|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Above: Bossi playing the organ c. 1913.
A century ago, on February 20, 1925, the music world mourned the loss of Marco Enrico Bossi, a revered figure celebrated for his prowess as an organist, composer, and educator. His untimely death aboard a steamship returning from New York stirred profound sorrow.
At Le Havre, on the order of our government, the body was disembarked on February 28 and solemnly received; eight sailors carried the coffin in front of the entire crew and the silent, moved crowd of our compatriots residing there. The Italian flag was flown at half-mast on the ship’s main mast. By land, at the expense of the State and amidst spontaneous tributes of admiration and condolences, the coffin was transported to Como, where on October 25, 1925, it was interred in the family tomb while the notes of the Hymn of Glory rose in remembrance of the departed musician. On March 9, 1925, the figure of Marco Enrico Bossi was recalled in the Chamber of Deputies; immediately after, numerous commemorative speeches and musical events were held in Italy and abroad.[1]
Born in Salò, northern Italy, sixty-three years earlier, Bossi inherited a musical lineage and began his studies under his father’s guidance. Formal education at the Conservatories of Bologna (1871-1873) and Milan (1873-1881), under Amilcare Ponchielli († 1886) in composition and Polibio Fumagalli († 1900) in organ, shaped his early career.
Bossi’s tenure as director of music and organist at Como Cathedral from 1881 to 1890 marked the beginning of his influential leadership in sacred music. He then taught harmony and organ at the Conservatory in Naples from 1891, and in 1895 became director of the Conservatory in Venice. In 1902, he assumed the directorship of the Conservatory in Bologna, which he held until 1911. After a period of concertizing and composing from 1916 to 1922, he became director of the Conservatory in Rome.
Bossi, a prominent figure in the organ and concert scene of his time, played a fundamental role in the reform of Italian organ music alongside his friend Giovanni Tebaldini († 1952). Bossi was also a leading advocate of Cecilianism, a European movement aimed at reviving the noble traditions of sacred music. The ideals of the Cecilian Movement were largely summarized in the motu proprio Tra le sollecitudini by Pope Pius X († 1914).
Bossi’s legacy endures through compositions such as the Missa pro Sponso et Sponsa, Op. 110, commissioned for the wedding of Italy’s future King Victor Emmanuel III to Elena of Montenegro at Rome’s Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri on October 24, 1896.
It is common for renowned composers to receive commissions to write music for illustrious weddings, as was the case in 1981 when Welsh composer William Mathias († 1992) wrote Let the People Praise Thee, O God, op. 87, for the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, to Diana Spencer († 1997).
Bossi’s Missa pro Sponso et Sponsa includes the following movements:
- Gradual, for four voices and organ, with the sublime poetry of Psalm 128:3: “Uxor tua sicut vitis abundans in lateribus domus tuæ. Filii tui sicut novellæ olivarum in circuitu mensæ tuæ”, that is, “Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your home. Your children like young olive plants around your table”;
- Offertory, for five voices and organ, with lyrics from Psalm 31:15-16: “In te speravi, Domine: dixi: Tu es Deus meus: in manibus tuis tempora mea”, that is, “But I trust in you, LORD; I say, ‘You are my God. My destiny is in your hands’”;
- Communion, for six voices and organ, with text still from Psalm 128:4-6: “Ecce, sic benedicetur omnis homo, qui timet Dominum: et videas filios filiorum tuorum: pax super Israel”, that is, “Just so will the man be blessed who fears the Lord. May you see Jerusalem’s prosperity all the days of your life, and live to see your children’s children. Peace upon Israel!”;
- Wedding March “Savoia-Petrovic” for organ, a noble piece later transcribed for orchestra by Karl Müller-Berghaus († 1907) and for band by Alessandro Vessella († 1929).
The music program (Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Alleluia, Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei) was completed by Gregorian chant and works by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina († 1594).
Contemporary accounts, which also mention Giovanni Sgambati’s († 1914) Nuptial Blessing, op. 30, for organ following the communion, laud Bossi’s compositions:
At the height of Palestrinian inspiration: both the Gradual, the Offertory, and the Communion possess that marvelous ancient music, ever radiant with severe beauty, mastery of structure, typical rhythm, and color: it is not a small satisfaction to note how today we have artists of caliber who preach verbis et operibus [with words and deeds], like Bossi, who is among the most convinced, industrious, and authoritative supporters of the high work of restoring sacred music.
Similarly, Bossi’s wedding march, performed by the author himself at the end of the ceremony at Santa Maria degli Angeli, is a composition that blends sacred seriousness with charming idealism, fresh contours, and fluid conduct rarely found in this genre, where convention has often prevailed, even when authors aimed at the commendable goal of avoiding anything theatrical or worldly. Giovanni Sgambati provided musical accompaniment for the nuptial blessing, done with the elegance inherent in the powerful Roman composer: a gentle serenity pervades this brief work, demonstrating in all its details the lion’s claw, which on occasion can become une patte de velours [a velvet paw].[2]
As we commemorate the centenary of Marco Enrico Bossi’s passing, we celebrate his multifaceted contributions—organist, composer, educator—firmly rooted in the noblest traditions of music. His visionary clarity and unwavering dedication continue to inspire and resonate with audiences worldwide.
[1] F. Mompellio, Marco Enrico Bossi, Milan 1952, p. 209; our translation.
[2] I. Valetta in La vita italiana: Rivista illustrata, fasc. 12, 1896, p. 542; our translation.