The “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” International Organ Academy in Japan in 2014

Although reaching 30 years of continuous activity is not easy, the Organ Academy of Shirakawa did it. The town of Shirakawa decided to mark this milestone with a significant celebration on 31 August 2014 at the Chominkaikan, chaired by its Mayor, Mr. Toshiyaki Yokoya, and to which the Councillor for Culture of the City of Pistoia, Ms. Elena Becheri, brought the greeting of the mayor. The mayor of Shirakawa pointed out that the friendship between Shirakawa and Pistoia was actually born in the name of organ music. Professor Umberto Pineschi, one of the founders of Shirakawa Organ Academy and from 1985 the main

teacher, has, through the last 30 years, been the window through which many Japanese organists have been able to discover the charm of the Italian organ and its literature. Even more so now that the activity of the Shirakawa Organ Academy continues in Italy with the “Pistoia Organ Week” held in Pistoia these last three years. We must not forget, finally, that it is the longest running Italian cultural activity in Japan. The distinguished musicologist Masakata Kanazawa,

also a professor of the Organ Academy of Shirakawa from the first year, spoke about the importance of it in the context of the Japanese music world. The Organ Academy Shirakawa shows no signs of fatigue. For a week, from August 27 to September 3, the 21 participants worked hard, five hours of lessons per day on the literature in the program. Rarely has there occurred such a high level of both technical and interpretative ability. Every day, in addition, another two hours were devoted to the preparation of the Mass, including the organ and the Gregorian chant. The level reached by the participants was publicly made evident by the skill with which they performed at the final concert of the course, on September 3 at the Gloria Hall of Chominkaikan. For it, 12 participants were selected.

These were the performers and their program:

Girolamo Frescobaldi: Toccata seconda dal Primo Libro (Keiko Kaihatsu)Giovanni Battista Fasolo: Brevis modulatio post epistolam (Mina Torii) e Canzon seconda, secondo tono trasportato alla quarta alta (Fumiko Omatsu)Michelangelo Rossi: Toccata ottava (Chizuko Choki)

2014

The participants, together with the teachers, the mayor and some counsellors, at the Pistoia Hall in the Chominkaikan, on 27 August 2014, 1st day of the 30th course.

1985

An historic picture: the participants of the first year.

The Mass at the Lutheran Church in Sohara, Shirakawa, on 31 August, cwith Gregori-an chant and organ.

Giovanni Maria Casini: Pensiero ottavo (Mari Tagami)Francesco Feroci: Toccata in re (Yoko Matsui) e Pro Elevatione in re (Rinako Yamaguchi)Giuseppe Gherardeschi: Offertorio in si bemolle P. IX (Tomomi Kakuta)Luigi Gherardeschi: Per l’Elevazione della Messa dei morti (Noriko Tanahashi), Offertorio in do maggiore (Aya Suzuki), Elevazione in do maggiore (Tomoko Ohyama), Postcommunio [II] in do maggiore (Yasue Nami)Marco Santucci: Sonata I (Kaori Goto)Domenico Puccini: Sonata I (Kenji Matsuda)Giovan Pietro Baldi: Benedizione scritta per il grand’organo di S. Pietro di Pistoia (Kaori Goto) As a result of performance during the course and during the final concert, some scholarships were awarded the to the most deserving participants: “Giuseppe Gherardeschi Prize” to the first place winner, Kaori Goto; “Pistoia Prize” to the second place winner, Yasue Nami; and “Shirakawa Prizes” to Chizuko Choki, Mari Tagami e Rinako Yamaguchi, who all tied for third place. A special mention was reserved for participant Mina Torii who for the fifth year has attended the Shirakawa course. It should be noted that already for tradition, participants are rewarded when they reach the fifth year and its multiples, that is ten, fifteen, etc. Actually there are participants for more than fifteen, with a spe

cial case of a participant, Chieko Kato, who scored 29 appearances, reaching, therefore, almost the en plain!

The solemn celebration had its end in the evening with a banquet for all the participants, the authorities, the most notable guests, and with a final show of fireworks.

After Shirakawa, a second course took place in northern Japan, September 4 to 6, in the prefecture of Miyagi. Two locations were used, namely the Yukakukan Institute of Culture of Ishinomaki, the city that was swept away by the tsunami of 2011, and the Chapel of Shokei University in Sendal. the

From the left: the Mayor of Shirakawa, Mina Torii, Chizuko Choki, Rinako Yamaguchi, Mari Tagami, Yasue Nami, Umberto Pineschi, Kaori Goto and Masakata Kanazawa.

The solemn conclusion of the course at the Gloria Hall, Chominkaican of Shirakawa. On the right the Tsuji organ used for the final concert.

The fireworks

capital of the province. It was the second time for the course, since the first had taken place three years ago when the traces of the immense tragedy that struck the region were still dramatically fresh. Indeed, many of the participants of both these locations had been directly involved in that event. The International Organ Academy “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” was invited to contribute to the rebirth of interest in the study of the organ, almost lost as a result of the terrible event. The course had a most enthusiastic participation, and under the circumstances even moving. According to the current Japanese fashion, pictures and comments have been posted in large quantities on Facebook and they show the atmosphere characterizing the course.

We hope to be forgiven if we dare to mention at this point, that at the conference organized by the Academy of Italian Organ Music in the Palazzo Comunale of Pistoia on December 4, 2004, the artistic director at the time, Prof. Mariella Mochi, had decisively, although sadly, affirmed, given the poor attendance at their courses, that the time of large numbers of participants in the organ courses in general had come to an end. That can be read in the proceedings of the meeting, attended in the most crowded moment by a maximum of 19 people including the organizers! Professor Pineschi immediately objected, openly mocked by the elders of the Foundation, that in his opinion this was not necessarily true and certainly it was not for his organization even at that time because the greater or lesser participation de

pended on the seriousness and the commitment with which you deal with this teaching activity, and above all, he pointed out with force, the quantity, quality and state of maintenance of the organs available to participants. Today, after ten years, we can safely say let it be a bit of pride! that what the president of the Foundation said, true then for her organization (and still true, at least according to the numbers), was never true for the International Organ Academy “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” as sufficiently demonstrated by the number of participants in the years that followed that conference and also by the number of participants of this year (2014) in its courses both in Pistoia (58) and in Japan (42).

Next year, the International Organ Academy Association “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” will celebrate 40 years of life, having been founded April 17, 1975 in the utmost simplicity: only three members, namely Umberto Pineschi with the office of president, Mafalda Pineschi, his sister, with the office of secretary and Gianni Premuda, his brotherinlaw with the office of treasurer. Therefore no boards and anything like that. Yet that year, the first one, had 55 participants and was considered a great success.This year, the

The participants in the masterclass at the Yogakukan, Ishinomaki.

The participants in the masterclass at the chapel of the Shokei University, Sendai.

Shokei University Chapel.

thirtyninth, the participants were almost double, with a trend, therefore, very encouraging. Everything has been continued as in the style of the beginning, in the utmost simplicity, without pompous triumphalism.

All the various activities that the International Organ Academy “Giuseppe Gherardeschi” will carry on next year, 2015, have already been planned, especially the courses and Organ Vespers. They just need adjustments for some details.

An important chapter is currently the website, www.accademiagherardeschi.it, widely visited from all over the world, with an average that exceeds 400 units per week. It is solely and deliberately dedicated only to the organs of Pistoia, to their history and to the music composed for them. In this regard the site offers an online library of organ literature, now of considerable size, that can be downloaded by visitors. It consists mainly of Pistoiese music, especially by the three Gherardeschis (Giuseppe, Luigi and Gherardo) or music from Tuscany, but with the addition of compositions by other composers that have been dealt with in various past courses of interpretation of the Academy, for example, Claudio Merulo, all the Toccatas of the 1st and 2nd books, and Michelangelo Rossi, all the 10 published Toccatas.

Shokei University Chapel.