dira’ [4:07]
Santa Maria la Major, Inca (AR)
Antonio VALENTE (fl. 1565-1580)
La Romanesca con cinque mutanze [3:03]
J.S. BACH (1685-1750)
Chorale and variations: ‘Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt
walten’ [5:00]
Pablo BRUNA (1611-1679)
Tiento de 1.tono de mano derecha [4:04]
Sant Josep de sa Talaia, Ibiza (AR)
Miquel Angel ROIG-FRANCOLÍ (b.1953)
Toccata de Pasqua [5:42]
Adolfo VILLALONGA (b.1970)
Variations on Pange Lingua [4:41]
Basilica de Sant Francesc, Palma de Mallorca (MN)
Antoni MARTORELL (1913-2009)
‘Guarda questa offerta’ [4:27]
‘Ti esalto’ [3:42]
Michal NOVENKO (b.1962)
‘Good tidings are announced’ [1:04]
Richard STEHLÍK (b.1960)
Toccata [2:50]
Michal Novenko (MN) and Arnau Reynés (AR) (organs) 
