The pipe organ has always been considered a relegated instrument in the Catholic Churches for the Catholic Churches, in reality, the dignity and history of this instrument are much deeper and more interesting.
Its importance in the literary, archaeological and figurative fields shows an instrument with precise political and diplomatic characteristics, such as to make it a sound image of the imperial power of Ancient Rome.
The history of the pipe organ in music is often intertwined with other topics and sectors that are also little known.
science
Premise
By convention, we divide the history of the organ into four eras: ancient age until 476 AD (fall of the Western Roman Empire); medieval age until 1492 (discovery of America); modern age until 1791 (year of death of WA Mozart); contemporary age until today.
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Let us assume that the chronological delimitation of a historical period is always arbitrary, because every manifestation of thought proceeds without time limits. The classification is linked to the trend of the Italian organ, since from the classical period, i.e. from 1500 onwards, the organ took on various connotations depending on the territories in which it developed. We do not mention the names of the protagonists but we give some lines of thought, in order to underline the dynamics of life and ideas that have fueled this singular aspect of human ingenuity: the art of organ building. We will deepen the periods close to us, in order to enhance the organ heritage of the diocese of Guastalla, in particular that of the famous Serassi.
In this classification, noteworthy are: theAncient age and the Contemporary Age.
Yes, these two periods are interesting because, as never before, the function of the pipe organ was not only a musical instrument but also a political and religious one. We will deal, in particular, with theContemporary age.
THE CONTEMPORARY AGE
In the 19th century a new style called Risorgimento-Romantic manifested itself, the result of complex dynamics including popular, melodramatic-sentimental, political-religious ones.
to) Risorgimento ideals. For a good part of the 19th century, roughly until 1870, a particular situation occurred: the organ, now present even in small villages, became a means of spreading the military, social and political ideals of the Risorgimento. Patriotic motifs are played. The well-known organist Father Davide da Bergamo (1791-1863), born Felice Moretti di Zanica, in the Symphony with the much acclaimed popular hymn, treats, not without a pinch of irony, the Anthem of the Austro-Hungarian Empire: «God preserve Ferdinando , save our Imperator»; the same in the pages The bloody days of March or the Revolution of Milan, involves as in film sequences. The ideals of the Risorgimento not only influence the organist's thematic choices, but force the organ builder to immerse himself in popular culture, to invent new sonorities, to build organs that increasingly adhere to patriotic tastes. This climate is fully understandable in the broad cultural movement called Romanticism which characterizes the first half of the 19th century and determines not only a real revolution in musical culture, but accelerates the rejuvenation of formal classicism, typical of the Renaissance. There are two types of Romanticism: political and intimate. In the political one, the values of nation, art, religion and popular culture are affirmed; in the intimist the values of subjectivism, of the conflict between the self and the world are affirmed. For us, the political one prevails.
b) Popularity and modernity of the art of organ building It is necessary to point out three fundamental concepts of romantic art that characterize the art of organ building: spontaneity, popularity, nationality. Based on spontaneity, form and content of every artistic creation arise together in a natural way and cannot be distinguished separately. For popularity, the artistic work must be addressed to the people and not remain confined to restricted academic circles. Finally, as regards nationality, art must express the interests and passions of the nascent European nations, especially the Italian one. The art of organ building makes these themes its own and expresses them at their best: the organ becomes an instrument of expression of everyday life, of experience; in this dimension the people are not only the reference par excellence from which to draw inspiration, but the recipient with whom to confront, to whom to address the artistic message. The organ builder interprets these aspirations which he translates into admirable machines. It is said, for example, that in Piacenza the aforementioned organist Father Davide, famous for his Christmas pastorals, made the bagpipers of the Apennines play for hours and to imitate their nasal sounds he put tow into the organ pipes. So playing the chants of the pipers, the martial arts of the bands, the preludes, the arias, the symphonies of the operas, is an indication not only of modernity but of civil conscience, of social commitment. No object of art is as present and alive in everyday life as the organ because by immersing itself in the popular environment it takes on its languages. Undoubtedly there are excesses: just as the precept of spontaneity produces exuberance of feeling and the fantastic, so that of popularity often produces an overabundance of superficiality. Making a comparison with the classical language of previous centuries, we can say, in principle, that: in the seventeenth century the voices of the organ descended upon the audience with a cultured language, creating suggestions of admiration; in the 19th century, on the other hand, they are confronted with everyday life. This beneficial osmosis between art and everyday life ends at the end of the century when the new languages return to being academic forms, detached from the popular.
c) The religious in organ music It is natural to wonder what was the relationship between the organ, a machine extraordinarily rich in sounds and mechanisms, so much so that it is called an orchestra, and its liturgical destination. Here are some considerations. The nineteenth century is devoted to the splendor of melodrama; it is no wonder that the manifestations of worship, addressed to God and the Saints, are felt in such a martial and popular way according to the melodramatic style. The most characteristic traits of the religiosity of the time emerge from the organ music, such as: hope, open trust in Providence, adherence to God's plan, freedom of action, sentimental participation, the boisterous joy of Baroque heritage; those music, therefore, are a fine example of freedom of expression of worship, great historical intelligence of Catholicism. In this context, what musical form is better suited for the liturgy than melodrama, which is staged, amplified and emotive action? Liturgical music is increasingly elaborate in orchestration: instrumental strength and timbre variety are required. The nineteenth-century organ building not only increases the structure and power of the classic sound architecture of the Ripieno timbre, but is enriched with numerous colors with reed registers, many already present in the Baroque type organ: Claroni, Oboi, Serpentoni, Arponi , Military Trumpets, Cellos, English Horns, Bassoons, Choral Voices, Bombards, Trombones, Accordion; with anima registers: Flutte, Fluttoni, Horns, Piccolos, Flagioletti, Sesquialtera, Cornetti, Violins, Violoni, Timpani, Contrabasses; with the percussion registers: Bells, Bells, Gran cassa, Piatti, Rollante, Tamburo, Bufera, and others.
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From what has been read above we realize how many purposes a single musical instrument can have on entire peoples. Perhaps, the first imitation of Nature, of its becoming sounds, of how man with his mind could have rewritten rules of which he only knew the final part: the sound of birds, of weapons in battle, of water in a stream , of steps in a clearing; played with the individual pipes of this wonderful pipe organ.
At first an instrument for a few rich and oligarchs, later, accessible in any church even in remote and almost deserted villages.
Music for nobles, but used to control and snatch the poorest. Gasoline to inflame Peoples against other Peoples; to call millions of soldiers to "love of country" and reawaken love for that flag, too, created only a few years earlier.
I don't know about you, but this duality of Religion and War has always fascinated me in the function of the pipe organ and it must make us think about how technology, in general, is always affected by the type of path that the same man decides to follow. to make his creations undertake.
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