Cesare Franco (composer)

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Don Cesare Emmanuele Franco (born February 24, 1885 in Acquaviva delle Fonti , † January 21, 1944 in Bari ) was an Italian church music composer, organist and cousin of Cesarino Franco .

Life

Franco grew up in a musical family. His father and brother Giacomo were also musicians. He attended elementary school in his hometown. He studied theology and philosophy at the Pontifical Seminary in Vatican City Rome and graduated from the Gregorian University. He was ordained a priest on March 19, 1908. In Acquaviva he founded a Schola Cantorum .

Musically, Franco was self-taught, supported by his family and Monsignor Raffaele Casimiri . At the Pontifical Institute for Church Music in Rome, he received an honorary diploma for sacred composition from Fr. Angelo De Santi, President. He was the deputy director of the Sistine Chapel . In 1912 he was appointed musical director of the Basilica of San Nicola in Bari and held this position for 25 years. He taught composition at the "Piccinni" music school in Bari, of which he was the founder. In the following year he founded the singing school of the papal regional seminary in Molfetta, which he also directed. After a first tour to the USA in 1919 together with Casimiri, there followed a pronounced concert activity between 1920 and 1926, especially in Bari.

Franci created about 100 compositions, including the chants dedicated to San Nicola. The first three songs fulfill liturgical functions in the Basilica of San Nicola. Salve, o Nicola fulgido is regarded as his most famous compositions and as his masterpiece.

Works (selection)

  • Laetatus sum , (Psalm 121) for choir and 2 unequal voices with organ. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1913.
  • Tantum ergo , for 3 mixed voices with organ. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1920.
  • three Tantum ergo , for three-part mixed choir with organ or harmonium. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1925.
  • Stabat Mater , for 3 equal voices with organ accompaniment. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1926.
  • Iam terra intonet , motet for four-part mixed choir with harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1926.
  • Dixit Dominus , for three-part mixed choir with organ. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1928.
  • Ave Maria , for soprano and tenor with organ or harmonium. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1928.
  • Tre poesie , by Trilussa ( Bolla di sapone , Povero fiore , Er pappagallo raffreddato ), for tenor or soprano and piano. Edizioni dal sud, Bari 1930.
  • two Tantum ergo , for 2 unequal voices with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1930.
  • Confitebor tibi, Domine , for three-part mixed choir with organ. Soc. Tip. Ed. Nazionale, Turin 1934.
  • Si , song for 4 mixed voices (free transcription of the riddles by R. Schumann). Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1934.
  • Da pacem, domine , motet for 2 unequal voices and organ. Edizioni Carrara, Rome 1935.
  • Laudi alla Madonna , for a voice with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1935.
  • Due mottetti alla Madonna del Carmine , for voice and organ. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1936.
  • Falso bordons per il canto dei vespri . Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1937.
  • Te Deum , for choir with 2 equal or unequal voices with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1937.
  • Tre cantici , in Fauxbourdon for three-part men or mixed choir with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1938.
  • Christ vincit , motet for four male voices without accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1938.
  • Due preludi pastorali , for organ or harmonium. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1938.
  • Offertorio solenne , with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1938.
  • Canto del popolo barese a s. Nicola . Mignani, Florence 1938.
  • S. Nicola , sacred oratorio for solos, choir and orchestra in a prologue and three parts. Edizioni dal sud, Bari 1938.
  • Due mottetti al S. Cuore di Gesù , for 2 equal voices with organ or harmonium accompaniment. Edizioni Carrara, Bergamo 1939.
  • Ecce sacerdos magnus , responsory for 4 male voices. Edizione Miles Christi, Molfetta 1940.
  • Do it Petrus , motet for 4 male voices. Edizione Miles Christi, Molfetta 1940.

literature

  • Francesco Babudri: Don Cesare Franco. L'uomo, il sacerdote, l'artista. Schena, Fasano 1969.
  • Anita Piscazzi: Mihi quoque spem dedisti. Cesare Franco e la musica sacra in Terra di Bari tra pedagogia e riforma ceciliana. Florestano Edizioni, Bari 2015, ISBN 978-88-99320-09-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Aldo Bartocci:  FRANCO, Cesare. In: Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani (DBI). Volume 50. Rome 1998.
  2. ↑ basilicasannicola.it: Salve o Nicola fulgido , accessed on August 29, 2015.
personal data
SURNAME Franco, Cesare
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Franco, Cesare Emmanuele (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian church music composer, organist and cousin of Cesarino Franco
DATE OF BIRTH February 24, 1885
PLACE OF BIRTH Acquaviva delle Fonti
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1944
Place of death Bari