Historic Organs of Oaxaca
David Warren Steel

Pablo Bruna: Tiento de dos tiples
José Suárez at the organ of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya
[MP3 audio, 4.9 MB]

Pablo Bruna (1611-1679) was born in Daroca, Aragón, and permanently blinded by illness at the age of five. He served for more than forty years at the church of Santa María la Mayor in his home town: as organist from 1631 and as maestro de capilla from 1669. His Tiento de dos tiples exploits the divided keyboard of the 17th-century Spanish organ: the two upper parts act as solo voices, accompanied by quieter registration in the two lower parts. Characteristics of the organ tiento include abundant use of melodic and harmonic sequences, and the exploration of varied rhythms.

The MP3 sample above is taken from a stereo recording made by José Suárez, organist, in January 1998 at the convent of San Jerónimo Tlacochahuaya. The recording engineer was Xavier Villapando. The compact disc, featuring works by Pablo Bruna and Juan Cabanilles, is released as Quindecim QP014, available from Quindecim Recordings, Nicolás San Juan 1321-1120, México 03100 D.F. e-mail: quindeci@data.net.mx. Note that MP3 is a compressed format, and that the audio fidelity of this sample cannot approach that of the compact disc.