Invocation

Filippo Capocci (1840-1911) was an Italian organist and composer.

He received training in organ and harmony from his father Gaetano (1811-1898) and in 1861 he received a piano diploma from the Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome. In 1875, he was appointed organist of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran. In 1898, he succeeded his father as choirmaster at the Basilica. He also served in the Roman churches of St. Ignatius and St. Mary of Montserrat.

Unlike his father, Filippo Capocci adhered to nineteenth-century musical aesthetics, avoiding the theatrical style, and dedicated himself to a style of performance and composition similar to that of the French organist Alexandre Guilmant.

He was also one of the three foreign organists who performed in a series of organ concerts using the Cavaille-Coll organ at Trocadero during the 1889 Paris World Fair.

Capocci also endorsed the proposal of the chapter of canons of St. John for the construction of two new organs that were installed at the conclusion of the renovation of the apse built by Pope Leo XIII. This work was commissioned by Nicholas Morettini, one of the first builders in Italy to endorse the principles of the reform. Franz Liszt, while staying in Rome, sought to meet Capocci personally and expressed great esteem and friendship. In 1899, he was received among the members of the American Guild of Organists.

Many of his works are large-scale, virtuoso works, that are more than worth looking at.

"Invocation" can be found in a book of "selected" organ works, which was published in The John Church Co. in 1901, and reprinted by Theodore Presser in 1930.

It is a continuous melody in the left hand, played against oscillations in the right. The pedal points the harmony in long sustained notes.

This is sort of like a "Bach-Gounod 'Ave Maria'", but the effect is still expressive and pleasing.

The score is attached below, as well as a photo of Fillppo Capocci and some of the Basilica of St. John Lateran, Rome.