Nineteenth-century organs in Peru and the special case of Innocente Foglia

Abstract

Although most of the organs found in Peru today were imported from Europe during the hundred years that followed independence and the establishment of the Republic (1821), only a few of this large and unique collection have been studied and evaluated. These instruments attest to a vibrant and varied use of the organ in ecclesiastical contexts that continues a long and consistent tradition, well documented from the beginnings of the viceregal era in 1535. Among the surviving nineteenth-century organs in Peru, those built by the Italian immigrant Innocente Foglia stand out because they appear to be the only organs constructed in Peru during this period of the Republic. All the Foglia organs known at present are in prominent churches in major cities and exhibit an amalgamation of various national styles, both Romantic and pre-Romantic. Innocente Foglia is also known to have repaired and restored many of the imported European organs in Peru. Basic biographical information about Foglia, recently discovered by this author and presented here for the first time, begins to shed light on the role of this unique figure in the history of the organ in Peru. A number of large and small organs exported to Peru from Belgium and France further enhance the view of Peru as a place where the organ was of primary importance in liturgical celebrations during much of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This author presents the previously undocumented specifications and locations of numerous organs, several of which were unknown before this study. Also, one of the three organs in Peru built by the Parisian builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll is tentatively identified as the "Santa Cruz" organ, which in the records of the Cavaille-Coil company is listed as having been shipped to Bolivia. The first English translations of several manuscripts and articles in French, Spanish, and Italian are included in this document.