Luca Sartore - Giovanni Morandi: Complete Organ Works, vol. 5 (2025) [Hi-Res]
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BAND/ARTIST: Luca Sartore
- Title: Giovanni Morandi: Complete Organ Works, vol. 5
- Year Of Release: 2025
- Label: Da Vinci Classics
- Genre: Classical Organ
- Quality: flac lossless (tracks) / flac 24bits - 96.0kHz
- Total Time: 01:13:57
- Total Size: 373 mb / 1.24 gb
- WebSite: Album Preview
Tracklist
01. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Prima in C Major
02. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Seconda in A Major
03. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Terza in D Major
04. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Prima - Offertorio in C Minor
05. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Seconda - Elevazione in E-Flat Major
06. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Terza - Postcommunio in D Major
07. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Offertorio in D Major
08. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Elevazione in A Major
09. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Postcommunio in E Minor
10. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Sinfonia in D Minor
The connection between an instrument and its repertoire is a fascinating one, which takes different forms depending on the instrument, on the historical period, on the context, and on the presence of charismatic figures, such as those of great virtuosi-cum-composers. At times, it is possible to wonder which came first, the chicken of the repertoire or the egg of the instrument. In the case of the piano, for instance, the Romantic drive for more majestic sonorities and powerful resonances paralleled the enlargement of the grand piano’s size, the use of more resistant and robust materials, and changes in the mechanics. These, in turn, caused (and/or mirrored…) evolutions in the performing techniques, and in the piano scoring of the great Romantic repertoire.
Still, in the Romantic era there was not only a very high number of pianos, but also of kinds of piano, which could coexist side-by-side: grands, upright pianos, square pianos; concert pianos, salon instruments, amateur pianos, and so on. Touring virtuosos had to adapt to what was at hand, in the concert hall where they arrived a few hours before the concert, in the aristocratic salon, or in the home of their students. Of course, not all effects which a famous player could obtain on the best available piano could be realized on a humbler instrument; still, both the repertoire and the performer needed to dispose of a certain amount of flexibility, in order to achieve similar results on dissimilar instruments.
The discourse with the organ is a discourse of its own, at least in part. Firstly, for each existing organ there are many more pianos, but also violins, flutes, and so on. The costs of organ building are enormously higher than those of the other instruments, and so are – sadly – maintenance costs. For this reason, an overwhelming percentage of the available organs are in churches, thus causing a symbiosis of kind between the instrument and the context where it is found.
This acquires an extra value in Catholic countries such as Italy (but also Austria or France, of course), since Catholic theology attributes a particular sacredness to churches. Of course, all Christian denominations consider a church as a space where people may encounter God, but, in Catholic churches, the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament turns that space into something transcendent, utterly different from all other buildings. Not by chance, St. Philip Neri created “Oratories” as spaces midway between church and secular building, where things pertaining to God could be staged, sung, said, but with some more freedom than that afforded by the church and its sacredness.
It is true that a Catholic church can host events other than worship and liturgy; however – at least in theory – all events accommodated there should be ordered to the fostering of the faithful’s relationship with God, in the form of contemplative music, pastoral activities, and so on. This, in turn, determines (once more, at least in theory) the qualities of the organs found there, whose first and foremost function is, and should be, to accompany and support liturgical singing.
This explains, at least in part, the difference in the development of organ building and composition for organ which can be observed by comparing the situation of northern and southern Europe.
In nineteenth-century Italy, a paradoxical situation could be observed. The Peninsula – which, for the most part of the century, was not yet a single, unified Nation– was certainly one of the “most Catholic” countries in the world. Therefore, the Church’s dictates as concerns the role, qualities, features, and characteristics of “proper” church music should have been paramount. In part, this was the case, as was seen in the preceding lines, and this determined the road taken by organ building in Italy in that epoch. In part, however, some indications by the Church authorities were bypassed, by virtue of purely musical reasons connected with the listeners’ tastes. The most beloved musical genre in nineteenth-century Italy was, of course, opera, and this had its consequences also on organ music. And this happened in spite of the fact that church and theatre were almost two opposite poles of social life – to the point that, during the Church’s penitential seasons such as Advent and Lent, theatres were closed. Still, the influence of opera on organs and their music could be observed on several planes. One of them regards compositional styles and practices: opera was largely a matter of accompanied melodies, and many organ works written in coeval Italy tended to mirror this structure (whereas Northern organ music tended to be more focused on counterpoint). Another plane is that of stops and registration: many organs were provided with stops which tended to mimic orchestral sounds, and in particular the sound of an operatic orchestra. Yet another plane was repertoire, since it was not uncommon (even though constantly deplored) for operatic fantasies to be performed not only on a “sacred” instrument such as the organ, but also during the most sacred action of the Church, i.e. the sacrifice of Mass.
This was the context where Giovanni Morandi’s organ works were created. On the one hand, we have the limitations – but also the positive and idiosyncratic features – of Italian organs. On the other, we have the influence of, and fascination for, operatic music that was felt also in the field of organ music.
Morandi was able to take an original, courageous, and clear stance within these boundaries. The works recorded in this Da Vinci Classics album, which constitutes the fifth volume of the long overdue complete recording of his organ compositions, bear witness to his dedication to the “organo moderno”, the modern organ. This is evident already in the recorded works’ titles, which constantly refer to the “modern organ” as their instrument of destination, thus underlining how instrument and repertoire were closely connected.
Morandi’s own background was very much in the field of opera. He came from a family of musicians who were active in the operatic scene, and received his first musical instruction within that ambience. He taught singing, and was very appreciated in that capacity; actually, he ended up marrying a singer, one of his former students, and with her he toured extensively throughout Europe. He was in very close terms with some of the most important operatic composers of the time, including a musician of Gioachino Rossini’s standing. He was very well connected with impresarios, conductors, singers, and the entire small world which revolved around the operatic stage, thanks both to his wife’s activity, and also to his own. He was in fact an accomplished Korrepetitor, highly in demand wherever his wife’s performance led the couple. He was also a composer of vocal music himself, and seemingly this brought him several professional successes. Furthermore, his organ output is similar to a constant stream, which flows from the very first years of his musical activity, and continued rather regularly until his very last years.
Given what has been said, one would be led to imagine that the intersection between operatic music and organ music would be very large and significant in Morandi’s output. In fact, it is true that, after his wife’s death in 1824, Morandi abandoned the life of a touring virtuoso, settled in Senigallia, and dedicated himself mainly to composition (especially of sacred works), to teaching, and even to politics (!). One could be justified, therefore, in imaging that, possibly, the later portion of Morandi’s organ output could be “more sacred” and “serious” than earlier works. This is not the case, however. The scanty hints of “secular” music which surface, here and there, from the texture of this organ compositions (especially in the Pastorali) do not detract from the work’s “sacredness”. Indeed, Morandi was ready to renounce a vast amount of easy money, which he could have earned with organ fantasies and potpourris on operatic themes, in order not to sacrifice his principles about “proper” church music. So, neither did he publish the kind of para-operatic works which so appealed the public, nor did he venture in particularly colourful registrations, favouring instead the plain but efficacious sound of traditional registration.
The works recorded here constitute three multi-movement opuses. Somewhat oddly – at least in our modern eyes – Morandi calls “Raccolta” what we would classify as a “Sonata”, and “a “Sonata” what we could call a Sonata movement. Furthermore, even though he normally adopts the movement sequence of the secular Classical sonata (quick/slow/quick), he does so within a very particular context, i.e. that of the Mass. This appears in a particularly clear fashion in the Quinta raccolta, op. 21, dating from the year after Rosa Morandi’s death. Here the centrepiece is Elevazione, conceived, as the title demonstrates, for the moment of Elevation, i.e. the displaying of the consecrated Bread to the faithful after consecration (the most sacred moment of the worship). In conformity with the climate of recollection and meditation which is needed at that point of the Mass, the style adopted by Morandi is reflective and lyrical. The spacing of the “movements” within the Eucharistic liturgy also explains the tonal differences among them, which would be unusual in a traditional Sonata.
Together, these three works bear witness to Morandi’s impressive skill as an organ composer, to the integrity of his concept of organ music (and of its relationship with the sphere of the sacred), to the vastity and ingenuity of his creative fantasy, and to the importance of undertakings such as the one behind this recording. Works such as those presented here deserve to be performed, heard, and appreciated, in order to transmit knowledge about composers such as Morandi to future generations, and to help reevaluate the role of the organ in the Italian musical culture of the nineteenth century.
01. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Prima in C Major
02. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Seconda in A Major
03. Quarta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 20: Sonata Terza in D Major
04. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Prima - Offertorio in C Minor
05. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Seconda - Elevazione in E-Flat Major
06. Quinta raccolta di Sonate per gli organi moderni, Op. 21: Sonata Terza - Postcommunio in D Major
07. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Offertorio in D Major
08. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Elevazione in A Major
09. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Postcommunio in E Minor
10. Sesta Raccolta di Suonate per grand'organi moderni, Op. 22: Sinfonia in D Minor
The connection between an instrument and its repertoire is a fascinating one, which takes different forms depending on the instrument, on the historical period, on the context, and on the presence of charismatic figures, such as those of great virtuosi-cum-composers. At times, it is possible to wonder which came first, the chicken of the repertoire or the egg of the instrument. In the case of the piano, for instance, the Romantic drive for more majestic sonorities and powerful resonances paralleled the enlargement of the grand piano’s size, the use of more resistant and robust materials, and changes in the mechanics. These, in turn, caused (and/or mirrored…) evolutions in the performing techniques, and in the piano scoring of the great Romantic repertoire.
Still, in the Romantic era there was not only a very high number of pianos, but also of kinds of piano, which could coexist side-by-side: grands, upright pianos, square pianos; concert pianos, salon instruments, amateur pianos, and so on. Touring virtuosos had to adapt to what was at hand, in the concert hall where they arrived a few hours before the concert, in the aristocratic salon, or in the home of their students. Of course, not all effects which a famous player could obtain on the best available piano could be realized on a humbler instrument; still, both the repertoire and the performer needed to dispose of a certain amount of flexibility, in order to achieve similar results on dissimilar instruments.
The discourse with the organ is a discourse of its own, at least in part. Firstly, for each existing organ there are many more pianos, but also violins, flutes, and so on. The costs of organ building are enormously higher than those of the other instruments, and so are – sadly – maintenance costs. For this reason, an overwhelming percentage of the available organs are in churches, thus causing a symbiosis of kind between the instrument and the context where it is found.
This acquires an extra value in Catholic countries such as Italy (but also Austria or France, of course), since Catholic theology attributes a particular sacredness to churches. Of course, all Christian denominations consider a church as a space where people may encounter God, but, in Catholic churches, the presence of the Most Holy Sacrament turns that space into something transcendent, utterly different from all other buildings. Not by chance, St. Philip Neri created “Oratories” as spaces midway between church and secular building, where things pertaining to God could be staged, sung, said, but with some more freedom than that afforded by the church and its sacredness.
It is true that a Catholic church can host events other than worship and liturgy; however – at least in theory – all events accommodated there should be ordered to the fostering of the faithful’s relationship with God, in the form of contemplative music, pastoral activities, and so on. This, in turn, determines (once more, at least in theory) the qualities of the organs found there, whose first and foremost function is, and should be, to accompany and support liturgical singing.
This explains, at least in part, the difference in the development of organ building and composition for organ which can be observed by comparing the situation of northern and southern Europe.
In nineteenth-century Italy, a paradoxical situation could be observed. The Peninsula – which, for the most part of the century, was not yet a single, unified Nation– was certainly one of the “most Catholic” countries in the world. Therefore, the Church’s dictates as concerns the role, qualities, features, and characteristics of “proper” church music should have been paramount. In part, this was the case, as was seen in the preceding lines, and this determined the road taken by organ building in Italy in that epoch. In part, however, some indications by the Church authorities were bypassed, by virtue of purely musical reasons connected with the listeners’ tastes. The most beloved musical genre in nineteenth-century Italy was, of course, opera, and this had its consequences also on organ music. And this happened in spite of the fact that church and theatre were almost two opposite poles of social life – to the point that, during the Church’s penitential seasons such as Advent and Lent, theatres were closed. Still, the influence of opera on organs and their music could be observed on several planes. One of them regards compositional styles and practices: opera was largely a matter of accompanied melodies, and many organ works written in coeval Italy tended to mirror this structure (whereas Northern organ music tended to be more focused on counterpoint). Another plane is that of stops and registration: many organs were provided with stops which tended to mimic orchestral sounds, and in particular the sound of an operatic orchestra. Yet another plane was repertoire, since it was not uncommon (even though constantly deplored) for operatic fantasies to be performed not only on a “sacred” instrument such as the organ, but also during the most sacred action of the Church, i.e. the sacrifice of Mass.
This was the context where Giovanni Morandi’s organ works were created. On the one hand, we have the limitations – but also the positive and idiosyncratic features – of Italian organs. On the other, we have the influence of, and fascination for, operatic music that was felt also in the field of organ music.
Morandi was able to take an original, courageous, and clear stance within these boundaries. The works recorded in this Da Vinci Classics album, which constitutes the fifth volume of the long overdue complete recording of his organ compositions, bear witness to his dedication to the “organo moderno”, the modern organ. This is evident already in the recorded works’ titles, which constantly refer to the “modern organ” as their instrument of destination, thus underlining how instrument and repertoire were closely connected.
Morandi’s own background was very much in the field of opera. He came from a family of musicians who were active in the operatic scene, and received his first musical instruction within that ambience. He taught singing, and was very appreciated in that capacity; actually, he ended up marrying a singer, one of his former students, and with her he toured extensively throughout Europe. He was in very close terms with some of the most important operatic composers of the time, including a musician of Gioachino Rossini’s standing. He was very well connected with impresarios, conductors, singers, and the entire small world which revolved around the operatic stage, thanks both to his wife’s activity, and also to his own. He was in fact an accomplished Korrepetitor, highly in demand wherever his wife’s performance led the couple. He was also a composer of vocal music himself, and seemingly this brought him several professional successes. Furthermore, his organ output is similar to a constant stream, which flows from the very first years of his musical activity, and continued rather regularly until his very last years.
Given what has been said, one would be led to imagine that the intersection between operatic music and organ music would be very large and significant in Morandi’s output. In fact, it is true that, after his wife’s death in 1824, Morandi abandoned the life of a touring virtuoso, settled in Senigallia, and dedicated himself mainly to composition (especially of sacred works), to teaching, and even to politics (!). One could be justified, therefore, in imaging that, possibly, the later portion of Morandi’s organ output could be “more sacred” and “serious” than earlier works. This is not the case, however. The scanty hints of “secular” music which surface, here and there, from the texture of this organ compositions (especially in the Pastorali) do not detract from the work’s “sacredness”. Indeed, Morandi was ready to renounce a vast amount of easy money, which he could have earned with organ fantasies and potpourris on operatic themes, in order not to sacrifice his principles about “proper” church music. So, neither did he publish the kind of para-operatic works which so appealed the public, nor did he venture in particularly colourful registrations, favouring instead the plain but efficacious sound of traditional registration.
The works recorded here constitute three multi-movement opuses. Somewhat oddly – at least in our modern eyes – Morandi calls “Raccolta” what we would classify as a “Sonata”, and “a “Sonata” what we could call a Sonata movement. Furthermore, even though he normally adopts the movement sequence of the secular Classical sonata (quick/slow/quick), he does so within a very particular context, i.e. that of the Mass. This appears in a particularly clear fashion in the Quinta raccolta, op. 21, dating from the year after Rosa Morandi’s death. Here the centrepiece is Elevazione, conceived, as the title demonstrates, for the moment of Elevation, i.e. the displaying of the consecrated Bread to the faithful after consecration (the most sacred moment of the worship). In conformity with the climate of recollection and meditation which is needed at that point of the Mass, the style adopted by Morandi is reflective and lyrical. The spacing of the “movements” within the Eucharistic liturgy also explains the tonal differences among them, which would be unusual in a traditional Sonata.
Together, these three works bear witness to Morandi’s impressive skill as an organ composer, to the integrity of his concept of organ music (and of its relationship with the sphere of the sacred), to the vastity and ingenuity of his creative fantasy, and to the importance of undertakings such as the one behind this recording. Works such as those presented here deserve to be performed, heard, and appreciated, in order to transmit knowledge about composers such as Morandi to future generations, and to help reevaluate the role of the organ in the Italian musical culture of the nineteenth century.
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