The organ festival of Camaiore, organised by the Council Culture Department in collaboration with The Music Association “Marco Santucci”, is a musical event of great international importance. The organ in the Church of Badia , which was inaugurated in 1995, is at the centre of the festival. The instrument was especially designed having baroque music, and in particular that of Bach, in mind, and is one of the very few of its kind in Italy.
The concerts which are of a very high standard, are not the only important cultural events promoted during the festival. The performances are usually accompanied by introductory meetings, and many conferences on musicology have been organised surrounding the festival. In addition to deepening themes surrounding baroque organ music, the festival organisers are also very aware of the present. Different Italian composers have purposely written pieces for the organ of Badia which will be put on a CD dedicated to contemporary and experimental music for the organ. In addition, the festival is considered to be a very important formative experience. In 2001, a master-class for organists was introduced. One of its many aims is that of selecting a student who will then participate as a performer in the following festival.
Gallery:
Details:
12 JULY
Heribert Metzger (Salzburg, Dom)
18 JULY
Christian Bacheley (Arbois)
24 JULY
Otto Maria Krämer (Straelen, St Peter & Paul)
Concerto interamente dedicato all’improvvisazione
28 JULY
Rudolf Kelber (Hamburg, St. Jacobi)
1 AUGUST
Josef Still (Trier, Dom)
7 AUGUST
Olivier Latry (Paris – Notre-Dame) e Shin-Young Lee
16 AUGUST
Jean-Christophe Geiser (Lausanne – Cathedral)
22 AUGUST
Martin Bernreuther (Eichstatt)
28 AUGUST
Przemyslaw Kapitula (Varsavia – Cathedral)
by car: from Lucca A11/12 motorway exit Viareggio-Camaiore, then follow the signs to Camaiore
public transport: bus lines from Lucca.
info: info@camaioreorganfestival.it
Municipality of Camaiore, Associazione Musicale “Marco Santucci”, in collaboration with Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Lucca
The first festival took place in 1996. In the years following, the organs of the churches of Suffragio and Collegiata were made available for festival concerts in addition to the one in Badia.
The complete works of Bach were performed during the first three festivals. The particularly noteworthy performances of certain musicians can be recalled such as that of H. Metzger in the Art of Fugue by Bach, M. Radulescu who performed the third part of Bach’s Klavierubung-Orgelmess, B. Gfrerer who presented the Mozart’s integral and Giulia Biagetti who dedicated a programme to Haendel’s concerts for organ and orchestra . The art directors of the festival are Don Angelo Bevilacqua, Lorenzo Ghelmi and Giulia Biagetti, who, in addition to being a great performer (she is the organist in the Cathedral of Lucca and of the cathedral choir), is also the president of the Music Association “Marco Santucci”.
18