Fernando Germani (5 April 1906 – 10 June 1998) was an

organist An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumentalist, instrumental ...

of the

Basilica of St. Peter The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a Church (building), church built in the Renaissance architecture, Renaissanc ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

during the reign of

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII ( it, Pio XII), born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli (; 2 March 18769 October 1958), was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death in October 1958. Before his e ...

Early life

Germani was born in 1906 and played the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

in public at four years of age. At age eight he started taking lessons in

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

from Resphigi who headed Germani toward the organ. Then at age fifteen, Germani was the organist of the Augusteo Symphony Orchestra in Rome. His career spanned almost seventy-five years. He died in 1998. One of his notable pupils was organist

Gérard Caron Gérard Caron (30 August 1938 – 31 October 2020) was a French designer. He was the co-founder of Carré Noir, the very first French design marketing agency, making him one of the inventors of the concept of brand design in France. He also co ...

. Others included, organist of Zagreb Cathedral, Hvalimira Bledšnajder, former organist of

Westminster Cathedral Westminster Cathedral is the mother church of the Catholic Church in England and Wales. It is the largest Catholic church in the UK and the seat of the Archbishop of Westminster. The site on which the cathedral stands in the City of ...

Nicolas Kynaston Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

, former organist of

Liverpool Cathedral Liverpool Cathedral is the Cathedral of the Anglican Diocese of Liverpool, built on St James's Mount in Liverpool, and the seat of the Bishop of Liverpool. It may be referred to as the Cathedral Church of Christ in Liverpool (as recorded in the ...

Noel Rawsthorne Christopher Noel Rawsthorne (24 December 1929 – 28 January 2019) was a British liturgical and concert organist and composer of music for his own instrument, as well as choral music. Biography Rawsthorne was born in Birkenhead. At the age of e ...

and former organist of York Minster,

John Scott Whiteley John Scott Whiteley (born 1950) is an English organist and composer. He has performed extensively around the world and since 1985 has undertaken an annual tour of the US. He has performed in most major UK Cathedrals and concert halls, and was ...

Career

In 1951 Edizioni de Santis della ditta Alberto de Santis in Rome published Germani's edition of the toccatas of

Girolamo Frescobaldi Girolamo Alessandro Frescobaldi (; also Gerolamo, Girolimo, and Geronimo Alissandro; September 15831 March 1643) was an Italian composer and virtuoso keyboard player. Born in the Duchy of Ferrara, he was one of the most important composers of k ...

(1583-1644). His edition has increased in importance. He published one major organ work, the

Toccata Toccata (from Italian ''toccare'', literally, "to touch", with "toccata" being the action of touching) is a virtuoso piece of music typically for a keyboard or plucked string instrument featuring fast-moving, lightly fingered or otherwise virtuo ...

, which has now established a position in the repertory. An organ concerto was lost after Germani presented the manuscript to "an English gentleman" who never returned it. During the 1960s Germani visited

Selby Abbey Selby Abbey is an Anglican parish church in the town of Selby, North Yorkshire, England. It is Grade I listed. Monastic history It is one of the relatively few surviving abbey churches of the medieval period, and, although not a cathedral, ...

, North Yorkshire, England, and made three LP recordings: "He had the most formidable technique of his generation and will be forever remembered as the fount of enormous musical and technical inspiration."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germani, Fernando Italian organists Male organists 1998 deaths 1906 births 20th-century Italian musicians 20th-century organists 20th-century Italian male musicians