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The oldest organ in Brazil
The Almeida e Silva / Lobo de Mesquita organ was built between the years 1782 and 1787 in the Church of the Venerable Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, in Diamantina, Minas Gerais, by Father Manuel de Almeida e Silva.
It was entirely built in the old Arraial do Tejuco between 1782 and 1787 by Father Manoel de Almeida e Silva, in response to the demands of a cultured, sensitive society to endow divine worship with one of its most prestigious ornaments: the organ. The second instrument erected within the Church of Carmo in the old arraial, currently the city of Diamantina, it was under the orders of the eminent composer José Joaquim Emerico Lobo de Mesquita (Serro, 1746? - Rio de Janeiro, 1805), from its completion until 1794. It is quite likely that the great musician from Serro directly influenced the conception of the instrument, the only remaining organ used by Lobo de Mesquita, whose name became inseparable from his own history.
It was in this organ that Lobo de Mesquita composed and performed much of his work. The support of BNDES contributed to the restoration of the instrument, carried out by organist Frédéric Desmottes from the Hermanos Desmottes workshop. The project included a mini-course held on the already restored instrument, aimed at qualifying the community for the preservation and use of the asset. At the Diamantina Early Music Festival, it is possible to attend concerts with the instrument.
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