Antonio Soler - Concerto No. 1 from 6 Concertos for two obbligato organs

Performed on April 22nd, 2019 at the Bales Organ Recital Hall at the University of Kansas by Jacob Hofeling and Donna Hetrick in this DMA organ recital. Antonio Soler (1729-1783) wrote a set of concertos for two obbligato organs. A Catalan composer, Soler was proficient as an organist at a very young age. Eventually he became the organist at the historic El Escorial. A prolific composer, it was said that he required very little sleep. He would retire at midnight and rise at 4 am for Mass, and spent all his leisure time composing. Soler often provided music to royalty, and composed his set of concertos for two obbligato organs for his pupil, Prince Gabriel in 1776 for “the prince’s amusement.” These pieces are written in beautiful galant style, and feature a number of interesting musical features such as echos and imitation between the two organ parts. The first concerto has two movements; the first in duple meter and the second in a light triple meter. The second movement features a variation set with delightful rhythmic and motivic contrast.