Festival Internazionale di Musica d’Organo della Verna XXIX will take place June 29 to August 24 at the Sanctuary of La Verna, Arezzo, Italy (4-manual, 100-stop Tamburini):
June 29, Eugenio Maria Fagiani;
July 6, Roberto Marini;
7/13, Maxine Thevenot;
7/20, Jean-Christophe Geiser;
7/27, Fausto Caporali;
August 17, Emanuele Carlo Vianelli;
8/24, Stefan Kagl.
For information: www.fimoverna.org.
June 30-September 21, 2002
Sarah Mahler Hughes is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin. She teaches courses in music history, counterpoint, and women in music as well as organ, piano, and harpsichord, and she directs the Collegium Musicum. The recipient of scholarly/artistic and global studies grants from the College, she traveled to Italy and Germany in July and August 2002 to play historic organs.
On July 28, 2002, I had the good fortune to play a recital on two historic organs as part of the 15th annual International Festival of Historic Organs in Valsesia in the Piedmont region of Italy. Mario Duella, the founder and artistic director of the Festival, had invited me to participate as part of a reciprocal arrangement. From its beginnings in 1978 as a local event with five concerts, the Festival has become international in scope and this summer included 25 recitals on 26 instruments in 22 towns in the valley of the Sesia River. This region northwest of Milan is incredibly beautiful, with Alpine peaks, clear air, and rushing streams. Tourists come from every part of Europe to enjoy the scenery and miles of hiking trails. But the riches of the region are cultural as well as natural, and the former include centuries-old churches laden with art, precious artifacts, and organs.
Organbuilding in the Valsesia area began in the 1600s with artisans from Milan.1 Native builders began to flourish in the first half of the 18th century and even the smallest parish churches contained organs by the 19th century. Restorations and alterations seemed to begin soon after the organs were installed, and the two processes continued hand in hand until the mid-twentieth century. The number of organs in Valsesia increased steadily for three hundred years, beginning in 1601. A 38-year hiatus before and after World War II marked the only interruption in organbuilding activity. Restorations began again in 1975 and continue today. The most recent restoration, by the Novarese firm Krengli, is that of an instrument (1821) by Luigi Maroni Biroldi at the Church of Santa Croce in Rassa. Mario Duella played the dedicatory recital on August 2.
Mario Duella lives in Pray, one of the Valsesia towns, but his grandmother came from Rassa, farther west. He has a great love for his native region and is concerned about preserving the organ culture of the area. His efforts to call attention to instruments in need of repair has resulted in many successful restorations during the past 15 years. These instruments are then featured on the concert series he began. The Festival is supported by the Piedmontese regional government in conjunction with the Cultural Association for Historic Organs in Piedmont, a non-profit group. Other government bodies, principally the Province of Vercelli and the Mountain Commune of Valsesia, also lend financial support.
My recital began in the ancient Cappella di Santa Marta, an oratory in the church of San Giacomo in Campertogno, on an 18th-century organ (maker unknown) that was restored by Italo Marzi in 1981. The instrument has 50 keys (C1 to F5) on one manual with a pull-down pedal. Both manual and pedal have a short octave. The seven stops include a Principale 8', Ottava 4', Decimaquinta 2', Decimanona (11/3'), Vigesimaseconda (1'), Voce Umana, and Flauto in Ottava 4'. The most memorable registrations are the Principale with Voce Umana, a hauntingly beautiful sound unique to Italian organs, and the Flauto in Ottava 4', which has a very pure sound. On this instrument, I played Sweelinck's variations on Onder een linde groen, a toccata by Bernardo Pasquini, and All'Elevazione and All'Offertorio by Domenico Zipoli. The meantone tuning made the dissonances of the Offertorio extremely pungent. Hearing them, one can understand why medieval theorists characterized tritones as the diabolus in musica.
After this initial portion of the program, we moved through a corridor into the sanctuary proper which houses an electropneumatic organ (1937) by Krengli. One of the last organs built before the war, this instrument is one of the most recently restored (2000) by the same firm. The organ comprises two manuals of 61 keys (C1 to C6) and a full pedal division. The stoplist is as follows:
Grand'Organo
16' Principale
8' Diapason
8' Dulciana
8' Flauto
8' Unda Maris
4' Ottava
21/2' Duodecima
2' Ottavino
Cornetto 3 file [ranks]
Ripieno 6 file
8' Tromba
Organo Espressivo
8' Principalino
8' Bordone
8' Viola da Gamba
8' Concerto Violini
4' Flauto Armonico
Ripieno 3 file [mixture, 3 ranks]
8' Oboe
Pedale
16' Contrabbasso
16' Subbasso
8' Basso
The organ's tonal design reflects both the orchestral taste of the early 20th century and traditional Italian sounds. As one would expect from so many 8' ranks, the sound is both dark and rich in fundamental tone but weak in the upper partials. Other features of the organ include graduated general and divisional pistons (marked piano, crescendo, forte, ripieno) instead of programmable ones, and separate pistons for adding reeds and strings. Blue-tipped stop tabs indicate pedals, pink-tipped ones, manual stops. (It is difficult not to connect this distinctive feature with the Italians' gift for fashion and design.) For this final part of the recital, I played Romantic and contemporary repertoire: Mendelssohn, Prelude and Fugue in G; Bossi, Scherzo in g, op. 49 no. 2; Brahms, Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen, op. 122 no. 8, and O wie selig, op. 122 no. 6; Estrada, Chacona, Aspiracion; and Billingham, My Lord, What a Morning and I've Just Come from the Fountain. The acoustics were wonderful, a case of bare stone walls and bare floors creating the perfect atmosphere for the powerful sound of the full chorus, on the one hand, and the sensuous oboe stop, on the other.
The audience for this event was large and appreciative. Many faithfully attend the concerts in the series out of love for music and pride in their region's instruments. One man traveled 50 miles on mountain roads to hear this organ! The ushers for the recital were local women dressed in the traditional costumes of the Valsesia region, and as an extra bonus, they distributed prettily wrapped candy to the concertgoers. Perhaps this is an idea worth exploring for American audiences; i.e., strengthening the association between sweetness and organ music.
Many people contribute to making the Festival a success. Those with whom I came into contact were friendly and helpful at all times. I, a foreigner with minimal Italian language skills, was welcomed as an honored guest. Everyone, including the parish priest who wished me coraggio before I played, the church secretary who unlocked doors and gave me a ride back to Rassa after my practice session, the ushers and friends who accompanied us to dinner at a trattoria after the concert, and above all, Mario Duella, his wife, Franca, and son Luca, who turned pages and assisted me with registration changes, was very hospitable. For those unable to experience these unusual instruments live, three CDs are available: Storici organi della Valsesia (1994; instruments by Vegezzi Bossi, 1911; Mentasti, 1872; and Lingiardi, 1875); Festival internazionale storici organi della Valsesia (1997; an anthology from the first 10 years of the Festival); and Storici organi della Valsesia (2001; instruments by Biroldi, 1822; and Krengli, 1937). For information on next season's Festival, contact Mario Duella at <[email protected]>.
Note
1.
Cesa, Alessandra et al. Organi e organari in Valsesia: Quattrocento anni di attività organaria. Borgosesia: Idea Editrice, 1997.
Regione Piemonte
Provincia di Vercelli
Comunità Montana della Valsesia
Associazione Culturale Storici Organi del Piemonte
XV Festival Internazionale Storici Organi della Valsesia
Borgosesia, Chiesa di Sant'Antonio, Alessandra Mazzanti (Italia)
Campertogno, Cappella di Santa Marta e Chiesa di San Giacomo, Sarah Mahler Hughes (Stati Uniti)
Borgosesia, Chiesa di Sant'Anna al Montrigone, Bernard Brauchli (Svizzera)
Foresto, Chiesa di San Giovanni Evangelista, Robert Grudzien (Polonia)
Valduggia, Chiesa di Santa Maria, Robert Grudzien (Polonia)
Riva Valdobbia, Chiesa di San Michele, Karl Maureen (Germania)
Rassa, Chiesa di Santa Croce, Mario Duella (Italia)
Alagna, Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, Helmuth Luksch (Austria)
Mollia, Chiesa di SS. Giovanni e Giuseppe, Dietrich Oberdorfer (Italia)
Carcoforo, Chiesa di Santa Croce, Carlo Barbierato (Italia)
Scopa, Chiesa di San Bartolomeo, Ansgar Wallenhorst (Germania)
Brugaro, Chiesa di Sant'Antonio Abate, Stefano Rattini (Italia)
Varallo, Chiesa di Santa Maria delle Grazie, Luc Ponet (Belgio)
Piode, Chiesa di Santo Stefano, Giovanni La Mattina (Italia)
Crevola, Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Giorgio Fabbri (Italia)
Balmuccia, Chiesa di Santa Margherita, Roberto Padoin (Italia)
Rastiglione, Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo, Sandro Carnelos (Italia)
Scopello, Chiesa della Beata Vergine Assunta, Jean-Marc Pulfer (Svizzera)
Rossa, Chiesa di Maria Vergine Assunta, Roman Perucki (Polonia)
Borgosesia, Chiesa di Santa Marta, Mario Verdicchio (Italia)
Ghemme, Chiesa di Maria Vergine Assunta, Jean-Paul Imbert (Francia)
Romagnano Sesia, Chiesa Abbaziale di San Silvano, Mario Duella (Italia)
Bornate, Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, Emanuele Cardi (Italia)
Serravalle Sesia, Chiesa di San Giovanni Battista, Andrea Macinanti (Italia)
Varallo, Collegiata di San Gauderizio, Winfried Engelhardt (Germania)
For information: Associazione Culturale Storici Organi del Piemonte, tel/fax 01576735, e-mail: <[email protected]>, web: <utenti.tripod.it/storiciorgani>.
July 26–September 27, 2003
Joyce Johnson Robinson is associate editor of THE DIAPASON.
It was my great pleasure to play a recital on a historic organ during the sixth international historic organs festival in the Biella area in northwestern Italy. Biella is a lovely town of 50,000, located about ninety minutes’ drive north of Milan and Turin, midway between them. The district’s prosperity comes from production of wool and rice; driving through the area, one spots frequent signs announcing woolen clothing for sale, and rice—including Carnaroli, an excellent rice for making the creamy dish risotto, Italian comfort food at its best.
A younger sister of the “Festival Internazionale Storici Organi della Valsesia” (detailed by Sarah Mahler Hughes in The Diapason, February, 2003, pp. 18–19), the Biella festival is also smaller in scope. Last year’s festival comprised nine recitals in as many Piedmontese towns, with organists hailing from the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Spain, and the United States. Both festivals were established by Mario Duella, an amazingly energetic organist and impresario who deserves tremendous credit for establishing a concert series that would do any big city proud, let alone a smaller, less urban area. Through the cultural association he founded for the historic organs of Piedmont, he has organized the restoration and maintenance of numerous organs of the Biella and Valsesia regions, and planned and promoted the festivals so that these musical treasures continue to be heard. (There have also been recordings released of the Valsesia organs, including some festival performances.) The festivals receive support from their respective provinces through local government and churches, as well as local businesses. These provinces have a great musical heritage, and their care and nurturing of it does them proud. (The web site address of the Associazione Culturale Storici Organi del Piemonte is http://utenti.lycos.it/storiciorgani/.)
The Biella festival was established to promote the heritage of historic organs and was designed along the lines of the Valsesia festival. According to Mario Duella, its main focus is to publicize and “make known organs which otherwise would not be appreciated: one only has to remember how little these instruments are used in Catholic liturgy, and think of those organists who are unpaid—or paid little.” Duella notes that in Italy the church organist is a very secondary figure and not always appreciated. (And certainly, the same trend is advancing on this side of the Atlantic.) The ten organs in this year’s Biella festival range in age from 1821 to 1929. All but two were built in the nineteenth century, and all but four are single-manual instruments with pulldown pedal (usually 17 pedals). Several were restored by the Krengli firm of Novara; other restorations were carried out by Mascioni, Giuseppe Marzi, Pietro Contenti, Brondino-Vegezzi Bossi, and Italo Marzi & Figli. The oldest restoration was in Rosazza, restored by Marzi in 1963, the most recent in Vigliano, restored by Brondino in 2002.
The concert schedule of the 2003 festival is listed below:
July 26, Chiesa di Santa Maria Assunta, Salussola
Sergio de Pieri (Australia), with Raffaella Benori (Italy), soprano; instrument: Amedeo e Giovanni Ramasco, 1858, op. 64, I/26, pulldown pedal, restored by Mascioni, 1979
July 31, Chiesa di San Lorenzo, Sostegno
Juan Paradell-Solé (Spain); instrument: Amedeo e Giovanni Ramasco, 1846, op. 37, I/25, pulldown pedal
August 14, Chiesa dei Santissimi Pietro e Giorgio, Rosazza
Matti Hannula (Finland), and Mario Duella (Italy); instrument: Guglielmo Bianchi, 1880, op. 65, I/24
August 16, Chiesa di San Sebastiano, Trivero/Bulliana
Michel Colin (France); instrument: Camillo Guglielmo Bianchi, 1876, op. 52, I/19 September 5, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Pace, Pralungo
Joyce Robinson (U.S.A.); instrument: Luigi Berutti, 1929, restored by Krengli, 1996, II/21
September 6, Chiesa di San Giorgio, Coggiola
Jaroslav Tuma (Czech Republic); instrument: Giuseppe Lingua, 1893, restored by Pietro Contenti, 1990, II/29
September 16, Chiesa di San Giuseppe Operaio, Vigliano
Renata Bauer (Slovenia); instrument: Fratelli Aletti, 1929, restored by Brondino-Vegezzi Bossi, 2002, III/22
September 21, Chiesa di San Michele Arcangelo, Cavaglià
Elmar Jahn (Germany); instrument: Fratelli Serassi, 1821, op. 381, restored by Italo Marzi & Figli, 1999, II/43
September 27, Chiesa dell’Immacolata Concezione, Portula
Sergio Militello (Italy); instruments: Camillo Guglielmo Bianchi, 1885, op. 79, restored by Krengli, 1983, I/11; Giacomo Vegezzi Bossi, 1867, restored by Krengli, 1985, I/27
The organ on which I played was in the church of Santa Maria della Pace in Pralungo, a small suburb of Biella. A two-manual Luigi Berutti instrument from 1929, it had been restored by the Krengli firm in 1996.
Grand’organo
Principale 16’
Principale 8’
Dolce 8’
Ottava 4’
Decimaquinta
Ripieno
Flauto 8’
Unda maris 8’
Tromba 8’
Organo espressivo
Violoncello 8’
Gamba 8’
Violini 8’
Celeste 8’
Bordone 8’
Flauto 4’
Clarino 8’
Oboe 8’
Corale 8’
Pedale
Subbasso 16’
Cello 8’
Ottava 4’
My personal experience playing in the 2003 festival was delightful. My husband and I flew from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport to Rome, where we spent some days with Roman friends; we then took a train to Milan, rented a car, and drove from Milan to Biella, where we had lunch in a small local trattoria, and asked about a public phone so that we could contact our host, Mario Duella. The waiter replied that the phone line was not working. So I worked up a bit of courage to ask the businessmen at the next table if they would accept a few Euros and place a call for me on a cell phone. About six (beautifully tailored) arms reached toward me, offering their cell phones! Mario made arrangements for a practice session in the afternoon. The custodian and parish priest met us and briefly showed us around. The church, built in the early sixteenth century, is not large but makes up for it with beautiful furnishings, statues, and paintings.
The two-manual Berutti organ had a lovely sound and was enhanced by the church’s lively acoustic. The principals, typical of Italian organs, were not strong, but the strings had a definite presence. The flutes and the oboe were also lovely, the tromba fairly powerful. The pneumatic transmission meant the response wasn’t the fastest, so I had to plan my strategy for the repeated notes of Lefébure-Wély’s Bolero de Concert.
Following practice, we were invited to the home of the organist, Prof. Pierangelo Ramella, who lived just a few doors away. His charming wife offered us an aperitivo and we had an enjoyable, if somewhat unbalanced, conversation (my husband does not speak Italian, and our hosts’ young grandson was very shy). The organist, a retired schoolteacher, was also quite the opera fan. He showed us his collection of opera scores (full scores!). Afterwards, he led the way to our B&B, a few small towns away. We thanked him for his kindness and said we’d see him domain.
Our B&B was a huge old building, with our room on the second floor. We chatted with the daughter of the owner (Signora Clara Castelli, who’s on the board of the Fondazione that presents the organ festival) and met one of her dogs. The view from our room was refreshing and inspiring, overlooking a valley and with the Alps in the distance. But the area was hard hit by the summer’s drought. Normally there is plenty of water from mountain run-off, but the great and enduring heat plus lack of rain took their toll. So no running water was available between 9 pm–7 am, and 2 pm–6 pm. Another strategy to plan!
Upon returning to the church the next morning for more practice, we found Don Ezio Zanotti, the charming and simpatico parish priest, there to greet us. In the afternoon, technicians from the Krengli firm came from Novara to tune the reeds (which didn’t sound bad, I thought)—and, I hope, fix the cipher (which did—it was in the pedal, on the principal!). While they worked, I had a lovely conversation with the custodian and Don Ezio while my husband went off in search of gelato.
Later we returned to our B&B to rest. Mario Duella and his lovely wife Franca picked us up at 8 pm and drove us to the church. I set things up in the balcony and reviewed with Mario the pieces for which he would turn pages. Before I knew it, I was sitting in the sacristy, waiting to be introduced. After Mario’s introduction, I walked down the aisle and ascended to the balcony.
My program was eclectic, beginning with Herbert Sumsion’s Ceremonial March, and ending with Dubois’s Toccata in G. In between was an international mélange of works, from the well-known (Bach’s Jig Fugue) to the lesser-known (Licinio Refice’s Berceuse) to the unknown (a transcription of the sinfonia to Pasquale Anfossi’s oratorio La Betulia liberata). I put my Italian to good use and gave a short introduction to each piece.
The audience was most gracious and following the program there were a few short speeches and a gift of local sweets from an excellent pasticceria. And yet another surprise—Mario mentioned that the previous day was our 15th wedding anniversary, so my husband was called to the front, and we were presented with an enormous bouquet of roses and baby’s breath (apparently Don Ezio was behind this!). We were just flabbergasted. Impromptu speeches are not my strong point, let alone in another language, so I hardly knew what to say, but tried to express our deep gratitude.
We then mingled with the departing audience members—one gentleman came up to me, thanked me profusely, and kissed my hand! I greeted as many people as possible, then Mario and Franca whisked us away to a local restaurant for a lovely meal (and some wine!). Mario and Franca drove us home to our B&B, and then it was off to bed, to sleep but very lightly while my brain remained in high gear.
Train ticket to Milan: $70. New organ shoes: $45. Chance to play in this festival: Priceless.
For information on the 2004 Festival, contact: [email protected].
