The new Cambo organ of baroque design (Silbermann style) inspired by the Saxon organs of the early 18th century, is not only assigned ambitious cultual (liturgical) and cultural (concert) but also educational tasks.
Its pedagogical activities will focus on three areas :
1 ) Dissemination of an organ culture based on local musical resources :
Muzikarentzat the music school in Cambo consists mainly of woodwind and brass classes.
We will set up a common work project for these instruments and the organ in order to be able to reach a common annual concert (on the occasion of Saint Cecilia Day for example) using of course a repertoire adapted to this particular combination of instruments.
It will be an opportunity for the harmony ensemble from the music school to extend its capabilities to other musical genres and to enrich its repertoire in a motivating way.
Finally, the school officials are ready to study the setting up of an organ class as soon as a quality instrument will be accessible to them under conditions to be defined (partnership agreement for the weekly use of the instrument, auditions, pupils’ end-of-year concert. . . )
Cambo also has a mixed choir, Arraga, which will be able to organize a concert combining organ and voice. In the field of sacred music, the possibilities are vast, the works numerous and of varied difficulty. They allow a step-by-step approach to this type of collaboration.
Finally, it will be possible to plan visits and discoveries of the organ for the music classes of the Cambo College. Schoolchildren will be able to immerse themselves in the very special world of the organ, thanks to an « organogical » initiation and the experience of a new sound continent generated by this beautiful instrument
2 ) Development of a focal point ction (possibly with Ciboure and his large Dutch-style baroque organ) for the organ classes of the conservatories of Bayonne and St. Sebastian
Their teacher, Esteban LANDART is an honorary member of the association of the friends of the organ St Laurent de Cambo
We intend to make the new organ available to his students based on his interest in this type of instrument. Indeed, there is no baroque organ in Bayonne and near the Bayonne-Anglet-Biarritz conurbation. However, Cambo-les-Bains is within a twenty-minute drive of the latter.
We will therefore put in place an agreement binding the municipality of Cambo (owner of the instrument), the parish (assignee) and the Conservatory of Bayonne
3 ) Organisation of organ master-classes also in connection with the organ of Ciboure. Thomas Ospital , honorary member of the association and principal consultant organist for our project, is expected to lead these masterclasses. SHis great qualities as a teacher (he is also professor of keyboard harmonization at the Conservatoire National de Paris) and his notoriety are capable of attracting students even beyond our borders.
Photo : Céline-Nieszawer
A collaboration with Ciboure would be ideal (and quite envisaged) because it would offer participants the availability of two baroque organs of very different styles. The Friends of the Organ Association and the Municipality of Cambo are already ready to support this project.
