Bach Toccata and Fugue - Fernando Germani (Naples, 1971)
In the good old days when people tried to bring the organ out of churches and the large RAI auditoriums were ideal stages.... especially because RAI was state-owned and therefore the state paid for the organ.
From a certain point of view, we can say that we have now gone backwards; after all, the money is no longer there and these large instruments are also no longer there, having all fallen into ruin simply because there was no longer any interest.
Someone will surely object that they were electric monstrosities, but they were certainly real instruments that, if they still existed today with a good re-voicing and tuning suitable for the venue, could still offer much, especially in the romantic/modern/orchestral repertoire.
This is a work composed by a Bach who was not yet twenty years old, between 1702 and 1703, written specifically for the organ that Johann Friedrich Wender built for the New Church (later renamed Bachkirche) in Arnstadt. Johann Sebastian Bach inaugurated this instrument with a concerto precisely in 1703.
The Northern European influences that characterize the composition are evident. The expressed virtuosity shows how the eighteen-year-old Bach did not fear a comparison, in terms of technique, with the most important exponents of the stylus phantasticus such as Dietrich Buxtehude or Vincent Lübeck.
Now, I don't know what the bibliography is, but there must be some trace of this blessed concerto, right?
Unfortunately in Italy the organ is associated with liturgy and that's it. It is true, the organ is the principal instrument for liturgical use, but it is still a musical instrument and the general public considers it boring and linked only to "stay with us Lord this evening".
I don't want to be polemical... but it is also the fault of great performers who think about "high" things, failing to involve people in loving this giant. Poor Germani....
As far as the Toccata and Fugue is concerned... well.... It is said that "little Bach" wrote it down at 20 years old after being impressed by D. Buxtehude, whom he had gone to listen to in Lübeck after trekking more than 600 km on foot! (bless YouTube....). There has been talk of arrangements by his alleged students, but great scholars (and who am I to say otherwise) affirm that, generally speaking, the structure of the piece can only be from the genius of dear Sebastian!
Bach Toccata and Fugue - Fernando Germani (Naples, 1971)
In the good old days when people tried to bring the organ out of churches and the large RAI auditoriums were ideal stages.... especially because the RAI was state-owned and therefore the state paid for the organ.
From a certain point of view, we can say that we have now gone backwards; after all, the money is no longer there, and these large instruments are also no longer around, having all fallen into ruin simply because there was no longer any interest.
A small postscript: The RAI organ in Naples is still all there, silent for years and therefore it would explode upon the first turning on, but essentially intact!
An organ builder I know, who loves these instruments, on his own initiative saved the "pitone" (connecting cable) between the console and the instrument from a concrete pour they were about to perform for the new stage. He even managed to make a small portion of it play, making the director of the branch rush over (with tears in his eyes, remembering when he, as a young man, used to hear it in all its splendor).
The almost twin of this instrument, located in the RAI auditorium in Turin, is instead completely disassembled and lies in warehouses (who knows in what state). Only the facade pipes remain.
Someone will surely object that they were electric monstrosities, but they were certainly real instruments that, if they still existed today with proper retuning and tuning suitable for the venue, could still offer a lot, especially in the romantic/modern/orchestral repertoire.
Postscript no. 2
This would require opening a dissertation that would get lost in the mists of time.
Electric monstrosities, no. They were large and eclectic instruments and they even sounded good!
Instruments like these, with these moonlights, are just a dream!
