When music manages to exceed the best expectations. Yesterday evening, in the church of the Badia, the polyphonic choir and the wind ensemble Cantus Novo, directed by maestro Giovanni Giaquinta, celebrated much more than ten years of activity. They have demonstrated that they are a highly matured artistic team that has set out along a path that can only provide further satisfaction. A celebration, yes, even if marred by the tragic accident that occurred to Gianni Criscione and Giusy Polizzi, whose memory will not fade in the musical world, so much so that yesterday’s concert was dedicated to them. An appointment that kicked off with a video that retraced the most important and evocative stages of this journey.
Then, space for music and singing with maestro Giaquinta who, once again, demonstrated his flexibility, proposing some of the strong pieces from the choir’s repertoire which did not fail to elicit open applause from the large audience present. The circular shape of the Badia church in Corso Italia greatly favored the acoustics of sounds and voices, so much so that an extraordinary performance emerged, capable of captivating those present. Both when, at the beginning, leading songs such as those composed by John Rutter and Karl Jenkins were proposed, and when it was possible to listen to the Canto della terra by Francesco Sartori and Lucio Quarantotto, a true ecological manifesto in music, to put in the choir’s commitment to social issues as well as those linked to solidarity is notable. Another much appreciated moment was the performance of the final song of the mass “Cantate dominum” with the songs written and set to music by Maestro Giaquinta himself. Then space is given to some pages of the classic composers of Italian music, from Bellini to Verdi, up to paying attention to the great successes of Italian song with a Pooh medley and the evergreen “Volare” by Domenico Modugno.
In short, a complete repertoire proposed to remember the numerous people who have been part of the large Cantus Novo family in this decade. At the end, standing ovation for maestro Giaquinta, the orchestral members and the choir members, including the solo voices Loredana Toro soprano and Claudio Ivaldi tenor. The president of the Pia Felicia Schininà opera, Franco Antoci, was thanked for having made the church of the college of Maria Ss. Addolorata, familiarly known as Badia, available, and then applause for the young talents of the orchestral ensemble: Ester Ansaldi , Ludovica Tidona and Aicha Hammami on clarinet, Jamaica Fidone on flute, Salvatore Licata on bass clarinet, Giovanni Corallo and Cristian Stracquadanio on alto sax, Giuseppe Tidona on horn, Alessio Puglisi on cello, Egle Emolo on percussion. Together with them the professionals Danilo Ferro on the piano, Giuseppe Mallia on the flute and Lorenzo Emmolo on the tenor sax. Thanks also to the members of the board, the vice president Carmelo La Porta and the secretary treasurer, Loredana Toro. Thanks also to the sound engineer Gianluca Abbate. At the end, maestro Giaquinta thanked the many people present and made an appointment for the next Cantus Novo initiatives.
