Portal de Santomera
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The restoration has had a budget of 122,000 euros, of which 15,000 have been provided by the City Council
Around four hundred people filled the parish church of Our Lady of the Rosary last night to witness the laying of the Santomera organ, which reverberated for the first time since December 2006. Among them were the bishop of Cartagena, José Manuel Lorca Planes, the mayor, Inmaculada Sánchez Roca, the Councilor for Culture, María Jesús Férez, and the director general of the Institute of Cultural Industries and Arts, Marta López-Briones.
The organ of Santomera dates back to 1926, was donated by the Campillo-Murcia family and the newspapers of the time described it as the "best instrument of the Diocese, except for that of the cathedral."
Its qualities however were deteriorating by the passage of time, until it became useless.
After several previous attempts, unsuccessful, the impetus of a neighborhood commission led to the signing of the contract for restoration and reconstruction last February, taking advantage of the valid material but adding new records that have expanded its interpretive capacity for concert.
These works, led by the organist Carlos Manuel Álvarez, based in Villel's locality, have had a budget of 122,000 euros contributed by individuals and various groups, such as Santomera City Council, which awarded a grant of 15,000 euros.
And yesterday, at last, it was time to appreciate the excellent results of the project.
The bishop of the Diocese of Cartagena was in charge of opening the act, to bless the organ and to preside a solemn mass.
The canon of sacred music of the cathedral of Murcia, Alfonso Guillamón, was on his part who for the first time sounded in public the instrument already renewed, for which was opted for the work 'Genesis', composed expressly for the occasion by the santomerano Ginés Abellán.
Later, during the concert of classical music and the later mass, also would be put to its controls Javier Artigas, Professor of Organ of the Superior Conservatory of Music of Murcia, and Carlos Rafael Pérez López, president of Amaorm (Association Merklin of Friends of the Organ of the Region of Murcia).
The voices of the Canticorum Jubilo choir also contributed to the splendor of the evening.
After a three-hour ceremony, the parish priest of Santomera, Antonio Ballester, closed the ceremony thanking the generous collaboration of all those who have been involved for months to make possible the restoration of the almost centennial instrument.
The next opportunity to hear the organ again will be tomorrow, Wednesday and Thursday, during the masses that will take place in the church (20 hours) on the occasion of the Novenario in honor of the patroness, the Virgin of the Rosary.
Source: Ayuntamiento de Santomera
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