Life
Trained in the full culture of Verdian Romanticism, his mature career unfolded in the complex climate of the Fin de siècle, a transitional era where the poetics of Realism and the new sensitivity of Decadentism coexisted.
Born in Rome in 1840, Filippo Capocci was the organist of the Basilica of San Giovanni in Laterano from 1875 and, from 1898, master of the Lateran Chapel, succeeding his father Gaetano. He also served in the churches of Sant’Ignazio and Santa Maria di Monserrato.
A member of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and organ teacher to Queen Margherita, he distinguished himself with a style distant from 19th-century theatrical aesthetics, leaning instead toward French Romanticism and the figure of Alexandre Guilmant, his friend. In 1881 he gained prominence by improvising the First Sonata for organ during the inauguration of the Merklin organ at San Luigi dei Francesi. In 1890 he participated in the inauguration of the Trice organ in Genoa with Guilmant and Polleri.
He supported the renewal of the Italian organ, inaugurating the new instruments by Nicola Morettini at San Giovanni in Laterano in 1886–87. He was welcomed into the American Guild of Organists (1899) and appointed professor at the new Higher School of Music in 1911, though illness prevented him from teaching. He died in Rome that same year.
Aneddoto
A memorable improvisation
In 1881 Capocci improvised his First Sonata for organ almost instantly during the inaugural concert of the Merklin organ at San Luigi dei Francesi, leaving the audience astonished.Works
Capocci wrote about 200 works for organ: seven sonatas, twelve volumes of Original Pieces for Organ, six volumes of Office Divine, various compositions, and a Fantasia for the inauguration of the San Giovanni in Laterano organ. He was also the author of at least three masses for voices and organ. His works, with an orchestral and symphonic character, are now being rediscovered and brought back to concert programs, establishing him as the father of the new Italian organ school.
Briciole di storia
A painful choice
On February 3, 1865, Florence officially became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, taking over from Turin. The choice was not painless, as the previous year's announcement of the transfer had provoked violent protests in Turin, bloodily repressed with dozens of deaths. For the Florentines, the arrival of the King and the government meant seeing their city, the cradle of the Renaissance, transformed into a modern European capital. Massive urban works began, such as the demolition of the ancient walls to make room for ring roads, according to the plan of architect Giuseppe Poggi. Florence was meant to be a temporary capital, an intermediate step on the way to Rome, but in those five years, its face changed forever.
Pubblico dominio (Commons)
