Atsuko Takano, Turull organ

Atsuko Takano, Turull historical organ
Die spanische Trompeten

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Info

During the 16th-18th centuries, Europe had a great number of musical schools, each with very distinctive elements, both in musical forms and harmonic language or ornamentation. However, the exchange that existed between them is evident in many collections of keyboard works that have been passed down to us. Today’s program has the peculiarity of combining some German or Italian composers with Iberian repertoire for the organ. The works of Johann Speth and Johann Jakob Froberger belong more to the German sphere, although the latter composer studied in Rome with Frescobaldi and was heavily influenced by his style and musical language. The Toccata is a more rhapsodic piece, with elements of improvisation and daring or challenging harmonic language that showcased the composer’s ingenuity. The Fantasia on UT RE MI FA SOL LA refers to the use of the natural hexachord as a guiding motif in the piece. It is a much more polyphonic piece, but full of imagination in the treatment of thematic material. Pasquini’s Follias also represent that amalgamation of a truly Spanish theme with the melodic and ornamental art of the Italian style. It is a great display of virtuosity where the organ can showcase its full range of sounds. In the second group of composers, we find some of the great Spanish organ composers: Antonio de Cabezón, a blind organist in the service of Charles V and Philip II; Pablo Bruna, the blind organist from Daroca; Francisco Correa de Arauxo, known for his colossal “Facultad orgánica”; and Joseph Ximénez. These composers make use of the distinctive resources of the Spanish organ, such as the exploitation of a split keyboard in two halves, which allowed for different sonorities to be produced simultaneously in both hands. This characteristic gave rise to the development of “tientos partidos” for the right hand or left hand, as is the case with Bruna’s piece. On the other hand, the appearance of horizontal trumpet stops, “en batalla” or “in the form of artillery,” as mentioned in the contracts of the time, gave rise to a uniquely Spanish musical genre: the Batallas. The concert will conclude with Ximénez’s famous Batalla, showcasing the brightest and most powerful sound of the Turull organ.

Atsuko Takano trained as a pianist and organist at Ferris University in Yokohama, Japan, completing her studies with the “prix d’excellence” distinction. In 2005, she moved to Germany to continue her studies in organ, clavichord, and harpsichord at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen, studying with H. Vogel, H. Davidsson, B. Röllecke, E. Belloti, and U. Davidsson. In 2009, she furthered her organ studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Jacques van Oortmerssen, graduating “cum laude” in her final Master’s examination, which took place on the famous C. Müller organ at St. Bavo’s Church in Haarlem.

She has been awarded the “Huygens” scholarship by the Dutch Ministry of Education and has been recognized in various performance competitions, including the International Organ Competition “Arp Schnitger” (Germany) and the “Westfield International Competition” (New York). Takano has given numerous concerts as a soloist and accompanist throughout Europe, the United States, and Japan, making various recordings for national radio in the Netherlands and Germany, and participating in numerous orchestral projects. In 2016, she performed as a soloist in Franz Schmidt’s “The Book of the Seven Seals” with the RTVE Orchestra and Choir. Since then, she has regularly collaborated with these ensembles.

In October 2017, she was appointed Music Director and Principal Organist of the Parish of San Nicolás, an internationally renowned church known for its beautiful mural paintings, earning it the name “the Valencian Sistine Chapel.”

Program

Johann SPETH (1664-1720)
Toccata quinta

Johann Jakob FROBERGER (1616-1667)
Fantasia sopra Ut Re Mi Fa Sol La

Bernard PASQUINI (1637-1710)
Partite diverse di Follia [Tema y 14 variaciones]

Georg MUFFAT (1653-1704)
Toccata decima (Extraído del “Apparatus musico-organisticus”)

Pablo BRUNA (1611-1679)
Tiento de I tono de mano derecha y al medio a dos tiples

Antonio de CABEZÓN (1510-1566)
Diferencias sobre las Vacas

Francisco CORREA DE ARAUXO (1584-1654)
Tiento y discurso de segundo tono

Joseph XIMÉNEZ (1601-1672)
Batalla de Sexto Tono (II)