«In ricordo di Nino Rota»

**Saturday, June 13** continues the program of “**OrgaNova**,” the international organ festival of Santa Maria del Passo, under the **artistic direction of Margherita Sciddurlo**. The appointment is **at 8:30 PM**, at the **Church of San Domenico in Mola di Bari**, with a special concert entitled “**In memory of Nino Rota**,” featuring the **Polyphonic Choir** and the **Brass Quartet** from the **Conservatorio di Monopoli**, named after the unforgettable composer who was a native of Bari by adoption.

The evening's program will be entirely dedicated to two lesser-known but particularly significant works from Rota's "artistic" repertoire: the **“Messa breve”** for male choir in four voices and organ, and the **“Sonata for Brass and Organ,”** composed in 1972.
The **“Messa breve”** represents one of the most intense moments of the composer's sacred music. From a young age, Rota showed a strong sensitivity to the transcendent and religious writing: an interest that began in childhood when the poet and philosopher Silvio Pagani gave him the libretto of the oratorio **“The Childhood of St. John the Baptist.”** In the **“Messa breve,”** some of the most refined traits of his writing emerge clearly: contrapuntal wisdom, the richness of vocal interweaving, and a use of the organ that does not merely accompany the choir, but dialogues with it in a manner that is both independent and structurally significant.

The **Polyphonic Choir of the Rota Conservatory of Monopoli**, **directed by Don Giuseppe Grassi**, will perform this work, featuring tenors Donatantonio Bianco, Giuseppe Fanelli, Davide Orofino, and Claudio Satalino, along with basses Bagus Kentus Norontako, Marco Dalessio, Riccardo De Marco, and Valerio Zito. Vincenzo Palumbo will be at the organ.

The second part of the concert will be dedicated to the **“Sonata for Brass and Organ,”** a work that showcases Rota's extraordinary ability to enhance the timbral and expressive possibilities of the instruments. Despite being absorbed in the great cinematic activity, the composer continued to devote himself intensely to chamber, orchestral, and theatrical music. The Sonata alternates slow and contemplative episodes with more energetic and resolved sections, creating a continuous sound dialogue between the organ and the brass, in a play of dynamic contrasts and timbral colors of great appeal.

The performance will be delivered by the **Brass Quartet of the Rota Conservatory**, consisting of trumpets Alessio Dimonte and Vito Mazzocca and trombones Francesco Carbonara and Gabriele Biasi, with Giuseppe Fanelli on the organ.

The event's scenography is curated by **Dario Alberto Ble**, while the coordination and realization of the program are entrusted to teachers **Celeste Cinzia Cannito**, **Domenico Di Leo**, and **Margherita Sciddurlo**.

**Admission is free, subject to seating availability, for both concerts**. OrgaNova is promoted and organized by the cultural association **“Arte & Musica,”** with the support of the Ministry of Culture, the Puglia Region, and the Municipality of Mola di Bari, in collaboration with the Pasquale Battista Foundation and with the support of the main sponsor “Levigas Luce e Gas,” along with other local sponsors. For more information: 340.376.15.50.
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