Restoration of the organ in San Matías Jalatlaco, February 18–24, 2016
Each festival of the Instituto de Órganos Históricos de Oaxaca (IOHIO) builds on the success of its predecessors, making this one of the best ever! Nearly 100 people from seven countries and six Mexican states participated in all or part of the scheduled activities. Twenty-eight had participated in at least one previous festival and apparently couldn’t resist returning.
We are all familiar with organs that have an overbearing harshness. There is now a backlash under way towards an organ sound better suited to the typically dry acoustics of American churches and concert halls. The organ reform movement of the twentieth century was itself a reaction to the sounds of great builders such as Ernest M.
