An exceptionally captivating concert at the 5th Organ Festival in Torrevieja

Nowadays, when electronic music reigns supreme in almost every home, listening to live music becomes a mystical experience—all the more so when the instrument in question is an organ with a rich, colorful sound, played within the interior of a church.

At the next concert of the 5th Organ Festival at the "Sagrado Corazon de Jesus" parish church in Torrevieja, a large audience had the opportunity to enjoy a truly captivating performance by "Grup Ternari". The ensemble consists of a dulcian duo—ancient instruments (prototypes of the bassoon, though in size and sound they resemble today’s oboe)—and an organ. One might think that the typical sound of the dulcian could evoke associations with the traditional snake charmer in Indian culture; however, when combined with the full sound of the organ, this instrument becomes, as it were, another organ stop. In fact, large Baroque organs often feature just such a stop. Since the sound of the organ can be combined with almost any instrument or with the human voice—this time thanks to the outstanding artists Eliseu Garcia and Silvestre Navarro, playing the dulcian, and organist Francisco J. Gonzales—we were treated to captivating sound combinations in an exceptionally interesting repertoire.

The performance of excerpts from "Misterium d'Elx" and Monteverdi’s "L'incoronazione di Poppea" made a great impression, after which the audience gave the artists a standing ovation. The musicians of "Grup Ternari" also delighted the audience with their brilliant and inspired performance of works by Stanley, Whelan, Torres, Lluis Llach, Pascual Villaplana, and Saul Gomez, with which they dazzled the audience, conveying the joy of music.

In all the performances, it was clear that the members of "Grup Ternari" are united by their love of sound. We heard performances dominated by dynamism, but also by ethereality, subtlety, and refined finesse, and all these nuances were presented with extreme concentration. Throughout the entire concert program, as well as in the piece that symbolizes Valencia’s heritage—“La Muixeranga”—special recognition is due to the ensemble’s organist, who maintained an excellent balance between the accompaniment and the soloists. It is rare to experience such balance in terms of volume. A superb climax to the concert was the performance of a composition by an 18th-century anonymous composer—“Canciones with Echo Effect”. One of the musicians played at the altar, the other at in unison, responding to one another dynamically, imitating an echo effect.

The performance by the ensemble "Grup Ternari" was an opportunity not only to experience the beauty of chamber organ music, but also to discover something we may not yet have had the chance to learn about or hear—something that will certainly remain etched in our memories. A standing ovation and, of course, an encore. I left the church deeply impressed. Congratulations to the performers.