Barcelona’s Sant Felip Neri church in the Gothic Quarter has finally completed its grand organ, ending a project that began in 1967. Centenarian organist Montserrat Torrent, who started the instrument’s construction, performed at the inauguration last Monday.
The finished instrument, now called the Orgue Montserrat Torrent, has 3,481 pipes and 49 registers. It is designed as a reference organ for teaching and performing Iberian and Baroque repertoire in Barcelona.
The project was delayed for decades because of a lack of funds. According to the specialist portal orguesblancafort, the original work by organ builders Gabriel Blancafort and Georges Lhôte, under Torrent’s supervision, stopped after only the little chair and pedal towers had been built.
The project was revived in 2020 by the Fundació Montserrat Torrent, with support from the Ajuntament de Barcelona and the Generalitat de Catalunya, and with collaboration from Fundació 'la Caixa'. The first phase was completed with the inauguration and blessing in December 2021, and the final ten pipes were installed this April.
The opening concert was the main event of the Community and Sport tag pages? No, use the relevant local culture context here: the event formed part of the Any Montserrat Torrent, marking the organist’s centenary. Torrent, who turned 100 this year, played alongside six other organists in a special programme.
The ceremony also included poetry. Actor Pere Arquillué read Poem for an Organ, written by Narcís Comadira for the occasion. Among those present were Salvador Illa, president of the Generalitat, Sònia Hernández, culture councillor, and Jaume Collboni, mayor of Barcelona. Ferran Colás, prepósito of the Sant Felip Neri oratory and president of the Fundació Montserrat Torrent, presided over the event.
A collaboration agreement signed in October 2023 means advanced organ students and professors from the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya can use the instrument. The fundació also plans masterclasses, courses and concert series, while resident organist Bernat Bailbé will continue his weekly Sunday midday concerts at Sant Felip Neri.
