Joan Cabanilles, born in 1644, became the second organist of Valencia Cathedral in 1665 and was promoted to first organist within a year, also receiving clerical tonsure as required by the post.
Recording & Production
This album features recordings from three different locations and dates: the Church of Sant Jaume (2017), Michael Johnson's workshop (2015), and the Parish Church, Banyalbufar (2004).
Compositional Technique
The tiento, a keyboard form cultivated in Iberia since the early sixteenth century, is a serious contrapuntal piece, similar to an Italian ricercare or fantasia, but can also have the livelier character of a canzona.
Instruments
The Vila-real organ, restored by Gerhard Grenzing, has a low Valencian pitch of A=c. 380 Hz, which is more than a tone below the modern A=440 Hz standard.
Compositional Technique
Cabanilles's keyboard works are overwhelmingly for the organ, and he has been called 'the most prolific composer of organ music the world has ever seen'.
Composer Biography
Cabanilles was successively ordained subdeacon (1666), deacon (1667), and priest (1668), indicating his deep involvement with the church beyond his musical duties.
Instruments
The organ of the Church of Sant Jaume, Vila-real, built in 1724 by Nicolás Salanova, is a precious survival for Cabanilles's music, despite nearly all its original pipework being melted down during the Spanish Civil War.
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