Franco Battiato left us on May 18, 2021, but his music continues to resonate in the celestial spheres of which he became the spokesperson through an incessant musical and philosophical research. One year after his death, Ravenna Festival pays the Sicilian composer the homage that is closest to his sensibility.
This is why the Archaic Mass will be performed at the Pala De André, Saturday 2 July at 9 pm, an original production of Ravenna Festival and Malatesta Music Festival, which gives life to the great project of sacred music composed for the Basilica del Santo in Assisi in 1993 and re-proposed at the Greek-Roman Theater of Catania in 2017, in the last public appearance of Battiato. To interpret this composition, which explores a spirituality that cannot be circumscribed to the religious context, theBruno Maderna Orchestra conducted by Guido Corti and the Choir of the Cathedral of Siena “Chigi Saracini” under the guidance of Lorenzo Donati. With them the voices of Juri Camisasca (who will take the place of Battiato, first interpreter of the Mass) and of Cristina Baggio, both close to the singer-songwriter, who loved to repeat to his friends: “I’m not a Catholic but neither a Muslim, a Buddhist, or a Hindu. I have my own spirituality, my own quest for ascesis. I am a religious man. I don’t have a parish, I don’t like labels ”.
It is with this spirit that they were born the “Mystical Songs”, immortal titles such as “The shadow of light”, “And I come to look for you”, “The animal”, “The cure”, which in the second part of the evening will see exceptional performers, all united by friendship and sharing projects with Battiato. It is the case of Carlo Guaitoli, Cristina Baggio, Simone Cristicchi (who will sing four songs by Battiato), Juri Camisasca (“The sacred symphonies of the time”) e Alice, the charismatic voice that most of all has been able to interpret Battiato’s thought, ranging in an immense repertoire, from classic to pop. She will have the honor of closing the concert with “La cura”. The event is made possible by the support of Assicoop Romagna Futura and UnipolSai Assicurazioni.
In Franco Battiato’s multifaceted musical research, the arc between 1987 and 1994 can be defined as the “mystical period”. In fact, the composition of three operas (Genesis, Gilgamesh and Frederick II – The Knight of the intellect) and many songs steeped in spirituality is from these years. The beginning of this phase coincides with Battiato’s return to his Sicily, which he had left 22 years earlier to reach Milan. The apex of the mystical period is the “Archaic Mass” commissioned by the Umbrian Music Festival. «It cost me immense effort, at certain moments I felt drained», declared the composer. But in the end the work was carried out on 23 October 1993 in the Church of San Bernardino all’Aquila and repeated the following day in the Upper Basilica of the Saint in Assisi. The Mass follows the canonical subdivision of the Ordinarium (Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei) and is conceived for two solo voices, choir and orchestra. Why “archaic”? Battiato explains it: «It is the compositional path that is archaic. I wanted to restore a primal meaning to the text ». Musically, the Mass is dressed in essential and rarefied sounds. It is a composition that helps to approach the inner silence, one of the lost horizons of our times. While not reaching the dimension of “prayer”, in the so-called “mystical” songs the Sicilian musician is strongly inspired by the spiritual journey. He himself maintained that inspiration came to him from other dimensions and that therefore his role was limited to being the link between the supersensible and the earthly. Among other things, immortal compositions belong to this vein, such as The ocean of silence (“What would I have seen of the world / without this light that illuminates / my black thoughts”), And I come to look for you (“Emancipating myself from the nightmare of passions / seeking the one above Good and Evil “), Praise to the inviolate (” We have been through storms / and how many ancient and hard trials / and clear help from an invisible caress / of a keeper ” ) and The cure (“We will walk together the paths that lead to the Essence”).
Singer-songwriter and icon painter, Juri Camisasca made his debut in 1974 with The window inside, a visionary album produced by Franco Battiato and Pino Massara. A few years later he decides to take vows and become a Benedictine monk, retiring to monastic life for 11 years. He leaves the monastery, temporarily, in 1987 to participate in some performances of the opera Genesi by Franco Battiato, in which he is a cantor and reciting voice. Subsequently he leaves the monastery to retire to the slopes of Etna. In 1988 he released Te Deum, an album of sacred songs arranged electronically. In 1999, after years of silence, he released a new album of unreleased tracks, Arcano enigma, produced by Franco Battiato, played with Bluvertigo. In 2018, the director Francesco Paolo Paladino realizes the docufilm Do not look for you outside dedicated to his figure and to the thought of him.
Winner of the 1981 Sanremo Festival with the song Per Elisa, Alice (aka Carla Bissi) made her debut as a singer-songwriter in 1980 with Capo Nord, from which the single The hot wind of summer is taken. She is one of the most eclectic and interesting voice on the Italian scene, in 1984 she interprets the Tozeur Trains with Franco Battiato. In 1985 she won the Tenco Award as best female interpreter with Rubati Jewels. In Mélodie passagère (1988) she sings Satie, Fauré and Ravel. In 2000 she participated again in the Sanremo Festival with Il Giorno dell’Indipendenza from the Personal Juke-box album. In 2012 Samsara appears, unreleased album with Born yesterday, single written for Alice by Tiziano Ferro. In 2016 she takes part in the long tour “Battiato / Alice” and in 2018 she accompanies Ron to Sanremo, duet on the piece by Lucio Dalla Almeno pensami.
Singer-songwriter, actor, designer and writer, Simone Cristicchi was born in Rome in 1977. Since 2005, when he presents I want to sing as Biagio, ironic “j’accuse” to the record industry, the consensus of the public and critics opens up. In 2007 he won the Sanremo Festival with I’ll give you a rose, a moving cross-section of the microcosm of madness. He is the author of several highly successful books, such as Mental Health Center – A storyteller among the mad, released by Oscar Mondadori. He has sold out theatricals for My grandfather died in the war, which receives the applause of the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano, and for Magazzino 18, which was attended by over 140,000 spectators. At the Sanremo Festival in 2019, the song Take care of me received a spontaneous standing ovation and the recognition of two Critics’ Awards.
Cristina Baggio’s voice ranges in a repertoire ranging from the eighteenth century to the contemporary. In September 2021 you participated in the Franco Battiato tribute “Invitation to Travel” at the Verona Arena. She has performed in the main Italian theaters (San Carlo di Napoli, Scala di Milano, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Fenice di Venezia) and abroad, collaborating with conductors such as Ottavio Dantone, Jeffrey Tate, Claudio Abbado, Gianandrea Noseda and directors like Pierluigi Pizzi, Daniele Abbado and Mario Martone.
Info and pre-sales: 0544 249244 – www.ravennafestival.org / Tickets: from 12 to 35 Euros (reduced from 10 to 32 Euros), under 18 5 Euros / The appointment will be on ravennafestival.live from 4th September
For this event there is a free transport service from the railway station to the Pala and back (two rides: 8.15 pm and 8.30 pm). There are also, subject to availability, last minute tickets at a reduced rate (10 Euros, 5 Euros for under 30s), which can be purchased at the venue one hour before the event.