By AARON SMAY

Contributing Writer

Piedmont College’s Chapel was filled with beautiful organ music last Sunday, March 15, by the premier organist in Spain, Raul Ramirez. 

The set list included many Baroque and Classical greats such as Johann Bach, Franz Liszt, Nicolaus Bruhns and more. 

The concert began at 4 p.m. and started with Ramirez telling the audience a little bit about the first piece. 

Ramirez immediately won over the audience with his commentary on “Fugue in D Minor,” saying of the beat, “It’s stupid. Bach used the most inconvenient pattern possible just to prove he could.” 

After the laughter died down this comical anecdote put the entire audience in quiet anticipation to hear the musical piece. 

Ramirez played out a fantastic delivery of “Fugue in D Minor” and when he was done Ramirez stood up off his organ bench and addressed the audience yet again. With a smile on his face he told the story of how he began playing the next piece, “Praeludium Pedaliter in E Minor,” then returned to the organ.  

Just as striking as the music that Ramirez played was his demeanor as he addressed the audience between each song. The interaction between Ramirez and the audience was a nice break between the intensity of each piece. 

“A smile never left his face, and it seemed like he enjoyed playing the music as much as we enjoyed listening to it,” said Britt Kennedy, freshman business major said of Ramirez. As soon as Ramirez would spin his chic white shoes around the end of his organ bench to face the audience a smile would already be present on his face. 

The only issue with the presentation came when Ramirez’s organ pushed Piedmont’s chapel to the very limits causing some rattling from a chapel window. The rattling only truly intruded on the music once, and it was merely some minor background noise. 

Ramirez added his own contribution to each piece with the fury and passion that he played with. His feet kicked back and forth to each pedal with furious speed and perfect precision, and his fingers masterfully swam over the keyboard, plucking each key. 

In the end, the audience was not left wanting. The concert concluded with a Q&A session with Ramirez for students and faculty.