Honor, politics, revolt, betrayal, patriotism, family love, leaders and adversaries, blood. All of this is present in the notes of Beethoven’s Coriolanus, one of the great master’s most celebrated pieces, dedicated to the tragedy of the legendary Roman general. From the first powerful chords, the columns of any temple that hosts this music seem to tremble.
The Duomo di San Pietro Apostolo in Schio will be the temple to welcome it on Friday, July 4th at 9:00 PM, performed by the Orchestra Giovanile Regionale Filarmonia Veneta. And the reason this piece was chosen is no coincidence: it’s meant to commemorate all the victims of the Second World War, which, in Schio, saw a further trail of fratricidal bloodshed in the early days of July 1945.
Throughout history, humanity has interpreted and exorcised death through art. So, the musical program of the event will continue with the voices of the Iter Novum choir, prepared by Serena Peroni, performing the Lux Aeterna – both the Gregorian chant and the version by Canadian composer Sarah Quartel, separated by over five centuries but united by the same sentiments.
Next, we’ll hear the magnificent Requiem op. 48 by Gabriel Fauré. In 1921, three years before his death, Fauré described the piece as: “All that I could consider through religious illusion, I have put into my Requiem, which is dominated from start to finish by a very human feeling of trust in eternal rest.” The solo parts will be performed by Aline Carraro and Alberto Peretti, with Mattia Sciortino at the Mascioni organ.
And because the dead are still with us, and victims of conflicts, poverty, injustice, forced migrations, and occupations are often innocent and abandoned, the concert will shift towards contemporary music with two works by Schio-based composer Giovanni Bonato. Aylan features a viola solo (Cecilia Adele Bonato) that carries the voice of a Syrian child in the orchestra’s sea of sound. Il ritorno (The Return) sees the horn’s timbre answering the choir’s plea for peace.
A special thanks to Maestro Bonato for collaborating with me to put this musical program together, and to the cultural assessor of the Municipality of Schio, Marco Gianesini, for having the foresight to give space to music, where words might not bring as much solace.