Internationally recognised concert organist, Shin-Young Lee, found herself in Porto on July 7th to perform a recital for the full house of guests hungry for music at Igreja da Lapa.

The church’s organ, renowned not only in the city but also in national and international scenes, was celebrating its birthday. A grand event like this must “pull out all the stops” and Lee definitely did just that!

The artist, based in France, has an intimate understanding of the voice of French repertoire from the 19th and 20th centuries, almost as if it has become her own voice and language. She adds a sense of naturalness and ease to this very difficult and complex music that is seldom heard from other artists.

The organ, German builder Georg Jann’s masterpiece, has no shortage of colour possibilities and is one of the most versatile instruments in Europe. Despite a mind-boggling amount of options on four manuals and pedals, Lee displayed a complete understanding of the palette of colours at her disposal and mixed them masterfully together into a French Romantic artwork.

The evening took us on a rollercoaster of emotional highs and lows, from the softest and most tender moments with quiet flute and string stops, to the roar of the instrument’s plenum at the music’s climaxes. The programme ended with the universally recognised “Toccata” from the Fifth Symphony by Charles-Marie Widor. As the sheer power of the instrument resounded through the building on the last chord, we were all reminded how fortunate we in Porto are to have this instrument and for the great work of the Irmandade da Lapa and organist and organiser, Filipe Veríssimo, for always offering the public world-class performances.