The Historic Organs of Malta and Gozo
Mdina Cathedral
Alessandro SCARLATTI (1660-1725)
Toccata settima [7:39]
Carlo COTUMACCI (1709-1785)
Ligatura per organo [3:52]
Girolamo FRESCOBALDI (1583-1643)
Canzona dopo l’epistola [3:17]
Qrendi
Girlamo FRESCOBALDI
Toccata per elevazione [4:01] Canzona quarti toni post il communion [4:23]
Cospicua Oratory
Domenico ZIPOLI (1688-1726)
Versetto in F major [0:51] 4 versi in D minor [3:57]
Michal NOVENKO (b.1962)
Pastoral Improvisation [1:05]
Mosta Dome
Michal NOVENKO
Carillon Prelude [1:41]
Padre Davide de BERGAMO (1791-1863)
Elevazione [4:57]
Giuseppe CERRUTI (1803-1869)
Verso in G [1:15] Verso (Marcia) in G [1:51]
Fontana (Gozo)
Luigi BOTTAZZO (1845-1924)
Elevazione [4:25] Marcia religiosa [1:44]
Nadur (Gozo)
Giuseppe GARIBALDI (1819-1908)
6 versi in D [6:22]
Balzan
Fedele FENAROLI (1730-1818)
Pastorale [5:31]
Muzio CLEMENTI (1752-1832)
Short Prelude in G [1:03]
Naxxar
Francesco AZZOPARDI (1748-1809)
Pastorale in F [2:38]
Vincenzo PANERAI (18th century)
Sonata 85 in C [14:11]
Michal Novenko (organ)
rec. Malta and Gozo, 20-24 May 2011. DDD
PRIORY PRCD 1067 [76:53]
The thing to remember when listening to this excellent CD is that the organ
world of Malta and Gozo is dominated by the Roman and Napoli musical tradition.
I admit to believing that as the country had been a British colony between
1814 and 1964 there would be a considerable number of British-built instruments.
To be fair, the Anglican St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral in Valletta does
have a ‘Father’ Smith organ. However, most of the historic instruments were
built in the Italian style. The present CD highlights a number of ‘Parish
Churches’ all of which are Roman Catholic.
The leading light of Maltese organ building is Robert
Buhagiar. After taking a degree in Electrical Engineering at the University
of Malta, he served an apprenticeship with Masciono Organi, which is the oldest
surviving Italian organ builder. Since his return to Malta in 1998, Buhagiar
has restored and re-voiced more than twenty organs, including most of the
organs featured on this recording.
The CD gets off to a great start with three pieces played on the one-manual
Mdina Cathedral organ. This was built by Rossi in 1774. Alessandro Scarlatti’s
sonata-like ‘Toccata settima’ sounds well on this small instrument. The charming
‘Ligatura per organ’ is by Carlo Cotumacci who was a pupil of Scarlatti. The
final piece from Mdina is an enjoyable Canzona by Girolamo Frescobaldi. The
tone of the stops used in this piece is delightful.
Qrendi is an old village in to the south-west of the capital Valetta. The
parish church is baroque and the organ is Neapolitan, built by Severino and
installed in 1778. It is located in a small loft at the east end of the church
behind the High Altar. The pedal board has no independent stops and is permanently
coupled to the single manual. Two works by Frescobaldi reveal just how impressive
the sound of this petite instrument can be. The ‘Toccata per elevazione’ is
particularly charming.
The next organ in the track listings is located at the Oratory of the Holy
Cross, Cospicua Parish Church on the east side of Valetta. Restored in 2009,
this is another ‘bijou’ instrument. It is certainly not possible to play ‘warhorses’
on this organ, however the tone is particularly bright because of the 4'
foundation stop. The two pieces by Domenco Zipoli are ideally suited to this
sound. The present organist contributes a short ‘Pastoral Improvisation’ that
is effective.
Another work by Novenko begins the exploration of the large instrument at
the Rotunda of Mosta. This church was lucky to survive a direct hit from a
German bomb in 1942. Fortunately, the forced-labour weapons manufacturers
in German-occupied Czechoslovakia had sabotaged it. The organ was built in
1885 by Inzoli of Crema, Italy: it is the largest instrument in the Maltese
Islands. I am not sure about the musical value of Novenko’s ‘Carillon Prelude’;
however, it does let the listener hear the fine campanelli. Padre Davide da
Bergamo’s ‘Elevazione’ is a powerful work that the liner notes rightly point
out is far removed from the usual mystic style associated with a piece typically
used at the consecration of the Body and Blood of Christ. I enjoyed the lively
Verso in G and dignified Verso Marcia by Giuseppe Cerruti. They sound like
something heard on a fairground organ. Excellent sound.
The next two instruments are on the island of Gozo. Fontana Parish Church
organ dates from 1908 and was built by the Sicilian organ builder Laudani
e Giudici. It is a well-balanced organ that has ‘colour and brightness’ rather
than ‘power’. Novenko plays another, more typical, ‘Elevazione’ – this time
by Luigi Bottazzo, who hailed from Padova. This is followed by the same composer’s
rather operatic ‘March religioso’. The other representative instrument from
Gozo is the much larger organ in Nadur Parish Church. This was built in 1897
by Inzoli. The delightful ‘6 versi in D’ by Giuseppe Garibaldi is a sheer
delight: look out for the lovely ‘flauto soprani’. This organ has an engaging
sound and includes ‘string’ stops.
Back on the main island, the one-manual organ in Balzan Parish Church was
built in 1827 by F. Patane Platania from Sicily. The first piece, is a ‘Pastorale’
is by Fedele Fenaroli and the second is a Short Prelude in C by Muzio Clementi
who is best known for his pedagogic piano music: this organ piece is a little
gem
The final venue is Naxxar Parish church which lies to the north-west of Valletta.
It is an example of a Sicilian organ built by Santucci in 1775. It has been
heavily restored but has retained much of the original pipework. Two works
are performed here. The first is a short ‘Pastorale’
by Francesco Azzopardi that is one of the few pieces of organ music to have
been composed in Malta. The final work is the ‘Sonata 85 in C’ by Vincenzo
Panerai. This is a great, lively piece that would sound just as good on the
piano. It concludes this excellent tour of the organs of Maltese churches.
The playing by Czech-born Michal Novenko is impressive. He is able to tailor
his style to suit the idiosyncrasies of each organ. The CD booklet is excellent.
All the composers featured are given brief biographies with notes about their
music. As essential for all organ recordings there are full specifications
given for all eight instruments. Included are a number of excellent black
and white photographs of each instrument. Most telling of all, a picture of
the Cospicua Oratory organ before restoration features on the back cover.
It literally looks as if a bomb has hit it. Full credit to Mr Buhagiar for
rebuilding this!
I enjoyed every note in this new Priory release. It is always fascinating
to hear a variety of different instruments. It is good to know that there
is a fine selection of organs present and correct in Malta and Gozo. There
is certainly scope for future recordings. There are more than 360 churches
on these islands however, I understand that not all of them have viable instruments.
Nevertheless, with the sterling work of the local organ builder, there seems
to an ever-growing number of possibilities.
John France
I enjoyed every note in this new Priory release. Fascinating.