Filippo Capocci

Filippo Capocci (born May 11, 1840 in Rome , † July 25, 1911 in Rome) was an Italian organist and composer .

life and work

F. Capocci was trained in organ playing and harmony by his father, Gaetano Capocci , and in 1861 received the piano diploma from the Accademia di S. Cecilia in Rome . In the same year he became the pianist in their Congregazione ; In addition, he gained great recognition as an organist early on for his virtuosity and improvisational skills. In 1875 Capocci was appointed the first organist of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; In addition, however, he was also active as an organist in other Roman churches. After the death of his father in 1898, he became Kapellmeister at the Capella Pia at San Giovanni in Laterano . On the occasion of the acceptance of the great organ in S. Luigi dei Francesi by A. Guilmant , his first organ sonata was written . The encounter with this French organ composer, who had designed this organ and to whom Capocci dedicated his sonata, was groundbreaking for him. This first organ sonata established Capocci's fame, which thanks to his successful concert activities soon spread beyond Italy .

Among the students of Capocci, who gave organ lessons at the Accademia di S. Cecilia , was Margaret of Savoy, who had shown great interest in the Roman musicians and composers since her arrival in Rome in 1871 and became an important patron of the Accademia .

meaning

Capocci brought new ideas to the Roman organ school and made use of the fact that the organs in the churches of the Italian capital were expanded and renovated in order to introduce the French organ playing technique in Rome and to make the organ repertoire more international. His compositions breathe the spirit of his great role model, Alexandre Guilmant: compositional technique and compositional style find their model in him. The main focus of his work is in the area of church music , especially for the organ, with the focus here on his six organ sonatas, which were composed between 1881 and 1908. Here Capocci succeeds in developing a completely independent style, which in its formal and tonal orientation, especially in the later sonatas, breaks away from the French model. Capocci's works have been published both in Italy and abroad.

Works (selection)

• Oratorio San Atanasio , text: Girolamo M. Marini, Rome 1863 (music lost)
• Oratorio San Luigi re di francia all 'assedio di Damiata in Egitto , text: G. Neri, Rome 1863 (music lost)
• Fantasia for organ, Rome 1887 ( Fantasia per organo, composta per l'inaugurazione die due grandi organi di S. Giovanni in Laterano )
• Six sonatas for organ (1881–1908)
• Piccoli studi per organo (dedicated to Margaret of Savoy)

Manuscripts of Capocci's compositions can be found in the Archivo Musicale of the Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano and in the archive of the Cappella di Sanctissimo Sacramento (cathedral) in Urbino .

literature

• A. de Santi, Il maestro Filippo Capocci , Rome 1888
• O. Respighi, Necrologio in Bollettino ceciliano 6 , 1911, pages 141-146
• E. Boezi, Filippo Capocci. L'uomo - l'artista , Fano 1912
• DM de Carolis 1931, page 250
• R. Giazotto 1970, pp. 446-449
• A. Morelli, L'arte organaria dal XV al XIX secolo , in Organi e cantorie nelle chiese di Roma , Rome 1994, page 25 and following.

swell

• MGG - Music in Past and Present , 2nd Edition, Person Part Volume 4 (2000)
• Preface to the music edition of the 1st and 2nd organ sonatas by Otto Depenheuer , Musikverlag Dr. J. Butz , Sankt Augustin (2000).