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He was born in Cegama (Guipúzcoa, Spain) on
July 11, 1910. His parents were Ángel Azurmendi and Isabel Tormes.
In 1913 he settled with
his family in Hernani, a village in the same province, where he went
to a primary school ruled by "Hermanos del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús".
In 1922 he he
accompanied his uncle, the organ builder master Francisco Hebing, to
"San Sebastián" to make a tuning. Here he made his
first experience in tuning reed organ pipes for
"Santa María" Church.
From 1924 he went to a School of "Artes y
Oficios" in Hernani, and at the same time he learnt the art of making
and sharpening tools with a cabinetmaker.
On July 25, 1926, he got a job in the Dourte-Alberdi
organ factory of the city of Bilbao (Spain). Here he knew the whole
organization of the enterprise accuratelly and worked in all the
sections. After a year and a half he was appointed chief of the wind
chest section, where he led the construction and mounting of these
parts. Among the organs that have been build by this company, we can
mention those installed at "Hermanas Carmelitas", at "San Juan de Dios"
Church and at "Casa de Caridad", all of them in the city of Barcelona (Spain).
Francisco Hebing was his most important teacher in this factory.
In 1928 Marcos Azurmendi left the Dourte-Alberdi
company and associated with Francisco Hebing bought the organ factory of
Zaragoza (Aragón, Spain), which was owned by the organ builder Inchaurbe;
two years later (1931) they sold the workshop, and Francisco Hebing
returned to the G.F.Steinmeyer company of Oettingen (Germany).
In 1932 he was
employed by the Eleizgaray organ factory of Azpeitia (Guipúzcoa, Spain).
In the same year the great
Steinmeyer organ of the St. Patrick’s Church was inaugurated in the city of Mercedes (Province
of Buenos Aires, Argentina); this instrument was installed by Francisco
Hebing (sent by the factory for this purpose), who decided to stay in
Argentina after finishing the work. In 1933 the Eleizgaray company
finished its operations and closed the factory.
In 1934 he travelled to
Buenos Aires because Francisco Hebing needed his help to finish the
installation of the organ at “Nuestra
Señora del Pilar” Basilica, which had to be ready for the International
Eucharystic Congress to be held in that year. He also decided to settle himself in Argentina; he worked with Francisco
Hebing, taking care and making the maintenance of several organs, among
them the one in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires (E. F. Walcker, year 1871).
In the years 1936 and 1937 he
installed the Rieger organs of the Parish Churches “Santa María”, “San
Rafael” and “Santiago Apóstol” in the city of Buenos Aires,
“Stella Maris” Parish Church in Puerto Belgrano (Province of Buenos
Aires), and the Montevideo Cathedral (Uruguay). During this period
he got married and moved from Mercedes to Buenos Aires.
From 1940
to 1950 the Santiago Poggi company Buenos Aires decided to build
organs entirely in Argentina, due to the fact that the European
factories were seriously affected or were out of work because of the war.
Francisco Hebing was appointed technical director of the company;
Marcos Azurmendi kept working with him building pipe organs and
restoring reed organs. Belonging to this period, we can
mention the instruments of the Parish Churches “Nuestra Señora de
la Consolación”, “Nuestra Señora del Carmen” (district Villa Urquiza),
“Patrocinio de San José” (the last built by Poggi), “Salvador” Church (new
console and enlargement), Swedish Church, Evangelical Faculty of
Theology, all they in the city of Buenos Aires, of the Churches “San
Juan Bosco” in the city of San Juan (Province of San Juan, Argentina),
and “María Auxiliadora” in the city of Mendoza (Province of Mendoza,
Argentina).
In 1951 the Poggi
company finished its activities and was taken over by the Cuyo University,
with the intention to create an Organ Building
School in Mendoza directed by Francisco Hebing, because of this he moved to Godoy
Cruz (Province of Mendoza), while Marcos Azurmendi stayed in Buenos
Aires. The mentioned project came to an end in 1955.
In 1959 Marcos
Azurmendi installed the Steinmeyer organ at “Basílica Nuestra Señora del
Socorro” in Buenos Aires, in collaboration with
Francisco Hebing.
He had also the
opportunity to work in Chile in 1960 - 1961, where he
installed two Steinmeyer organs: one of them in
Frutillar, and the other in Santiago. In this country he also made
the maintenance of the organ at the German Evangelical Church in the
city of Osorno.
In 1965 he installed the
Laukhuff organ at the chapel of “María Auxiliadora” School
(Avellaneda, Province of Buenos Aires). In the same year he began the maintenance of the Walcker organ in the “Santísimo Rosario”
Basilica (“Santo Domingo” Convent) in Buenos Aires.
In 1971 he was asked to the
rebuild and restorate the Walcker organ at “San José de Calasanz” Parish Church, in Buenos Aires.
He also projected and
made the rebuilding and restoration of the
Laukhuff organs in 1974, which are installed at “Nuestra Señora del Rosario
de Nueva Pompeya”, and “Corazón Eucarístico de Jesús”, in Buenos Aires.
In 1982, after 60 years
of hard work, he installed a new console and made a partial restoration
at the Laukhuff organ of “Santa Escolástica” Abbey (Victoria,
Province of Buenos Aires).
Besides the instruments
already mentioned, Marcos Azurmendi made the maintenance of many
others until he retired in 1988, among them: “Teatro Colón” (Mutin.Cavaillé-Coll
organ), “Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires” (Laukhuff organ), “Espíritu
Santo” Basilica (Gebrüder Rieger organ), “San José” School Chapel (J.
Merklin organ), “Sagrado Corazón” Basilica (Mutin.Cavaillé-Coll organ),
“Nuestra Señora de Luján Castrense” Parish Church (Steinmeyer organ),
“Instituto de Oncología Dr. Ángel Roffo” Chapel (Walcker organ),
Scottish Church (Forster & Andrews organ), First Methodist Church (Forster
& Andrews organ), “San Juan Bautista” Church (Mutin.Cavaillé-Coll organ),
etc., all of them in Buenos Aires.
When his wife died
in 1993, he returned to the city of Mercedes (Province of Buenos Aires),
where he died on May 24, 2000.
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Inauguration of the new console of the "Salvador" Church, Buenos
Aires (1949).
From left to right Julio Perceval, Francisco Hebing, Marcos Azurmendi. |
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