Upon the success of the inauguration of the Bach in Bogotá series that took place at the end of last month, a second concert will take place on Saturday April 22 at 5pm. The free event is sponsored by the Ministry of Culture and is a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of a series that will, over six months, cover the complete works of a renowned Baroque composer.
The initiative is the first of its kind in Latin America, as never before have so many musicians come together to participate in performing Bach’s Complete Works for Organ. The second of the seventeen organists invited to perform in the Catedral Primada is French musician Ghislain Leroy, chief organist of the Sapporo Concert Hall in Japan and the Notre Dame de la Treille Cathedral in Lille. Leroy is considered to be one of the most talented organists of his generation and has won several important international music competitions including Kotka in Finland and Lübeck in Germany.
Leroy along with sixteen other organists will have access to the city’s most important organ consisting of 4,000 pipes and four keyboards, built in 19th Century Spain. The organ recently underwent a three year restoration and regained its splendour in 2016 with a series of concerts dedicated to the peace process between the Colombian government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). Among the works presented was Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.
In addition, prior to each concert the invited organist will give a masterclass to Colombian musicians who are in the process of musical training. Critic, Emilio Sanmiquel will also conduct a discussion about the works being performed on that day. These two events will be held in the cathedral’s facilities at 3:30pm with free entry until full capacity is reached.
