ORGANS IN THE PARISH DEMARCATION OF SAINT JAMES

First documentation of the organ is found in a manual of the Consell, with date January, 23 in 1557, where Jeroni Folqués, a worker, in the name and representation of the Churchwarden's office in this year, who contracted to Master Pere Serrano the construction of the first documented organ in this temple. In this contract it were accorded the characteristics of the instrument, the price and the finish date that should have been by Christmas Eve in 1558, but the private document were not published until December, 19^th in 1590 [1]

About the external appearance, the façade or the ornamental elements, the document says "ha de tenir i ser de tres castells, conforme a la mostra feta en paper i lliurada en poder de mi, dit Hieroni Folqués ..." (N.B.: “it has to have three castles, as it appears in the plan made in paper and given in my name to Jeroni Folqués…”)

On the other hand, Rector Mn. Miquel Belda Ferrer [2] comments in his publication:

As it appears in the document that is referred to this matter, and it is kept in the Municipal Archive, it was signed a contract to build the organ of the Parish of Algemesí, between Jerónimo Folqués, peasant, worker in Saint James and Master Pedro Serrano, organ builder, born in the village of Molinos de Aragón in January, 23th in 1557.

The contract details all the mechanism of the great organ and the positive organ (also called “cadireta”). It describes the kind of materials, the working conditions, the musical ranks which it will be constituted, and the convened price which is six thousand salaries to pay in several turns. The last one, of 150 pounds, was paid in January, 9^th in 1560, although the new organ was inaugurated in Christmas in 1558.

… this result is that the organ contracted with Master Pere Serrano, for all its details, ranks and number of keys, is the same which was owned by our parish church until 1888 in which Mr Randeines and Mr Delyri built the actual organ, which was first played in December 24^th in 1893.

About the organ case which is the same as the former organ, Mn Miquel Belda says:

Its façade, which is the same of the new organ, is very notable because of its prettiness and magnificence. It looks like a reredos (retable) of eight meters height and six meters width, in baroque style, with a lot of allegories to music, cameos and flowers in the panels, bases and back of the platform.

Of all this ornamentation nowadays it is just conserved part of the tribune, the so called “careta de l’orgue” (organ face) used as a ceiling of the inner door (cancell). Nowadays, this is placed in the Communion Chapel and it looks like to the one of the parish church in Morella. About the organ music (so called pipes), this means the distribution of ranks which where used in this instrument we have no documentation.

The place where the instrument was placed, since XVI century, was over the “Porta de l’Aire” for several reasons:

For all these reasons it is probably the better place to install the new organ, although other acoustical studies says that perhaps there are better places to build it.

Spanish Civil War was a broke at all levels. To our church (and to Algemesí), it supposed to loose the organ (case and pipes of the organ). The parish remained 18 years without the noble sound of this instrument. On June 24^th in 1954, Saint John’s Feast, it was first played the actual organ, built by Organeria Española (OESA-Alberdi). It had one main renewed characteristic, the action mechanism was not mechanical but electromagnetic (it worked by means of electromagnets to operate ranks).

This technologic innovation has turned out to be a problem rather than a truly technical development, because of problems presented at electromagnetic level, together with the poor quality of the building materials, make every time harder the work to repair it. Few organ builders want to face these technical problems, therefore the cost of this repairs is very expensive.

In this organ, the most part of the registers (instruments which appears in the console) are not real. The electrical transmission mechanisms have been replaced by more modern ones and music of the organ (pipes and windchest) need a very serious repairing. Nowadays, the instrument is not useful to perform concerts and it is used to accompany the cult with serious difficulties.

The “Mare de Déu de la Salut” Chapel, known by the people as Encounter Chapel, is the place where the tradition tells that in 1247 it was found the sculpture of the Mother of God (Santa Maria), saying:

The hermitage built as a memorial of that miraculous event was renewed in the XVII century and enriched in the middle of the XVII century with Manises ceramics (“manisetes”). Since then we have no documental news about the organ in this building.

The first news of an instrument of pipes in this Chapel is in 1987, being chapel master Mn. Ricard Palop i Pérez. In this time was built a little organ to accompany the cult by the organ builder Gabriel Blancafort, from Collbató (Barcelona). It was built to celebrate the 275th anniversary of Cabanilles’ death (1712).

The characteristics of this instrument are collected in the Cabanilles Journal (ACAO). Between them are the following ones:

The supply is double, one for each middle of the windchest (right and left hand), and a 45mm of water column pressure.

With this instrument are played several concerts throughout the year, between them the annual concert “Homenatge a Joan Bta. Cabanilles”.

[1] DOMINGO BORRÀS, J. Antoni; Orgues del País Valencià, ACAO, 1981, p.9

* In the p.9 says ... In the Manual de Consells of 1641-50 we found a short citation that tells textually "admeterem 3 sous 2 diners del examen del orgue ..."

[2] BELDA FERRER, M.; Apuntes Históricos de la Villa de Algemesí, Gandía, 1908, pp. 141-144

The last question to answer is who played this organ. Until 1609, when was founded the so called “benifet de l’orgue” (the benefit given by the Church to the people who played in Liturgical acts), and for several years after we can thought in any experienced or prepared person. Due to a lacking in other important historical data, consequently are especially important the names of the people contracted by the Municipal Council for the role of school teachers, “baxonistes” or musicians, as well as the Chapel Masters. The only referred figure in this role is mossén Pere Àvila, Chapel Master in 1606.

In June 10^th, 1609, was founded the “benifet” of the “Sants de la Pedra” and Sant Jaume, commonly known as “benifet de l’orgue” , within the presence of the notary of Algemesí Jeroni Macià. In October 14^th, 1632, was founded the position of Chapel Master under the “Mare de Déu de la Salut” ad-vocation (Mother of God of the Health), according to Joan Segura de Lago. All this means the institutionalization grade that the growing-up musical activity took during the XVII century. As it is stated in the “Manual de Consells” of 1684 (a book of facts of the Village), for the reason of a census counting owned by the Village, “…the Village gives (to the Clergy) a census of 500 pounds that is the price of the benefit of the Chapel Master, another of property of 6 pounds 13 pays and 4 money on boarding of 100 pounds that is the price of the benefit of the organ …”.

Mossén Josep Alcalà was the Chapel Master and owned the “benifet”, before it was taken by Mn. Nofre Guinovart in 1653.

Nofre Guinovart was born in Algemesí in June, 13^th, 1638. He was the son of Pere Guinovart and Casilda Escrivà. He was christened in the Parish of Saint James. In December 28^th, 1653, he was received into the vowing of the Village of Algemesí as a Chapel Master not as an organist. There he remained until June, 28^th, 1659, due to a violent incident with the Sworn which made him to abandon the town.

The time that Guinovart lived in Algemesí was the same of the childhood of Joan Baptista Cabanilles (1644-1712), but we have no historical source which references his presence at our town, neither any relation between them. The only documentation of the archive referred to the great organist is the register of the property title into the 1673 cadastre, from this item we loose any trace.

The vacant place left by Guinovart, as a Chapel Master, was occupied by Mn. Vicent Domingo between 1664 and 1712, from Algemesí. The next year, 1665, Mn. Jeroni Folqués, also from Algemesí, took up of the benefit of the organ. He is the first official reference, which is mentioned in the documentation, as an organist. Mn. Folqués lived next to the church, at the Crosses Street (carrer de les Creus), and he hold the benefit of the organ until his death in 1681. When he dead he left a very good legacy. We do not know if from the dead of the benefited of the organ, his place was occupied by the Chapel Master Mn. Domingo.

Once the Succession War passed, it has been extracted a list of neighbours made in order to collect the amount of the Equivalent of 1713 (a kind of tax), from which has been made a complete list of the components of the Community and Clergy of Algemesí. In this list are named: Mn. Josep Pradas, as a Chapel Master, and Mn. Nofre Cubells i Granja, also born Algemesí, he was benefited organist in the period between 1713 and 1779. But Mn. Cubells was not the only organist who lived in Algemesí in the XVIII century, because Josep Gans (cited in the documentation as a musician) took the oppositions called in Sueca for the organist post in August, 19^th 1745.

When Cubells was dead it were called oppositions, but we do not know who participated neither who were the examination board. Furthermore, the lack of documentation between 1780 and 1794 does not allow us to get any knowledge about. In the last days of the XVIII century, another citizen of Algemesí, Vicent Adam was living in Madrid and was organist at “Nuestra Señora de la Almudena”. He published several works with great diffusion and praise of his contemporaries.

In 1794, the list of benefited organists of the Parish of Saint James continues with Mn. Gregori Asensi. He occupied it until 1812, when was succeeded by Mn. Josep Rovira who remained in it until 1822, although it seems that from 1817 he does not work full-time as organist (the reason is not clear) and possibly he was accidentally replaced by the school master Vicente Sos i Ferris who remained in the town until 1830.

The time between 1823 and 1826 the benefit was hold by the organist Mn. Ramón Amorós, and between 1826 and 1831 by Mn. Manuel Climent i Cavedo, who was succeeded in 1832 by Mn. Ferran Gisbert i Boronat, who worked simultaneously in the benefit and in the Archive of the Parish during his long state (he still remained in this work in 1873).

At the end of the XIX century, and during the whole XX century, the consulted documentation makes reference to global payments to Clergy and no concrete name is mentioned, so data are not enough. Thanks to Mn. Belda Ferré we can know that from 1908 to 1914, Mn. Roderic Aguirre i Perelló was the benefited of the organ, he was the author of the Gojos a la Mare de Déu de la Salut. From 1914 to 1916, was Mn. Just Ballester, and it is still living the memory of the last benefited Mn. Vicent Igual i Úbeda, who held this position at the Parish of Saint James in Algemesí from 1916 to 1962 when he died.

Finishing, we must say that in June, 24^th 1954, Saint John’s day, was inaugurated the actual organ by OESA-Alberdi and from the death of Mn. Vicent Igual, it has not stopped playing by Mr Macià, Mr Girbes, and actually Diego Ramon i Lluch, who is also the director of the Schola Cantorum d’Algemesí, thus it continues the work as Chapel Master.

Partial Extraction of the paper by Josep Antoni Domingo i Borràs, chronicler of Algemesí, in the journal Orgues del País Valencià, núm. XVII. Març de 1981.