Giovanni Morandi: Opera Trascription For Organ – Federica Iannella

   in Choir & Organ (Mar, 2017)
Known and published in London, Giovanni Morandi’s catalogue of organ works contains a rich collection of arrangements of classic opera pieces from all the representative figures of Italian opera at the time, from Rossini to Verdi. The vulgarity of much of this music is delightfully enriched by Federica Iannella’s witty approach and the rawness of the Bazzani organ of 1856; built the same year as Morandi’s death, it is fascinating to hear the instrument produce the kind of sounds that Morandi may have anticipated for his transcriptions. No smooth orchestral playing here, but rather unsteady wind and unequal temperament. The whole exercise, while the result of academic interest (with enlightening liner …