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The organ for Madrid's new Cathedral of the Almudena
is a monumental instrument located at the end of the nave above
a new stone choir gallery built expressly for it and with space
for the choir, and an orchestra.The Cathedral demanded a commitment
to the complex historicist play between its gothic style interior
and the classical exterior. The organ is located at a critical
point, above the great doors which open to reveal the neighbouring
baroque masterpiece of the Palacio Real. It was important to
enhance this view down the axis of the central nave and achieve
a sense of majesty at its termination. |
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| The intention was to create an image and inspiration
which recalls a gothic form, but not the imitation of a gothic
organ case with academic copies of carvings and details. It
seeks the same play between the interior and the exterior as
the cathedral itself, only here in reverse with an eclectic
modern instrument inside a case designed to blend with the building's
gothic interior. An image of triptychs is created by the division
of the pipe compartments in groups of 3, separated by narrow
uprights. The composition is crowned with a deep projecting
frame called a 'guardapolvo' (dust protector), common to 15th
century Spanish altars. |
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This forms a continuous sinuous band stepping
up and down above the façade. Above the pipe compartments fine
battens terminate in ogival curves which are mirrored over the
higher central compartments, creating the illusion of gothic
forms. The decoration of the organ case was fundamental to the
final effect. The pure gold leaf with burnished finishes for
the pipe shades and main mouldings creates a brilliance which
illuminates the end of the nave. An english red foundation contributes
warmth and contrast, a colour that by more than coincidence
was the base traditionally employed in the gilding of altars
and organ cases from the gothic to the baroque. |
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| Height: |
12 metres |
| Width: |
10 metres |
| Number of stops: |
70 with 4 manual keyboards and pedal |
| Start of design: |
October 1990 |
| Date of inauguration: |
December 1999 |
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