Pegani's Mass to St Anthony
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    I'm searching for a score of a composer named "Pegani" and the music is the Mass to St Anthony.

    I've been reading a history of my local parish, and according to the books, this was the setting of the mass sung when the new (second) church was dedicated in October 1951. I would like to track down a score for this setting of the mass due to it's historical significance to the local parish.

    The parish has a history of three churches. The first was built in 1884 and later was modified and became a pair of classrooms. This building remains, though has been ravaged through the years by unsympathetic changes (such as opening up the gothic windows to larger square ones), numerous instances of vandalisation and general neglect. The second temporary church was opened in 1951 but was really a parish hall. The new parish hall was opened in 1966 and is still in use after recent renovations. The third and final church was opened in 1976, which is the current parish church and remains in use.
  • R J StoveR J Stove
    Posts: 302
    There was a 16th-century composer and cornett-player called Bernardo Pagani (slightly different spelling, you'll note) who apparently worked in Florence and creeps into at least one general history of Italian Renaissance music; is that the same fellow?
  • Andrew_Malton
    Posts: 1,187
    Or perhaps Francesco Pagani (fl.1850 — ca.1884), composer of this "Polka for After Mass"?

    On this (Catalan!) page he is listed as composer of a "Requiem".
  • SalieriSalieri
    Posts: 3,177
    "Polka for After Mass"?


    If Fr. Z. bloged in 1910:

    Reason # 4287 for Tra le sollicitudini.
    Thanked by 1Jeffrey Quick
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    There are no other references to who Pegani was. However, it is presumable that he was an Italian, since the parish has always been full of Italian migrant Catholics.

    However, the only way to find him would be to look for a Mass to St Anthony from before c.1950.
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • hartleymartin
    Posts: 1,447
    On the issue of music before and after Mass, only in the 20th century has it become acceptable to play things like Minuets, Sarabandes and Gavottes (all secular dance music) as preludes and postludes. Before then, one had to use Voluntaries and toccatas or improvise on Gregorian melodies.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,824
    Polka after Mass! Novel idea!
  • Adam WoodAdam Wood
    Posts: 6,482
    only in the 20th century . . . Before then, one had to


    I'm skeptical about the notion that there was a time in the past when liturgical law was followed with much more widespread felicity than it is today.

    As my knowledge of the history of liturgical music expands, I become ever more aware of a trend I am provisionally dubbing "Aspirational Historiography."

    The practice of which, by the way, I do not see as a bad thing. But I think it is helpful to keep in mind that "traditional" doesn't mean "the way it used to be," but rather "the way it always was supposed to have been."
    Thanked by 1R J Stove
  • Mark P.
    Posts: 248
    I'm guessing it was a composition by a local composer. It may have been a beloved choir director/organist from the parish.
  • oldhymnsoldhymns
    Posts: 229
    I think Mark P's observation is on target. I checked about 400+ Masses (not in alphabetical order....LOL) and could not find this one, although I do have several Masses in honor of St. Anthony. In addition, I asked a mid-West organist who has a large volume of this material; and he does not have it. I also think it's doubtful that it was published by the two major American Catholic publishing houses: McLaughlin & Reilly or J. Fischer Bros. Another possibility is that it was published in Italy and someone brought it to America. I have a number of Masses that were published in Europe. I do hope you find it.
Add a Comment