A solemn “Toccata and Fugue” for a wonderful concert

With Giorgio Parolini at the organ of the Basilica

Following an ascending path, the fifth edition of “The organ of the Basilica” (“L’organo della Basilica”) ended in beauty with a wonderful concert by the organist Giorgio Parolini.
Of Bach’s organ works (the artistic direction asked for all the Toccatas and Fugues, one for each concert) the one played by Parolini (BWV 566) seemed to us the most serious, especially for the registrations: sonorities of gravity without compromising the intelligibility of the articulation, sternness and a great solemnity complimenting each other. The brilliant virtuosity of the young musician was confirmed without doubt in the B.A.C.H. Prelude and Fugue by Liszt, played with great attention to tempos and colorful registrations, and above all presented with a plethora of virtuosic solutions, without sinking into noisy spectacularity. Turgidity and aggressiveness also accompanied Vierne’s Toccata Op.53, preceded by Clair de Lune with very clear and judiciously nuanced timbre choices. As in the other concerts also in this one, part of the program was devoted to Italian contemporary music: in this case three Gregorian Paraphrases by the young Eugenio Maria Fagiani from Bergamo were premiered, with a clear stylistic trait inclined to the aphoristic gesture and ironic nuances, rich in ostinatos and in imaginative themes structured in an understandable way. The great fresco of La Cité Céleste by Lionel Rogg was a worthy conclusion to the Concert Series of MIA, to which president Anghileri appropriately pointed out the different cultural values.

B.Z. (“L’Eco di Bergamo”, 02/09/1998)