The International Organ Festival premieres 'De Mundaka a Benidorm', composed especially for the event

The Church of Sant Jaume and Santa Anna in Benidorm hosted a new concert this Friday, part of the program for the 13th International Organ Festival, organized by the Department of Culture of the Benidorm City Council. This time, the recital featured organist and festival co-director Joxe Benantzi Bilbao and txistularis Josu Sorriketa and Juan María Gondra. The three entered the church with a short parade and then delighted the large audience, which practically filled the entire venue, with a repertoire composed mostly of Basque popular music pieces such as "El Caserío" by Jesús Guridi; "Goiz eresiak"; "Eztai Taldea"; "Allegro - adagio - allegro" by Luis Aranburu; and "Improvisation on a Basque Song" by Eduardo Gorosarri, among others.

One of the evening's highlights came midway through the concert when it was time to premiere "De Mundaka a Benidorm," a work composed by Mario Quinto Mora specifically for the Benidorm International Organ Festival. Written for piano and two "txistus," or Basque flutes, the piece fuses the Basque Country and the Levant, introducing Basque melodies and blending them with popular Levantine rhythms, thus paying tribute to this event, which grows in global prestige each year.

The Councilor for Culture, Jaime Jesús Pérez, expressed his satisfaction that, after thirteen editions since the launch of this cultural project, "the International Organ Festival has hosted the premiere of a new work composed specifically for this event," the third dedicated to it. He thanked the composer and artistic directors of the International Organ Festival for their "involvement and good work" in making it a success.

The next events of this 13th FIOB will be on April 25th, with students from the Alicante Professional Music Conservatory; and on May 30th, with a concert by Jan Vermeire. After the usual summer break, the event will return on October 31st with Javier Artigas on the organ and Javier Pantoja on the fortepiano. On November 28th, Javier Sáez and the Alicante Chamber Choir will perform, and the closing Christmas Concert will take place on December 13th, featuring Paco Amaya on the organ and baritone Christian Costea. All concerts are at 8:00 p.m. in the Church of San Jaime. Admission is free until capacity is reached.