Today, the quality of a restoration is judged by the restorers ability to preserve the instrument. This is an enormous responsibility that requires the restorer to be on par with the instrument he is asked to restore and to possess the necessary experience, carry out research and act with all due prudence and respect.
An instruments musicality, it original spirit, is very, very fragile; thats why undertaking a task of this nature is such a delicate matter.
In den Jahren 2012-bis 2016 wurde das Werk von uns restauriert und durch ein viertes Manual unter Beibehaltung der elektrischen Traktur erweitert. Das Instrument wurde mit einem neuen Spieltisch ausgestattet, der dem originalen als Kopie angepasst wurde. Die Intonation wurde weit möglichst auf den Ursprungszustand zurückgeführt.
The organ in the church of La Encarnación in Vélez Rubio (Almería) was built in 1771 by the French organ builder Guillermo DEnoyer who was active in Andalucía during the second half of the 18th century, especially in the provinces of Cádiz, Málaga, Granada and Almería. He may have originally come from Alsace, in which case he may have moved in the same circles as the Silbermann family. In Spain, there are a number of indications which point to his being connected in some way with Leonardo Fernández Dávila. DEnoyers extant instruments display an original blending of French and Spanish features, while also displaying extraordinarily high quality both in how they are constructed and the way they sound.
The instrument in Vélez Rubio is, without a doubt, the most interesting and best preserved historical organ in the province of Almería. And, of all DEnoyers surviving instruments, this one is also the largest.
This is a two manual instrument, with a 45 note compass (C1-c5 plus a short octave), the lower (choir) manual being placed in the lower case. Besides this, there is a French style box-pedalboard with a one octave compass.
This organ had already been worked on in 1983; the main purpose behind the the work seems to have been to make enough repairs to put it back into playing condition rather than trying to restore the instrument in depth. We decided to include a few set of pipes that were added to the organ at that time since they originally came from an old Castillian-type instrument which had been ransacked and looted. Our work was done in 2006-2007 and concentrated on trying to restore the windchests, the bellows, the action and the pipework to their original condition.
Data concerning the identity of the man who built the organ of Santa María del Alacazar and San Andrés de Baeza in 1790 is anything but clear.
The organ in Matriz de Santo Antônio in Tiradentes, Minas Gerais (Brazil) is, without a doubt, an important instrument both artistically and historically; in technical matters it is of great interest for its high quality craftsmanship. The same applies to certain artistic features and the organs original building materials which, fortunately, have survived to the present day in excellent condition. This instrument was built in Oporto en 1785 by Simao Fernandes Coutinho.
The parish organ in Deià (Majorca) was probably built in the 18th century by a foreign organ builder. The pipework may also come from somewhere else besides Majorca because its style is quite different from what was common there at the time. This leads us to believe that it may even have come from another instrument of foreign origin.
E.F. Walcker (1912)
The parish organ at San Salvador de Galdar (in Gran Canaria) was built in 1912 by E.F.Walcker, one of the most important and innovative organ workshops of the time and the best exponent of that progressive spirit and stylistic change which moved the organ from the Baroque period on into the Romantic period.
The note and stop action are both pneumatic and the instrument has not undergone any important changes. However, before restoration the organ was in very poor condition. All the important parts were badly eroded by xylophaga and the leather-- a vitally important material if a pneumatic organ is to work properly--was badly frayed. As a result, the instrument was practically unplayable.
Francisco Ortíguez(1748 - 1755)
The church organ in Castaño del Robledo (Huelva) is an extraordinarily unique and beautiful instrument. It was built by Francisco Ortíguez in 1750 and, to the best of our knowledge, is the first organ this church ever had.
Builder: Francisco Rodríguez 1802
Francisco Rodríguez is one of the most representative figures of a group of Andalucian organ builders who carried on the traditions begun by J. Bosch at the end of the 18th century while he was working at the Cathedral in Seville. The organ in San Juan de Marchena is the largest instrument built by Francisco Rodriguez, as well as his most ambitious one. This can be seen in the third wind box which we added in accordance with the builders original plans, thus guaranteeing enough air for all the stops, including the 16´ Principal (Flautado) on the rear façade ― something that never materialized in the builders lifetime but which we have now completed.
All features pertaining to the instruments structure, technical and mechanical matters as well as sound-related factors have been kept absolutely intact, even including those intangible parameters dealing with the voicing of each pipe ― the true essence of any historical instrument, though very seldom preserved.
Builder: Cavaillé-Coll- Mutin 1905
When the churchs altarpiece was burnt, it also badly damaged this important instrument that was an important centre for concert series, given its uniqueness in Burgos. Since the instrument was built in Cavaillé-Colls prestigious Paris-based workshop, its restoration required the utmost care. The sad state in which we found the instrument made its restoration quite a challenge.
This small organ known as a "Regal" or "Regalia" belongs to Lisbons "Academia das Ciências". It was built by Arsacyus Geyer in 1591.
Builder: Aquilino Amezua 1903
In 1888 the vault caved in and destroyed the organs of J. Bosch and V. Verdalonga. The Cathedral Chapter decided to commission Aquilino Amezua to build an impressive new instrument. Amezua was, at that time, a prominent figure in Spanish organ building.
The present instrument is an example of a large romantic-symphonic organ, although later it reworked and became somewhat more Neobaroque in style.
Builder: Walcker 1908
This instrument is emblematic, not only because of the fantastic Art Nouveau Concert Hall it was built in (UNESCO designated this a World Heritage Site) but also because it is one of the few symphonic organs still in existence from that period. Even though it has undergone substantial changes over the years, we feel we have been able to recover the original spirit of the instrument.
Builder: Gilles Brebós? 1580
This is the only remaining example we have of the Brebós familys work in the Escorial. Understanding this is of the utmost importance if we want to fully comprehend 16th century Iberian organ building. After detailed study and research, the instrument was restored and the pipework was rebuilt as it was originally. Pure tin was used for the principals and tin plate for the reeds.
Builder. Joan Ximenez in 1469, ..., Pedro Roqués 1856
This instrument lets us study the evolution of organ building over a period of six centuries from an aesthetic and technical point of view as well as soundwise. Work on all aspects of the instrument were necessary and involved several restoration teams: organ builders, cabinet makers, experts in polychromy. Each team insisted on respecting and preserving this unique evolution. Polychromy, dating from the15th - 18th centuries but which had been hidden from view for the last 150 years, was restored and brought to light.
Builders: Leonardo Fernández Dávila (†) Jorge Bosch 1778
This organ is extraordinarily well organized, careful elaborated up to the smallest detail and is another example of Jordi Boschs enormous capabilities. It is full of surprises both technically speaking and musically. For instance, the double wind box, double length trumpets, tuning expressions, complete manuals inside the swell box, etc. It is one of the best preserved organs in Europe.
Builder: Jordi Bosch (1765)
This is the first instrument which Bosch built in his mature period. Bosch was a masterful builder; he was only 24 years old when he completed this instrument. Here we see how he broke with tradition and started on a new path full of important innovations: double pallet boxes, XXV rank mixtures, tuning expressions, etc.
Builder: Robert Delauney 1683, Joseph Cavaillé, J.B. Micot 1783
Refurbishing this emblematic instrument built in the 17th century French Classical style meant that a great deal of effort was spent studying original period techniques and then applying them to the organ.
