It must have been a really fascinating project
making this recording. It was the end product of a festival
to celebrate the restoration of this quite remarkable mid-17th
century organ in a monastery in provincial Mexico. For nearly
300 years this little instrument sat there, probably pretty
well unnoticed. During the revolution of 1913 the church was
occupied by troops and parts of the pipe work were removed,
possibly to be melted down for bullets. After that the organ
never played again and became only a home for bats, mice and
birds. It was restored between July 1990 and August 1991 by
Susan Tattershall and now proves to be a marvellous example
of Spanish inspired organ building in the Americas. A small
instrument of one manual and no pedals, it is positioned on
a stone base so that the player must stand to play it. The registration
is divided between the hands, the two hands sharing only the
principal ranks of Bardón 8, Flautado 4 and Octava 2.
There are seven stops for each hand, the right hand having the
sole reed - a marvellously pungent Trompeta de Batalla 8 en
chamade (i.e. horizontal rather than vertical pipes. The
row of chamades can be seen below the main front pipe on the
cover photo.) Additionally there is a wonderful accessory called
a Pajarito, which imitates birds. (sample 1) Unfortunately,
the booklet includes in English only a short article on the
rebuilding which does not mention the origin of this bizarre
accessory or explain its historical uses. There are also no
notes on the programme in English, although the French and Spanish
texts are extensive, for those who can read them.
Dominique Ferran plays a fairly standard programme
of 17th century music by Iberian composers, none of which is
of any great length, but this is the sort of music that would
have been used at the time this organ was built, so there is
a certain ring of authority about the choices. Undoubtedly,
the music suits this organ well. The limited range of keys in
which such works were written means that the mean-tone tuning
(which seems to have predated the 1913 silencing and has been
retained in the restoration) provides the colour of unequal
tuning in those keys that suit it, and only rarely strays into
the teeth grating. The most successful pieces are those where
an elaborate right hand employing the beautiful reeds en
chamade cascades over a sustained left hand of flutes and
principals. The Tiento de medio registro de tiple de 4o tono
by Francisco Correa de Arauxo is one of the most splendid, but
there are several examples and they are all played with panache.
(sample 2)
It can possibly be argued that the programme
is not as varied as it could be, yet this writer has found that
the disc will bare repeated listenings, and the detail of the
execution provides new facets on repeat visits, even if the
repertoire is fairly limited in its variety of styles. It must
be borne in mind, of course, that Iberian organ building and
playing in the 17th century developed along completely independent
lines to, and for different functions from, that of the better
known North European schools represented by Sweelinck or Buxtehude,
and which lead ultimately to Bach. However, certain crossing
points do emerge; variations on popular tunes being one. the
anonymous Baile del Gran duque (sample 3) bears immediate
comparison with the Ballo del Gran Duca of Sweelinck
and Frescobaldi. This anonymous version is a most enjoyable
little piece and Ferran again manages to make a minor, and short,
work into something that shows off the distinctive character
of the remarkable little organ on which he is playing.
Peter Wells
Dominique Ferran
- Organ 
