The Sala Oval
The Sala Oval
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The Sala Oval, the public square of the museum. In 1929 it was not considered to be the most suitable setting for receiving the mural decorations due to its large dimensions. It was then decided to opt for the mural painting, with soft ornaments and borders. It is worth highlighting the fifty-six coats of arms on the arches that surround the gallery of the first floor, fifty of which correspond to the Spanish provinces, and six, in the area of the organ, to representations of musical instruments. The area in which greater decorative effort was made was on the railings of the balcony of the first floor and on the monumental sculpture applied to the shafts of the columns.
The Sala Oval has always been one of the most emblematic settings of Barcelona for holding all types of large-scale events: from jocs florals, to poetry reading, concerts, sports events and fashion parades. Today, it is still one of the biggest halls in Europe for holding events, and due to is majestic and classical architecture, while at the same time modern, it has become a very versatile space.
The organ was made in Germany by the company E.F. Walcker and was inaugurated on 6 July 1929 by Alfred Sittard. In the spring of 1955 the reform and enlargement works began of the 2,500 pipes of the organ, led by Paul Franck. Half of the pipes of the old organ were melted to make the new ones and the console went from five keyboards to six. The aim was to provide the Sala Oval with the most monumental organ in Europe. On 8 June 1958, with the concert by the soloist Fernando Germani, the new organ was officially inaugurated, after its enlargement.
Currently, the organ isn’t operative and is pending a restoration process of a very high cost
