"La Musica nelle Cattedrali" con Juan Paradell Solé

**Monday, December 8**, **at 8 PM**, in the **Church of Santa Maria Veterana in Triggiano**, the 16th edition of the **International Organ Festival of Santa Maria del Passo**—directed by **Margherita Sciddurlo**—hosts a concert by the **famous Spanish organist Juan Paradell Solé** (Emeritus Organist of the Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff and the Sistine Chapel Music in the Vatican), **together with the reciting voice of the eclectic artist Daniela Apolloni**.

The program of the evening—titled "**The Music in Cathedrals**"—is constructed as a cohesive path, where the voice of the organ and that of the word respond to each other in a continuous dialogue, designed as a single sound and poetic architecture. It combines the solemnity of grand organs with the allure of contemporary poetry.

It begins with a strong identity root, with Jesús Guridi's "**Variations on a Basque Theme**," a piece imbued with folk song and modal color, capable of evoking an archaic, earthly spirituality deeply linked to the landscape and collective memory. From here, the transition to Gabriel Pierné's "**Prelude**" opens up to a more intimate and impressionistic writing, where the organ becomes an instrument of chiaroscuro and lyrical suspensions.

In this atmosphere, the text "**Hawthorns in Stone Cathedrals**" by Anna Guzzi is embedded: a poetic meditation on the sacred, on fragility and the light filtering between stones, which finds in the echo of the organ a natural emotional extension. The word becomes resonance, and the organ, in turn, seems to breathe with the verse.

With Marco Enrico Bossi's "**Chant du soir**" op. 92 no. 1, one of the most authoritative voices of the Italian organ between the 19th and 20th centuries, the music assumes a character of sweet evening contemplation, almost a prayer without words. Following, the texts "**Cathedrals and Bell Towers**" by the Bari poet Paolo Polvani bring the discourse back to the symbolic value of sacred architecture, understood as a living presence in the city, a visible sign of the dialogue between heaven and earth.

The journey continues with two pieces by Eduardo Torres, "**In the Old Style**" and "**Impression Teresiana**," which explicitly look to the past, reworking it with a 20th-century sensibility: a glance at mystical spirituality and the Iberian tradition, reflected in the purity of organ chants. In contrast, John Rutter's "**Toccata in Seven**" introduces a rhythmic, luminous writing, played on asymmetries and vital impulses, almost a moment of pulsating energy in the heart of the program.

Reading Théophile Gautier's poem "**Notre Dame**" then brings the listener back to the territory of the great European cathedral, evoked as a living organism, space of memory, art, and faith. It is an ideal bridge towards the finale entrusted to Louis Vierne, organist of Notre-Dame in Paris, with the intimate delicacy of the "**Berceuse**" and the solemn glitter of the famous "**Carillon de Longpont**," where the sound of bells becomes musical material, a symbol of call, celebration, and meditation.

In this harmonic alternation of music and words, the concert presents itself as an immersive experience, capable of returning to the public not only the tonal richness of the organ but also the profound connection between sound, poetry, and sacred space, in the sign of a shared and timeless spirituality.

Admission is free, subject to availability. The International Organ Festival of Santa Maria del Passo is promoted by the cultural association "Arte & Musica" and supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Regional Council of Puglia, and the Municipality of Mola di Bari, in partnership with the Pasquale Battista Foundation and supported by the main sponsor Levigas Luce e Gas. For information: 340.376.15.50.
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