Rufiner_organ

On the centre of the high tribune of the Parish-Church of “El Salvador” at the City of Valladolid, Spain, there is a small organ of Romantic style, with eleven stops, built by Quintín Rufiner in 1917 and installed there in 1918. It is a special instrument, so much for its primitive use, because it was developed as a concert-organ for saloon, as for its characteristics and sound, until the point of being a unique piece.

THE CHURCH; HISTORY; OTHER INSTRUMENTS IN THE CHURCH; QUINTÍN RUFINER; JOSÉ TRUEBA; CONCERTS OF INAUGURATION; REPARATIONS & RESTORATION; OTHER WORKS BY RUFINER

The Church was begun at the end of the 15^th century. Its beautiful façade was built between 1541 and 1559, following Palladian and Spanish “Plateresque” tendencies. The tower is also important. It was built during the 17^th century and follows the “Austrian” style. The Church-interior was repaired and enlarged in 1631, 1709 and 1756. This is the reason because it presents nowadays a Baroque appearance, but it has Gothic details, as the arches of the nave, some vaults, various Secondary Chapels or the general disposition. The acoustic of this Church is excellent, fine for the organ and very suitable for concerts.

The Romantic organ substitutes to another Baroque one that was located on the tribune on the left side. It had been built in 1.738 and repaired by the organ-builder Joseph Ballesteros, adding the stops in chamade, in 1.760. Its composition, on agreement with the inventories, was this: "An organ with those stops: Flautado de 13 (Open diapason 8’) in both hands = Octava (Octave 4’) = Docena (Twelve 2 2/3’), Quincena (Fifteenth 2’), and Decimonovena (Quint 1 1/3’) = Lleno (Furniture 1’ III) = Corneta Real (Treble Cornet 8’ stop) = Bajoncillo (bass stop of Clarion 4’ in chamade) and Clarín (treble stop of Trumpet 8’ in chamade) and Orlo (Regal 8’). The case is made of pine-wood and is painted. The wind-supplier is composed by six bellows and other accessories and machinery." This was a typical Spanish-Baroque-organ, with a single manual of 45 keys (C-c’’’) and the stops divided in basses and trebles between c’ and cs’. This kind of organs was developed for soloist performances, not for accompanying choirs. In the second half of the 19^th the organists were Mariano Ballesteros, and later, his son Pedro. In 1890, it was repaired by Mateo Díaz, who also repaired several organs at that time.

But during the second half of the 19th century the new romantic organ of French style enters in Spain. It was created by the organ-builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll catching elements of the German, French, Spanish, English and Italian classic-organ and conjugating them with a very personal style. Of course, he also added many personal inventions. In 1856 this organ builder installs the first organ of these characteristics of Spain, concretely in Lequeitio (Biscay). One year later the great Merklin-Organ at Murcia Cathedral is finished and astonishes to Spanish organists and organ builders, used to the Baroque-organ. The Spanish organ-builders will begin to build instruments that will forget progressively the Baroque tradition in favour of the new French school. Also French organs and some Germans ones were bought. Together with the instrument, the organ music evolves from the works by Hilarión Eslava, 1850, conceived for Baroque organ, to those by Julián Calvo and Felipe Gorriti, dated about 1890, composed for the instrument that they named "modern organ". The Baroque organ seemed an antiquated instrument then and in opinion of Albert Merklin (and of its contemporaries, included Rufiner) completely inadequate for the modern music for its characteristics. They were of the opinion that this organ type had few “jeux-de-fonds”, too many mixtures and a too many strident reeds. It also did not possessed pedal and their keyboard had only 45 notes, with short octave.

For these reasons a harmonium for the Parish of El Salvador is bought in 1892, but only for accompanying the choir. It cost 800 pesetas. This instrument is still in the church in working condition. It is an excellent harmonium manufactured by Rodolphe-Debain from Paris, one of the best harmoniums-makers of its time. The instrument possesses a single manual with 61 notes (C-c’’’’), divided on the usual harmonium-way between e’-f’. It has three stops and a half. In the basses, presents: Bourdon 16 ', Jeu Doux 8 ' and Cor Anglais 8 '; in the trebles Flûte 8 ', Mussette 16 ', Clarinette 16 ' and Voix Humaine 16 '. Also it has traspositor, Forte, expression, tremulant and tutti.

Now, the organ builder Quintín Rufiner appears in scene. Regrettably we ignore many things of him. We ignore his origin and we hardly have notices of him before 1917. The little that we know it is that he was an organist in the church of Saint Andres of Valladolid. According to reporter Fernando De'Lapi[1], Rufiner became fond to the organ building looking to the operatives from Casa Amezúa working on the organ at Valladolid Cathedral. Then he studies different organ-building treaties, learning this art in a self taught way.

It is not very difficult to know the treaties that he read. The bibliography of the time is scarce: in Spanish there were only these works: “Arte completo del constructor de órganos” (The Manufacturer's of Organs Complete Art), by Mariano Tafall, published in Santiago de Compostela from 1872 to 1876 and “Los registros del órgano” (The Stops of the Organ), by Carlos Locher, 1910. The first work is an extensive treaty in four volumes that shows minutely all the details of an organ. Seeing the mechanics of Rufiner's instruments it becomes evident that he managed this work. The other one has smaller importance and it simply describes the different stops that an organ can have. De’Lapi also says that Rufiner read works in French. The most important treaty in this language is “De l'Orgue et son Architecture” by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll.

Also, Rufiner probably visited organs to see the practice of what he read. Possibly he studied the organs by Aquilino Amezúa (the most important Spanish Romantic organ-builder) at St. Jacob Parish-Church, Cathedral and Sacred Heart, all in Valladolid and some instruments by José Otorel (an organ-builder active in the years close to 1860, who built following the Classical-Spanish tradition, but with some Romantic novelties in the field of harmonization), as those in the Parish Churches at the villages Velliza and Piñel-de-Abajo, near Valladolid; Saint Francisco Church at Palencia or Comendadoras-of-Santiago-Convent in Valladolid, this last built by his relative Juan Otorel Oliva.

With this baggage of knowledge (bigger than that the one of many organ-builders of his time, that only learned in a workshop, seeing the master's work, although Rufiner had the disadvantage of being self-taught and ignorant for it of some details of the methodology of the organ-building), he could make an instrument. Always following De’Lapi, it seems to be that this was an organ of a single stop that he called "Abbreviated Organ".

We don't know anything about this instrument that he left in Saint Andrés Church, although it is evident that it was considered as something experimental, an exercise, since the organ by Esteban de San Juan, built in 1789 still exists and if the abbreviated organ had been recognized as a worthy instrument, the Baroque one probably would have disappeared. This abbreviated organ would have, hypothetically, an only stop of Stopped Diapason 8 ', because it is a stop of 8 feet whose pipes are small, the manual would reach 56 notes and it possibly had a pedal-board with 27 or 30 notes. It is possible that it was transportable because its small size.

Rufiner then repaired the organ Saint Lorenzo Church at Valladolid. This reparation probably consisted on increasing its 8-feet-stops and maybe to install a pedal-board. We ignore that because this organ disappeared in 1968, when this Church was demolished.

Then our organ-builder met José Trueba, an agricultural engineer and melomaniac. He contracted Rufiner to build an organ for a living room of auditions in his property in Renedo (a village close to Valladolid).

Rufiner establishes as organ builder and opens his workshop on 30, Vega Street in Valladolid, beside Saint Andrés Church. This was a small local and the organ was built on the choir-tribune of this last Church. At the end of September, 1917, the instrument was finished and there were two inaugural-concerts, the days 26th and 27th. The players were José Trueba, his father Antonio and violinist Carmen González. The work for violin and organ was a sonata by Beethoven, originally for violin and piano and the incongruity of playing the piano part on the organ was view like something natural. On the journal El Norte de Castilla of September 28th, 1917 these auditions and the instrument are praised, it is said that it has a "perfect mechanism" and "variety of sounds, stops and sound-intensity."

But it is not known if Trueba had the organ installed in his house because in few months he sells this organ to the Parish of El Salvador where is seated on July 10^th, 1918. At half past six of the afternoon of that day there was a concert with the following works:

José Trueba played: Largo & Andante by J. L. A. Lefèbure-Wély, with the tutti and the Vox Humana; Cantabile, by the same author with the Oboe; Offertory in D-flat by T. Dubois, with the Vox Cœlestis; Andantino from the Pastolale and Allegretto Cantabile, with the flutes and the Oboe by C. A. Franck; Cantilena by Dubois with the flutes; Chœur des Voix Humaines by Lefèbure-Wély; Allegro cantabile by Ch. M. Widor with the Oboe and the “fonds d’orgue” and the Toccata from the Suite Gothique by L. Boëllmann. Also the Choir of the Cathedral intervened singing works by Vicente Goicoechea (Kapellmeister at Valladolid Cathedral at the end of 19^th Century) and pianist Jacinto Manzanares played an Offertory and a Prayer composed by him.

It is patent that, contrary to his contemporaries who played works of scarce quality, Trueba plays a program of good romantic works, all them for organ, without transcriptions. Trueba deserves a consideration for his good taste, although we don't know the quality of his interpretation, that should not were bad, because he receives the commendations of De'Lapi.

Trueba sells the organ for 5250 pesetas. Rufiner installs it in the church and he cashes 800 pesetas for this work and Diego del Barrio decorates the case. The instrument was paid with contributions of the Parish and with the money that resulted of shelling the previous organ. Darío González gave the motor-supplier for the wind, which was installed in an enclosure on a lateral of the tribune.

In the 20’s was organist Gerardo Sinova. In 1921, Rufiner tunes the organ. It cost 250 pesetas. For several testimonies we know that during the second half of the 30’s and on the 40’s and 50’s, this organ was used little, because there was not a hired-organist, and the harmonium was preferred. The organ was conserved badly. At the beginning of the 60’s, the Parish hires a new organist and then the organ frequently sounds. In 1966 it was repaired by Vicente Estarells for 4200 pesetas. The organist retires in 1968 and the instrument is definitively abandoned. We do not know when the 26 smaller tubes of the Bassoon - Oboe 8’ stop and the 23 smaller tubes of the Voix Céleste 8’ were stolen.

After 33 years of silence it was decided to restore it. The work has been done by Gerhard Walcker-Mayer of Bliesransbach, Germany, with a budget of more than 29000 Euros, during the months of September and October, 2001 and February, 2003. On this way, today the organ is in perfect conditions and it sounds with the freshness with which it probably sounded that July 10^th 1918.

Before 1919, Rufiner reformed the organ of the Church at Bolaños de Campos (Valladolid). This organ was probably originally built in the 19^th century. Rufiner built a new wind-chest, new bellows, and added a detached console. He also installed a swell-box for the entire organ. This organ had in origin a single manual (we do not know if it had a pedal-board) and six stops. Nowadays this organ is in a very bad situation: the console has disappeared and only few pipes remain. These pipes are from a Romantic Principal 8’, a Romantic Trumpet 8’ and a Bourdon 8’ that Rufiner re-used from the previous organ.

He also repaired the organ at the Church at Villavicencio de los Caballeros that had been built in 1775 by Manuel Baquero. He added a detached console, suppressed the short octave and installed new bellows.

Quintín Rufiner builds in 1919 the organ in Saint Miguel Church in Valladolid. It was built re-using the façade of the previous Baroque-organ that existed in this church. It is very similar to the one at El Salvador. It has two manuals and pedal and it had twelve stops. We shall talk later about the original disposition of this instrument. Nowadays, this organ has been decreased. Only six stops are in working-condition: Principal 8’, Bourdon 8’ (The finest Bourdon we have ever listened) and Octave 4’ on the first manual and Wooden-flute 8’, Flûte Harmonique 8’ and Viola di Gamba 8’ on the second. The couplers and the tremulant work too.

He also built a little organ with a single manual and pedalboard and six stops for a monastery in Valladolid. This organ was developed for accompanying the plain-chant of the nuns. This instrument is now taken apart.

In 1921 he built an organ for a salon. It had twelve stops, two manuals and pedal. We do not know more about this instrument that probably had a disposition similar to the one at El Salvador.

In 1923 he reformed the organ at El Burgo de Osma Cathedral (Soria), originally built in 1790 with two manuals. Rufiner suppressed the reeds in chamade, installed a swell-box for the second manual, and added some Romantic stops and a pedalboard. The key and stop actions of this organ were electrified by O.E.S.A. in 1967, which also changed some stops.

Finally, in 1924 Rufiner built that of Saint Antolín Church at Medina del Campo (Valladolid). He re-used the beautiful case of the previous Baroque organ. It has a single manual and pedal, ten stops. The disposition is: Principal 8’, Flauta (Flute) 8’, Bordón 8’, Viola di Gamba 8’, Vox Cœlestis 8’, Octava 4’, Flauta 4’, Vox Humana 8’, Trompeta (Trumpet) 8’ and Clarín (Clarion) 4’. At the moment, it remains complete, but unplayable.

The organ has two manuals and pedal. Its case is made of pine wood. The complete organ is in a swell-box. We can see the swell-box Venetian-blinds at the façade.

The detached console is protected with a cover. It has a folding lectern. Once the cover is opened, we see the two manuals with 56 notes (C- g’’’). The keys are, undoubtedly, piano keys, for its form and construction. The keys are veneered with white and black bakelite. The pedal is complete, with 30 notes (C – f’), lightly concave. In the general dimensions, Rufiner follows that was settled down in the III Music-Congress of Vienna (1909).

On the sides of the keyboards there are the marksmen of the stops: those of the first manual and pedal to the left and those of the second to the right (we will always take as reference point to the organist’s position when he/she plays). The marksmen are lathed and they have felt to muffle the displacement. The names of the stops and their measure in feet are written in porcelain caps glued to the marksman. We see the composition of the organ:

Bordón 16’ (Bourdon 16’); Corno 8’ (Gemshorn 8’); Principal 8’ (Open Diapason or Principal 8’); Trompeta 8’ (Trumpet 8’)

Flauta 8’ (Flute (Wood) 8 '); Flauta Dulce 4’ (Wooden-flute or Recorder 4’) Celeste 8’ (Vox Cœlestis 8’); Gamba 8’ (Viola di Gamba 8’); Voz Humana 8’ (Vox Humana 8’); Fagot-Oboe 8’ (Bassoon-Oboe 8’)

Below on the left there are three pedals that work the following couplers: I to pedal; II to pedal; II to I. In the centre, a pedal opens the Trumpet 8 ' stop (Fuerte) and another equal controls the expression of both manuals. On the right there is a pedal that works the tremulant of Recitative. This tremulant is very soft.

The Principal 8’ and the Corno 8’ share the twelve bigger pipes that are wooden. The compass of the Gamba and Celeste is c-g’’’, 44 notes, as usual in this last stop. The

Compass of the Vox Humana 8’ is only c-g’’, 32 notes. The pedal-stop gets the thirty bigger pipes from Bordón 16’.

We are going to compare this organ at El Salvador with its brother, the one at Saint Miguel Church, 1919, by Rufiner too and with a Cavaillé-Coll organ in a monastery at Durango (Biscay), 1878.

Grand Orgue: Bourdon 16’; Bourdon 8’; Montre 8’; Præstant 4’ ; Trompette 8’

Recitative: Flûte Harmonique 8’; Flûte Octaviante 4’; Viole de Gambe 8’; Voix Céleste 8’; Basson-Hautbois 8’

Accouplements: G.O./Ped.; R/Ped.; R/G.O.; Trémulant R; Expression G.O.; Expression R., Orage.

Great Organ: Bordón 16’, Bordón 8’; Principal 8’ Octava 4’, Trompeta 8’

Recitative: Flauta Dulce 8’, Flauta Armónica (Harmonic Flute) 8’; Gamba 8’; Celeste 8’ Fagot-Oboe 8’, Voz Humana 8’

Couplers: G.O./Pedal; R/Pedal; R/G.O.; Super-octave R/G.O.; Tremulant R; Total Expression.

Recitative: Flauta (Dulce) 8’; Flauta Dulce 4’; Gamba 8’; Celeste 8’ Fagot-Oboe 8’ Voz Humana 8’

As we see, the dispositions of Rufiner are fully French-romantic. A thing that changes is the expression, which he prepares as total, following the post-romantic tendency. His organs also haven't got thunder-effect, considered then as (in Widor’s words) a toy of nannies.

It is obvious that the disposition is very similar among them, but with certain different details. The church organ has to accompany the priest's singing, and for this reason the two of these characteristics have a Bourdon 8 '. However, that of El Salvador has a Corno 8' (A Gemshorn made of pine-wood), of orchestral effect that imitates very appropriately to orchestral horns. It also reminds a lot to the German classic Gemshorn. The organ does not possess Octave 4', for being the most orchestral possible.

Another of its characteristics is the possession of two wooden-flutes of the same kind, in 8 and 4 feet on the Recitative, that also imitate to the flutes of an orchestra. This is one of the most original facts of Rufiner: French romantic organ-builders prepare the open flutes normally as harmonic-flutes (Flûte Harmonique). Our organ-builder uses more classical wooden flutes, a German stop called Holzflöte. This stop has been used at Germany since the end of the 15^th century.

The Gamba pipes are wooden, in the way of the Gambas of the orquestriums of cinemas of that time. They imitate very wisely the orchestral strings. This stop is also German: the organ at Hoffenheim, built by E. F. Walker in 1845 has a stop called Holzarmonika 8’, very similar to Rufiner’s Gambas.

The Celeste was, in origin, very similar to the Gamba, but the 23 smaller pipes had disappeared and it was decided to replace them with pipes broader than the original ones. These new pipes have a more “fluty” sound and now the Celeste can be played with the Gamba 8’ and with the Flauta 8’. In the origin it could only be put together with the Gamba.

The Principal 8’ or Open Diapason is narrow and very soft and unaggressive. It reminds to an Italian Principal. It is very good for playing some German Chorals. The 12 bigger pipes are made of pine-wood and the other 44 are made of an alloy of tin, lead, and nickel.

The group of the “eight-feet-fonds” (Principal, Corno, Flauta and Gamba) is intense and it presents a very strong orchestral colour, something typical of the romantic organ in general, although accentuated here.

The reeds are extraordinarily strong, bright and aggressive, like the Baroque-Spanish reeds and, although the tutti decreases to trumpet sound, it is of much more force and intensity of what we would suppose for such a small organ. The pipes of the Voz Humana 8’ stop follow the construction-way that invented and used the Spanish-organ-builder Aquilino Amezúa.

All the "fonds d'orgue", except the Principal 8 ', are made entirely of pine-wood. The French habit was to build all the pipes on metal, except for the basses of the bourdons. The Bordón 16 ' is completely wooden and of wide measures, something typical German, producing more mash sound than a French Bourdon, where the 20 smaller pipes are built in metal, normally in tin.

In opposition to their contemporaries, the organs of Rufiner pronounce and their harmonization is hefty, reason why, in addition to romantic works, it can be played on it classic works, this is: we can play on it all the organ works that do not need mixtures, because the character of its stops.

In conclusion, it is an organ of orchestral character (many stops of 8 feet, imitation of the orchestral sounds – French disposition ), but with classic German stops and Spanish reeds.

The pipes are very well-done and their quality is excellent. Rufiner made the wooden pipes and the metal ones were probably supplied by a South-French organ builder.

The stop and key action is mechanic. There are two wind-chests, each one for manual. The Great-Organ wind-chest is at left and the Recitative one at right. They are of slider type. The 12 bass pipes from Principal 8’ and Corno 8’ are on a small wind-chest on the left and the 12 basses from the Flauta 8’ are on a similar other at the right side. The thirty Bordón 16’ bigger pipes, which are the pipes that the pedal stop gets by transmission, are on two wind-chests at the back side of the case. Those chests have pneumatic action. The pedal action is, as we have said, pneumatic too.

On the two main wind-chests the pipe disposition is this: on the Recitative wind-chest, at the back, are the Voz Humana pipes. In font of them are the flute pipes (44 of the Flauta 8’ and 56 from the 4-foot-flute). Then are the mordant pipes and in the front, the reeds. This situation is well-thought because those last pipes need heavier wind and more frequent tuning than the “jeux de fonds”. On the Great Organ wind chest at the back are the pipes of Bourdon 16’, next the 44 from Corno, then, the 44 from Principal and the 56 Trumpet pipes. There are exactly 500 pipes in this organ.

Below the two great wind-chests are the bellows, which follows Coummins System. The wind-pressure is 76 millimetres.

1 Fernando de'Lapi was a musician and journalist. He wrote this articles about Rufiner and his organs on the journal “El Norte de Castilla”:

- July 10^th, 1918. It is an advertisement about the inauguration of the new organ at the Church of El Salvador.

- July 12^th, 1918. It is a remark about the last organ-inauguration.

- January 21^st, 1919. It is another remark about the organ-inauguration at St. Miguel Church, Valladolid.

- July 6^th, 1921. It is a comment about Rufiner and an “orgue de salon” that he had just built.

There is also another article on September 28^th, 1917 about the inauguration of the organ for J. Trueba signed by a “X.Y.Z.”