patrikpen: Light from the on Hgh in Music and Vision 24 September

Light from on High

GIUSEPPE PENNISI's first of two reports
from the Sagra Musicale Umbra

With the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, the Sagra Musicale Umbra is one of the oldest Italian music festivals. While the Maggio Musicale lost itsoriginal mission (to rediscover forgotten music and provide interesting newproductions) and also its audience ('Troubles In Florence', 7 May 2013), the Sagra (Feast) Umbra stuck to its mandate: to propose seldom heard high quality 'spiritual' music (An Outstanding Success, 25 September 2015) 'Spiritual' is not intended only as Roman Catholic or Christianmusic, but as music of religious inspiration. The Sagra lasts about a week: this seventy-first edition offered twenty concerts from 10-18 September2016. It involved not only the regional capital, Perugia, but also Castel Rigone, Panicale, Assisi, Montefalco, San Gemini, Acquasparta, Bevagna and Torgiano. Thus, the whole Umbria region has a strong feeling of belonging to the Sagra, and many communities contribute to the event. During a couple of days of this busy week, there were three concerts in three different locations of the Region.

The artistic direction makes no compromise on standard, and each Sagra has a specific theme — not just a collection of concerts by ensembles andorchestras travelling across Italy. This year the theme is Light from on high, from the verse of a Franciscan chorus: 'Light from on high fount of splendor/in thee, sweet love, is our consolation.' Every other year, there is a worldwide competition for a choral score, the 'Francesco Siciliani Award', named after the Sagra's founder. The competition is promoted by the Pontifical Council for Culture. During the last six years, over six hundred scores have been received — a clear sign that 'spiritual music' is alive and well all over the world. This year the theme of the competition was the Kyrie. Finally, an internationally known ensemble, the St Jacob'sChamber Choir, was in residence. In this report, I focus on three of the Sagra's salient moments.

Firstly, the concert held on 15 September 2016 in the Upper Basilica of Assisi with the beautiful Giotto frescoes.

The concert was entirely devoted to Mozart: Kyrie for soloists, chorus andorchestra, K 341, Misericordias Domini for chorus and orchestra K 222, and Requiem for soloists, chorus and orchestra K 626. All three pieces are in D minor. Although Giotto and Mozart are several centuries apart, the somber and severe D minor tonality made the frescoes and the music a good fit. In the pit, the Orchestra da Camera di Perugia; the soloists were Elisaveta Martirosyan, Ewa Gubańska, Emanuele D'Aguanno and Adriano Gramigni — a cast of international standing. The chorus was the St Jacob's Chamber Choir of Stockholm. Gary Graden had the baton. The Basilica was crowded and the audience enthusiastic.

Secondly, on 16 September, in the Basilica of San Pietro in Perugia, there was the choral concert and final selection for the Francesco Siciliani Award. The concert program included mostly choral pieces by Mozart,MacMillan and Pärt as well as Martin, Thompson and Barber. The international jury, chaired by Hellmuth Rulling, included Arvo Pärt (deputy chairman), Gary Graden (director of the St Jacob's Chamber Choir), Pietro Caraba (Director of Perugia Conservatory) and Alberto Batisti (Artistic Director of the Sagra). Three competing composers were finalists, and their different Kyries performed at the end of the first part of the concert: Julian Darius Revie (Canada), Carlo Alessandro Landini (Italy) and Steven Helien (Germany). Revie and Landini were awarded ex equothe jury's prize, and Helien a prize by the music reviewers attending the concert.

On 18 September, the final concert of the Sagra was held in the Teatro Morlacchi in Perugia. Under the baton of Juraj Valćuha there were one hundred and twenty musicians: the Haydn Orchestra of Trento and Bolzano, the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir directed by Martina Batić, and soloists Adriana Kohütková, Julia Gersteva, Ludovit Ludha and Paul Gay. The program included Janáček's Missa Glagolitica and Dvořák'sSymphony From the New World.

The Dvořák is very well known; Valćuha and the orchestra gave a verypassionate reading of it. The Janáček, a rather special composition, is not often performed. The key moments of the Mass are followed in thelibretto, but on the one hand, the score emphasizes Moravian roots and traditions, and on the other, the love story between the composer and Kamila Stösslová underlinks the religious celebration. Juraj Valćuha, the soloists, chorus and orchestra gave a very chiseled reading full ofattention to details. The audience was enthralled.