Every Saturday at 4.45pm. Direct streaming on Duomo Milano Tv
For all those who love the Duomo and the unmistakable timbre of its extraordinary Organ, after last year’s success, the “Organ Sonorities in the Duomo” event returns to the Cathedral.
The organ, in fact, is the voice of the Duomo.
For centuries, its sonorities have filled the Cathedral’s high naves. From the very beginning of its construction, the sound of the organ has accompanied the life of the Duomo: witness to the preciousness of this history is the current instrument, composed of over 15,800 pipes, the largest in Italy and among the first in the world.
For the Advent and Christmas Season, starting on December 9th, every Saturday, from 4:45pm to 5:15pm, before the vigil Eucharistic celebration, all visitors and worshippers of the Milan Duomo will have the opportunity to listen to the majestic sound of the Cathedral Organ.
“Organ Sonorities in the Duomo” dedicates the month of December to the typical Christmas repertoire. Songs on the best-known melodies of the Christmas season will be the setting for the performance of a selection from the cycle La Nativité du Seigneur by Olivier Messiaen, a cornerstone of organ literature from the first half of the 20th century.
The melodies of the Organ, entrusted to the hands of Maestro Alessandro La Ciacera, will thus merge with the architectural harmonies of the Cathedral, creating a true musical accompaniment to the visit, in an atmosphere of profound suggestion.
The review will continue throughout the month of January.
The programmes of the various appointments of ‘Organ Sonorities in the Duomo” will be published on the website www.duomomilano.it as the events approach.
It begins on 9th December at 4.45pm with Amazing grace, a famous English Christian hymn, in the arrangement by Diane Bish (1941), Les Bergers and Les Anges from La Nativité du Seigneur by Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992) and Noël ‘Votre bonté, Grand Dieu’ by Claude Balbastre (1724-1799).
For the occasion, the review will be broadcast live streaming on the Duomo di Milano YouTube channel Duomo Milano Tv (also accessible from the official website www.duomomilano.it).
An opportunity to discover the complexity of this magnificent instrument, protagonist of a mighty restoration work carried out by the Veneranda Fabbrica, started in 2019, which is still ongoing and will not affect the listening of “Organ Sonorities in the Duomo”.
An intervention made possible thanks to the fundamental support of Intesa Sanpaolo as main sponsor, the donors of the 5×1000 to the Veneranda Fabbrica and the fundraising campaign 15,800 notes for the Duomo, as well as the contribution of the Municipality of Milan for the Christmas Market in Piazza del Duomo, Fondazione Bracco and Zucchetti.
“Organ Sonorities in the Duomo” will not be held on Saturday 6th January 2024, Epiphany of the Lord: at 4.30pm, in the Cathedral, there will in fact be a solemn festive celebration of Vespers, presided over by the Archbishop of Milan Monsignor Mario Delpini, with the Rite of Omnes Patriarchæ and the presence of the Duomo Musical Chapel.
Organ Sonorities in the Duomo
Milan Duomo
Every Saturday from 9th December 2023 at 4.45 pm
Organist: Alessandro La Ciacera
January programmes
Saturday 13 January 2024
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565
Josef Gabriel Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Cantilene (from Sonata No. 11)
Charles-Marie Widor (1844-1937)
Finale (from Sixième Symphonie, op.42 n°2)
Alessandro La Ciacera, organist of the Milan Duomo
Saturday 20 January 2024
Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)
Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy
Russian Dance
from Lo Schiaccianoci
arranged by Frederick Hohman
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Aria
from Suite in Re Maggiore BWV 1068
arranged by André Isoir
Louis Vierne (1870-1937)
Carillon de Westminster
Alessandro La Ciacera, organist of the Milan Duomo
Saturday 27 January 2024
David German (1954)
Festive Trumpet Tune
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805)
Minuetto
arranged by Edwin Lemare (1866-1934)
Edwin Lemare (1866-1934)
Fantasia on themes from Bizet’s Carmen
Alessandro La Ciacera, organist of the Milan Duom
