Dear Friends and Colleagues,

 

 

In the world of pipe organs, it seems to me that Italy is often under-appreciated. The history of organ music and organ building is often misunderstood or misrepresented. Through continued tours in Italy with the Organ Tour program I hope to raise awareness and understanding of this rich Italian musical tradition. 

 

I write today after a wonderful experience on Organ Tour Italia 2014. For this second year of the Organ Tour program, the tour was based in Gravedona and concentrated on instruments in towns surrounding Lake Como including Varenna, Consiglio di Rumo, and Brenzio. There were several highlights on this trip including the opportunity to see and play Serassi instruments from the 18th and 19th Century as well as an Antegnati organ from the end of the 17th Century. In addition, we spent one day on the road - traveling a bit further afield for a visit to Sotto il Monte, home town of Pope John XXIII just a few weeks after his canonization to sainthood. In addition we went to Bergamo to visit the historically significant Serassi organ in S. Alessandro in Colonna with a stop on the way back to visit the harpsichord workshop of Carlo Mascheroni. Each day, our group - made up of organists and pianists - played diverse instruments of varying time periods all while seeing the beautiful landscapes, art, and architecture of northern Italy. 

 

It took the collaboration of several people to make this tour possible. I would like to publicly thank Ennio Cominetti for his support in creating the entire Organ Tour endeavor in addition to his daily support during the tour itself. It is through the daily sharing of his passion for Italian music, specifically regarding the organ, that gave life and energy (cuore) to the tour. I would like to thank Cesare Soldarelli, vice mayor of Gravedona, for his hospitality and continued support of Organ Tour. In addition I would like to thank all those who welcomed us during the tour especially organ builder Ilic Colzani, organist Fabio Nava of S. Alessandro in Colonna, Carlo Mascheroni and Anna Scolamiero of Cembali Mascheroni, and last but not least Gabriella Cominetti for all of her help with logistics. 

 

After an energizing Organ Tour Italia 2014 I look forward to future projects ahead. For those reading about Organ Tour for the first time here, I hope you will consider joining us on a future tour.

 

Paul J. Carroll, Director, Organ Tour