ANGEL CLIMENT

Angel Climent arrived in Cork in 1961. He came to Cork from Valencia, Spain at the young age of eighteen to apply for the post of organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral of St Mary and St Anne. He was interviewed by Aloys Fleischmann and was appointed in 1963.

The job in the Cathedral was a well paid job, and he also acquired a reputation outside of church music. His duties in the Cathedral also entailed some teaching in Farranferris, the Diocesan Seminary. The only difficulty was that in coming to Cork Climent had missed his compulsory national service in the Spanish army, and this had to be completed. In Franco's Spain there was no question of anyone getting an exemption. A return would simply mean arrest. Besides, there was some pressure from his nationalist family to do his duty by his country. So, Climent explained the situation to the Cathedral authorities, and so he left for Spain and army service in 1964 spending the next two years in North Africa.