Amazing Grace – Opere per Organo di Grimoaldo Macchia

Organist: Giorgio Parolini
Organ: Chiesa di S.Anastasia di Villasanta
Motette – CD – DDD – MOT15040 – 2021

For a few years now (four, to be exact) we have been waiting for a new production entirely dedicated to the works of Grimoaldo Macchia, and after the previous three (which appeared in 2011, 2013 and 2017) here comes the latest CD, which we have listened to with great interest and just as much curiosity. Those who follow us in this editorial adventure will have noticed that it is our habit – whenever possible – to ‘follow’ the musical adventures of young composers and organists, highlighting their musical growth and stylistic evolution. For some we have enjoyed extraordinary musical careers, for others something less so, but what we have observed is that -as a rule- it is the most ‘curious’ musicians who have achieved the best results. By ‘curiosity’, of course, we here mean the desire to know, to learn all the time, to discover new ways of expression, and when all this is combined with a ‘well-crafted’ and solid background, the results are often excellent. Obviously, personality (not only musical) also plays a role in this process of evolution, and in Grimoaldo Macchia’s case we cannot fail to appreciate (in the ten years since the appearance of his first record) a semantic maturation and a conscious stylistic evolution that, while leaving the inspirational sources unchanged, enriches the language with a fuller awareness of formal structures (treated with much more property and, at times, sobriety) and a ‘refinement’ of the writing, which is more ‘solid’, precise and incisive. The title of the disc derives from the opening track, which is the ‘Toccata on Amazing Grace’, followed by the ‘Evocation and Chorale on Eventide’, the 12 Variations of the ‘Partita-Suite on Abide with me’, the ‘Toccata en Koraal over Vom Himmel hoch’, the ‘Christmas Pastorale’, the ‘Stille Nacht Suite’ in five movements, ‘In Paradisum’, the ‘Choralfantasie Christ ist Erstanden’ ‘Aus den Meditations sur le thème Regina Coeli’ (transcription of an improvisation), the ‘Paraphrase on Antiphona Ave Maria’, the ‘Schweitzerland Suite über Lobe den Herren’ (also in five movements), the Chorale ‘Mein Herr und mein Gott’, the scherzo ‘The flight of the Bumblebach’ and, finally, the ‘Toccata Mexicana über Cielito Lindo’.
As you can see, there is a lot of (musical) meat in the fire and, frankly, the risk of burning some pieces was high, also because the styles and languages that Macchia uses for the pieces are really many and very demanding (Prelude, Scherzo, Canzona, Toccata, Ricercare, Duo, Trio, Passacaglia, etc.); What we can say after listening to the disc is that, certainly, his recent period of professional activity and study in Switzerland has benefited him greatly, making his musical ideas solidly solid and refining his expressive possibilities in a very precise manner. Indeed, in the various pieces we have listened to, we have been able to note a remarkable awareness in the treatment of the various musical forms with propriety and precision, a great balance in the juxtaposition of very different styles and modes of expression, and an approach to writing that, while never renouncing the use of very ‘modern’ stylistic elements drawn from musical genres that are often antithetical (Jazz, Latin, Fusion…) with ‘classical’ organ literature, has also been able to refine his musical ideas. ) with ‘classical’ organ literature, he succeeds in inserting and ‘homogenising’ them into a musical discourse that, while also taking many cues from contemporary American organ production, never loses sight of the technical, phonic, timbral and expressive characteristics of a fundamentally ‘liturgical’ instrument such as the organ.
Personally, we greatly appreciated the ‘Evocation and Chorale on Eventide’ for its strong harmonic characterisation and its British-American atmospheres, and the ‘Partita-Suite on Abide with me’ where the thematic material unfolds through the different variations in a kaleidoscope of timbres, styles and suggestions, among which the ‘Canzona’ and the ‘Improvvisazione’ are, in our opinion, very appreciable. Very pleasant and in style with contemporary North European (especially Dutch) production is the ‘Toccata on Vom Himmel hoch’ while ‘In Paradisum’ is played on the -now obsolete- timbres of the Concerto Viole. Very interesting for us was the ‘Fantasia-Corale on “Christ ist Erstanden” where we find an excursus of distinctly “contemporary” stylistic features enriched by elaborate and often dissonant contrapuntal formulations. The ‘Meditations sur le Regina Coeli’ are instead a pleasant -and interesting- testimony to the author’s improvisational art, and it is in this piece that, leaving aside for a moment the ‘craft’ and stylistic ‘suggestions’ of various extractions, we find the true and authentic Grimoaldo Macchia and his deepest and most personal inspirations; this is -in our opinion and for this reason- the best track on the disc. Very appreciable, although much less ‘inspired’ and in some places even a little ‘routine’, we found the ‘Swiss’ Suite on Lobe den Herren.
The performer, Giorgio Parolini, is undoubtedly one of the most established and highly regarded organists active on the international scene. A valuable pianist, organist and harpsichordist, he can boast of attending prestigious specialisation courses with the greatest European masters and a highly respectable artistic activity, which has seen him appreciated as a performer on the consoles of the most famous instruments in the world and at the best organ festivals. An eclectic performer but absolutely rigorous in his musicological approach to the various types of repertoire, he also dedicates himself, with interest and flattering results, to contemporary music (not only organ music), of which he is now one of the best interpreters at a European level, having to his credit the presentation of several ‘first works’ by not only Italian but also European composers, including Bédard and Rogg. In addition to his ‘live performances’, he has also recorded a number of valuable discs and several radio recordings for prestigious broadcasters, including Radio Vaticana. Gifted with an excellent technique and a great capacity for musicological analysis, he succeeds in this disc in giving the various facets of Macchia’s works the right prominence and due importance (and, at times, impressiveness), unleashing – when necessary – a robust virtuosity that (and this is, in our opinion, a good thing) does not overstep the mark, just as his ability to find the ‘sense’ that the composer wanted to give them in the folds of these scores is highly appreciable, and he proposes it to us in a simple, pleasant and very polished manner. Obviously, the choice of the recordings is excellent, moreover made very easy (and in some ways even ‘sophisticated’) by the phonic-timbric characteristics of the organ used for the recording.
We have already spoken several times about the organ of the church of S. Anastasia in Villasanta in previous reviews, and in this case too we cannot but reiterate the fact that, at present, it represents one of the best achievements of recent Italian organ building. With its four keyboards and pedalboard that operate seven sections divided into three bodies, this organ, built in 2012 by Bonato to a sound design by Paolo Oreni, has a total of 91 nominal registers and represents one of the best ‘extended syntheses’ of contemporary Italian organ-making where, alongside a ‘hard core’ represented by the timbres proper and most representative of classical Italian organ-making, we find – perfectly integrated – sounds that recall the French, German and British schools. All this for an extremely versatile instrument (a few years ago, it would have been considered an ‘eclectic’ organ) that offers the organist an extensive and extremely varied palette of timbres that allows for the performance of a vast repertoire in which every school of music can find adequate satisfaction.
The sound pick-up is very accurate, precise and with an excellent ambience, as is the subsequent editing and post-production work, all carried out by Fabio Framba who, in addition to being an excellent sound engineer, also has the great advantage of being a good musician (Organist and Choir Conductor), which, when faced with recording sessions in which one has to deal with authors and performers with specific ‘desiderata’, is no bad thing. In this case, the various sonorities and particular ‘nuances’ of a truly important instrument are very well emphasised, and the ensembles, even the most grandiose and ‘redundant’ ones, are always very well balanced without losing any of their incisiveness.
Very pleasant is the graphic layout that presents – finally! – a full-bodied booklet (70 pages), rich in information and absolutely exhaustive with very thorough and pleasant reading texts by the author; all this (which is extremely appreciable compared to many other current record productions) in three languages: German, English and Italian. Sober but very pleasant is the iconographic contribution that makes the whole thing very pleasant.
In conclusion, this is a discographic production that particularly interested us and that presents us with a contemporary repertoire by an excellent musician who deserves the success and consideration with which he is rewarded, all performed by a very good and talented organist whom we were pleased to ‘discover’ on this occasion. An enjoyable listen for both ‘insiders’ and simple fans of organ music; both will find ample reason for satisfaction in this disc. To be bought (and listened to) immediately.

Federico Borsari
(“La pagina dell’organo – www.lapaginadellorgano.it”)
August 2021