The musical atmospheres of the Masters of the Baltic regions – from Arvo Pärt to Šenderovas, to Vasks – mixed with compositions of our time, including a commissioned score at its debut in absolute preview, will be at the center of the next concert of the International Festival of Sacred Music of Pordenone, now in its 31st edition, as always promoted by Presence and Culture with the Pordenone Cultural Initiative Center and the Antonio Zanussi Student House in Pordenone, under the artistic direction of Maestros Franco Calabretto and Eddi De Nadai.
The appointment is Saturday 19 November in the Co-Cathedral Church of San Marco (8.45 pm), on stage the public will witness the debut of a production concert called to ideally unite the cities of Pordenone and Vilnius, Lithuania. The program will therefore range in a suggestive look between original sonorities and contemporary reinterpretations of spirituality in music, delivered to the vocality of the Vilnius Municipality Choir, and to the interpretation of soloists Dalia Dėdinskaitė violin, and Gleb Pyšniak cello, directed by Maestro Vaclovas Augustinas.
Among the novelties, as anticipated, the commission entrusted to the young Friulian composer Marianna Acito stands out L’urlo del figli (2022) in world premiere performance for double choir, on a poem by Father David Maria Turoldo. Another world premiere will be Jurgis Juozapaitis’s Ave Maria for violin, cello and choir. Dialogues by Anatolijus Šenderovas, Da pacem, Domine by Arvo Pärt, Serenity by Ola Gjeilo, Svyati / O Holy One by John Tavener, Plainscapes by Peteris Vasks and finally Melodija by Myroslav Skoryk for violin, cello and choir, dedicated to the nation Ukraine.
“The concert – explain the artistic directors Franco Calabretto and Eddi De Nadai – will then be repeated in the Lithuanian capital, a tangible sign of an effective and significant partnership, in the name of promoting young talents and new music”.
The Vilnius Municipal Choir, Jauna Muzika is one of the most renowned and versatile choral ensembles in Lithuania. It was founded in 1989 on the initiative of conductor and composer Remigijus Merkelys and first conductor Algimantas Gurevičius. Since 1992 the artistic director is the composer Vaclovas Augustinas. Its members are students and graduates of the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Drama.
The choir’s repertoire includes music from all periods, including a cappella, vocal – instrumental works as well as by contemporary, foreign and Lithuanian composers.
Dalia Dėdinskaitė, winner of national and international competitions, is one of the most promising young Lithuanian violinists. After winning first prize at the international competition “Violine in Dresden” in Germany in 2010, she was invited to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto at the prestigious “Dresdner Musikfestspiele 2012” Festival. Since 2020 she is the concertmaster of the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra.
Already at the age of 14, cellist Gleb Pyšniak made his solo debut with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra. A student of legendary cellist Natalia Gutman, he has performed in the most famous concert halls around the world. Winner of important national and international competitions, he was awarded an award for the promotion of Lithuania abroad, received from the hands of the President of the Republic of Lithuania Valdas Adamkus himself. Since 2018 he has been the cellist of the “Čiurlionis” string quartet of the Lithuanian National Philharmonic.
Vaclovas Augustinas is a versatile celebrity and works successfully in various fields of music. He obtained two degrees from the Lithuanian Academy of Music, in choral conducting in 1981 and in composition in 1992. From 1980 to 1992 he taught at the Ąžuoliukas Conservatory. Since 1992 he has been Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Jauna Muzika Choir.
In 2010 Vaclovas Augustinas was awarded the Lithuanian National Culture and Art Prize for the development of choral power and modernity of sacred music.
Admission is free and open to the city. Information on www.musicapordenone.it The 31st edition of the Festival of International Sacred Music, on the bill until 17 December, is organized with the support of the MIC-Ministry of Culture, of the Department of Culture of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, of Promoturismo Fvg, the Municipality of Pordenone and the Friuli Foundation. Permanently included in the Italiafestival circuit – the Agis national network of the most important Italian festivals – the Pordenone International Festival of Sacred Music is supported by the Friuli Foundation, Bcc Pordenonese Monsile, Electrolux and DForm, and takes place in partnership with the Concordia Sette Foundation and the Diocese Concordia Pordenone.