Organ Music

First recording of the complete organ works by Giovanni Maria Pelazza. Pelazza was born in 1847 in Piedmont, Italy. He held several posts as organist of important churches, and was witness to the development of the organ building in Italy, notably the Symphonic Organ, with its emphasis on accompanied solo melodies, emphatic reed effects and orchestral imitations. In 1898 he emigrated to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he spent the rest of his life till 1936 as organist and maestro di cappella.

Pelazza's organ music bear evidence of the possibilities of the new organs built in Italy in the second half of the 19h century, by Lingiardi and Serassi. The present recording is on the Serassi organ of 1821, in the Sanctuary of SS Crucifix, Borzonasca, Italy, the specifications of which are included in the booklet.