The Daroca organ enjoys a certain fame among European organists
Daroca's organ has someone who plays it. And that is good news, especially for the instrument itself, which requires use to stay alive. And it turns out that the interpreter, called Manuel , he needs help to reach all the pedals, because ** he just turned 13 years old. **
Is Zaragoza population of just over 2000 inhabitants has found the necessary generational change so that **his organ does not fall silent. **
Daroca Organ
The organ of Basilica of the Corporals of Daroca It enjoys a certain fame among European organists. Many of them have come to this town of Zaragoza to be able to play it. Some old music record labels they have also chosen **its beautiful sound to record their albums. **
All this music Fame, as is logical, Daroca comes from afar. For more than 40 years it has been the seat of a Early Music Festival where all the great names of this modality have passed.
this crowded festival and specialized summer course which is held in parallel, is one more reason to visit this **beautiful town with a rich heritage and history. **
And whoever stops there along the way, knows that they had such a custom King Felipe IV and King Carlos II to hear the local organist, Pablo Bruna, play.
Paul Bruna, who lived and played the organ that concerns us here in the 17th century, he was a well-known organist and composer from Daroa . He was even the organist of the Basilica of the Pillar of Zaragoza. Numerous compositions for this instrument are attributed to him.
The organ of the Basilica of Santa María de los Corporales de Daroca was built in the fifteenth century. The Gothic box is over 500 years old , since there is documentation that **supports its existence before 1460. **
It consists of a major organ and outside cadereta, cons, two 47-note keyboards, pedals and effects drawbars. From there are born flute sounds, real trumpet, violon or bugle among others.
organ pipes
And the great luck is that subsequent restorations r they blurted out the soul of the instrument and they preserved all the noble components that it possessed. So the keyboards are still made of wood, for instance.
Although anyone can recognize the dramatic organ notes of J.S Bach's “Toccata and Fugue in D-minor”, few are familiar with this imposing instrument, which has something of the piano although it is not from the percussive string family like this one, it is a wind string.
The tubes have different formats, tabs and finishes in order to reproduce the different sounds. Like any musical instrument, the organ has to be tuned regularly for a clean sound.
The organ is an instrument that due to its magnitude He is very given to records. It is admitted that the largest organ in the world, and that it is at the same time the largest musical instrument, is in a shopping center in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania, USA). Among other data, it has more than **28 thousand tubes and six keyboards. **
But let's go back to the beginning to talk about Manuel, the young organist from Daroca. Manuel Uriarte, born in 2007, has been playing the piano since he was four years old and this course has been admitted to the Zaragoza Conservatory of Music.
Manuel Uriarte
From the piano to the organ, as we said, It's a long way: you have to get rid of the rest of the complications that this majestic instrument has. And there is no way to learn without practice, so **Manuel has permission to rehearse an hour before Sunday masses. **
His father helps him with the pedals, because from the seat of the organ he can't reach everyone . To other things, he comes to spare. He himself has sought a way to accompany "by ear" the different songs of the Eucharist.
With a promising musical future ahead of him, Manuel tells us: **“Playing the organ is like being in another world, it's a rush, it's magical”. **