Pentecost concert in the best sense

Giorgio Parolini thrills audiences at the Deggendorf organ concerts

Pentecost is the feast of the Holy Spirit, who brings movement and inspiration. The latest concert in the Deggendorf Organ Concert series, which took place on Pentecost Saturday in the parish church of St. Martin, was very much in keeping with this theme. The internationally renowned Italian concert organist Giorgio Parolini accepted an invitation from church musician Conrad Jocher to come to Deggendorf. With a carefully compiled programme on the Rieger organ, he impressively demonstrated why he has already performed at Notre Dame in Paris and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York. Parish priest Franz Reitinger warmly welcomed the artist – in Italian, in keeping with his nationality – and was rightly looking forward to brilliant interpretations.
Parolini, who studied Piano, Harpsichord and Organ as well as Organ Composition and currently teaches at the Conservatorio N. Paganini in Genoa, opened the concert with two works by Johann Sebastian Bach (“Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major” and “Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele”). The clear structure of Baroque polyphony provided a solid start to a programme that then spanned the centuries with works by Lucio Mosé Benaglia, César Franck, Louis Vierne and Grimoaldo Macchia – a stylistically diverse journey through musical eras, full of timbres and depth of expression. The focus was noticeably on contemporary music. The Pentecost concert largely dispensed with powerful external effects – with the exception of Franck’s “Choral No. 2 in B minor” which stood out with its dramatic sonority. In general, the concert was deliberately contemplative and spiritual in character. Especially in the works of Benaglia and Macchia, Parolini demonstrated his ability to unfold meditative soundscapes. Some of the compositions took up familiar melodies – two pieces, for example, were based on the hymns “Herr, du bist mein Leben” and “Nun singt ein neues Lied dem Herren”, which brought back fond memories for the approximately 80 listeners. The encore, for which the audience thanked the performers with prolonged applause, rounded off the evening.
Parolini presented all the works with technical brilliance and interpretative depth. Particularly impressive was his fine sense of timbre and his stylistic confidence. He allowed the organ to breathe not only musically, but almost spiritually – entirely in keeping with the spirit of the festival. He let the last notes of the evening fade away gently – like a silent prayer echoing through the room. It was a concert evening full of musical depth, technical mastery and spiritual resonance – and thus a Pentecost concert in the best sense of the word: uplifting, unifying and inspiring.

Jürgen Stern (“Deggendorfer Zeitung” June 11, 2025)