Pastorale, “Francesco a Greccio” (2015)

Marco Lo Muscio (b. 1971) — Pastorale, “Francesco a Greccio” (2015) for organ

This pastorale is inspired by a story from the life of St. Francis of Assisi. It is told that in Greccio (a town in Italy), in order to celebrate Christmas, St. Francis was the first to devise a living nativity scene (crèche) in a cave, with a baby representing Jesus and an ox and donkey standing by. In some tellings of the story, Francis used a carved figure for the infant, and to those watching it appeared the infant came alive.

Marco Lo Muscio (b. 1971) is an Italian organist and composer. He concertizes actively in programs that feature his own music as well as organ transcriptions of works by “progressive rock” composers such as John Hackett, Steve Hackett, Keith Emerson, and others. Lo Muscio’s own musical style draws on influence from both progressive rock and the classical organ literature. He has been artistic director of several Italian organ festivals and his works have been played around the world by many major concert organists.

Published by Erreffe Edizioni Musicali (http://www.marcolomuscio.com)