Contemporary Organ Works by Puerto Rican Composers

Abstract

Abstract The history of organ music and pipe organs in Puerto Rico dates to Spanish colonial times. Unfortunately, most organ works composed during that period of time did not survive due to fires, hurricanes, the attacks of English and Dutch pirates, and the change of sovereignty in 1898. After the entrance of the United States in 1898, a few organ works were composed and various pipe organs were installed on the island, but no significant developments took place in Puerto Rican organ culture. Recently, with the installation of a three manual Casavant organ at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras in 2006, and the creation of the position the author occupies as organist and organ professor at the institution, new opportunities for organ music on the island have flourished. This lecture-recital centers on an investigation of the organ works of four Puerto Rican composers of the twentieth and twenty-first century: William Ortiz, Carlos Lamboy, Raymond Torres-Santos and Roberto Milano. The document includes a brief history of the pipe organ in Puerto Rico and its music, biographical notes of each composer, and an analysis of the compositions performed during the lecture recital presented on April 19, 2016 at the University of Kansas. The paper and presentation intend to expose Puerto Rican organ music to a wider audience and to inspire other generations of Puerto Rican