Saturday afternoon. Toledo is under a rainy sky, as if the weather wanted to accompany the chosen theme with its own backdrop for the second concert of the Organ Battles in the Primate Cathedral: the universal flood.
There are many … the cultures that narrate the terrible flood. If we stick to the story in the book of Genesis, God sent men the flood as punishment for their evil and thus purify the earth. After receiving a divine order from God, Noah begins the construction of an Ark, in which, for forty long days and their corresponding forty nights, he will travel with his family and a couple of each animal species. They would be the only survivors of the catastrophe.
Based on this argument, The first of the organs to break the sepulchral silence that dominated the central nave was the Berdalongaunder the hands of Baptiste-Florian Marle-Ouvrard, with a beautiful melody. His intervention was later joined by the Echevarría, the organ of the Emperor and that of the Tabernacle, enriching the improvisation with three other internationally recognized organists: Samuel Liégeon, Rui Soares and Juan José Montero from Toledo. With that start, one could already sense the very high artistic level of what was to come.
After the first sound impact, as is usual in the Battles, the program alternated brilliant improvisations with works by composers such as JB Cabanilles, P. Araujo, A. Soler and GF Handel.
Rui Soares was one of the organists who performed in this second battle
One of the most memorable moments came with the beginning of an improvisation that began as a gentle drip.similar to the rain that fell outside the Temple. Little by little, that sound murmur grew in intensity until it became an authentic musical deluge, a great sound mass with registers that seemed to overflow the walls of the Cathedral. An ingenious set of lights in bluish tones was added to the experience, emulating lightning and rainwater.reinforcing the feeling that the biblical storm had moved inside the ship.
After the storm, calm always comes. And on this occasion, it couldn’t be different. The last improvisation unfolded like a haven of peace, with chords that evoked the serene appearance of the rainbow.
But organ battles never end calmly. The battles end with a resounding victory. That moment came with an off-program piece, in which the four performers offered in the three realejos and the harpsichord the famous Imperial Battle of Cabanilles, an emblematic piece of the Spanish Baroque. The choice could not have been more correct: After the storm, music stood as a triumph.
And so, Toledo, city of encounters and symbols, has been witness of a battle that did not seek a winners, but the union of history and music. This second appointment concludes, waiting for the third and final battle that will take place next week.
