The 13th Benidorm Organ Festival pays tribute to Bach this Friday with students from the José Tomás Conservatory in Alicante

The 13th Benidorm International Organ Festival has a new date this Friday, April 25th, at the Church of San Jaime. It will be a tribute to Johann Sebastian Bach, offered by the organ students of the José Tomás Conservatory in Alicante, starting at 8:00 p.m.

The Alicante conservatory is one of the oldest music education centres in Spain and was directed for many years by the composer Óscar Esplá.

It currently has nearly 700 students and teaches, in addition to the classical specialities (strings, woodwind, brass, and percussion). These other courses give the centre its great prestige, such as harp, harpsichord, organ, pulse and plectrum, and more. The organ speciality is one of the first to be taught at the centre, and since 2023, it has had an agreement with the council of the Alicante Co-Cathedral, so that the lecture sessions and major concerts are held there.

Students will perform a program consisting of the following works: ‘Fugue in G BW578’ (J. S. Bach), ‘Jesus, the Lord of My Heart’ (J. L. Krebs), ‘Fugue in D BWV 565’ (J. S. Bach), ‘Fantasy in Italian Taste’ (J. L. Krebs), ‘Wo Gott, the Man, not at one's halt BWV 1128’ (J. S. Bach), ‘Praeludium and Fugue in C BWV 549’ (F. C. S. Mohrheim), Trio: ‘Ein Feste Burg ist unser Gott’ (G. Bohm), ‘Praeludium in D’ (John Stanley), and ‘Voluntary Op. 5 No. 1’ (Adagio-Andante).

The next International Organ Festival event will take place on May 30th at 8:00 p.m. in the Church of San Jaime, with a concert by Jan Vermeire. After the summer, the festival will resume on October 31st with a concert by Javier Artigas (organ) and Javier Pantoja (fortepiano).