Faith meets culture in the name of music. Good Friday at the Sacro Monte Calvario in Domodossola continues in the wake of the events dedicated to the “Holy Week” coordinated by the Musical Chapel with the Rosminians and the parish of Calice. Tonight at the end of the traditional Via Crucis (starting at 20.30 at the foot of Calvary) there will be a concert with sacred melodies in the sanctuary of the Crucifix.
The Calvario Music Chapel under the direction of Anselmo Quartagno he will perform the “Seven last words of Christ on the Cross” in the intonation of opera 593 for choir with three mixed voices, strings and organ by Don Pietro Magri, followed by the “Stabat Mater” for solo alto, strings and basso continuo by Vivaldi with Monica Morellini lead voice.
The tradition of singing the “Seven Words” was introduced in 1831, then abandoned in the 1950s and finally reintroduced in 86 by the will of Don Emilio Comper at the time of the rector of Calvary. Dedicated to the last hours of Christ, Renato Grisoni, Claudio Cavadini and Roberto Olzer have also dedicated compositions, specifically for the Calvary of Domodossola, with the aim of “enriching and expanding the repertoire to match the “Seven Words” – explains Adriano Alberti Giani -. In the Calvary library I found examples, such as Cherubini’s Requiem, of music with pencil annotations of the texts of the “Seven Words”, a sign that we have always tried to flesh out the program ».
The “Stabat Mater” on the other hand has been maintained although it was usually foreseen to “cover” the time necessary for the kiss of the relic of the Holy Cross at the end of the procession. The kiss has been eliminated due to Covid, at least the music has been kept.