The timeless Italian masterpiece “Stabat Mater” resonates loudly at the Fez Festival of World Sacred Music

Fez – The public of the 27th edition of the Fez Festival of sacred music of the world was there, Thursday at the legendary Bab Makina square, with the essential masterpiece of Italian sacred music “Stabat Mater” by the composer Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.

Performed by The Young Musicians Symphony under the leadership of maestro Paolo Olmi, in the presence of the Italian ambassador to Morocco, Armando Barucco, this musical work from the Baroque period is imbued with deep spirituality.

Accompanied, among others, by the soprano, Giorgia Costantino and the mezzosoprano, Maria Lucia Bazza, with powerful and expressive voices, the troupe captivated the audience, for a magical and memorable evening, with an anthology drawn from music European classic, particularly Italian.

The Young Musicians Symphony, who also masterfully performed other classic religious pieces of Italian music, including “Ave Maria” from the Opera Othello by Giuseppe Verdi, “Agnus Dei from the Little Messe Solennelle” by Gioachino Rossini and “For the Solemnity of the Holy Language of Saint Anthony in Padua” by Antonio Vivaldi, was able to immerse the public in an emotional and spiritual universe of these masterpieces which transcend borders and eras to celebrate the universality of sacred music.

In a statement to MAP, maestro Paolo Olmi, gave an overview of the life of Pergolesi Giovanni Battista 1710-1736 and his premature death at the age of 26, while emphasizing the songs that will be played during this concert including the famous hit “Stabat Mater”, a heartbreaking work and a poem of pain.

It is about the suffering of a mother facing the crucifixion of her son, noting that the pieces in the concert belong to the Baroque era of the 2nd part of the 18th century, he explained.

The “Stabat Mater” concert was designed by the Italian Cultural Institute of Rabat and the CIDIM (Italian National Music Committee) in collaboration with the Italian embassy in Rabat.

It was also marked by the reading of the “Stabat Mater”, a religious sequence from the 13th century by Jacopone da Todi, reading of the text in Italian by Carmela Callea, director attached to cultural affairs at the Italian Cultural Institute of Rabat, and in Arabic by the poet Nabil Meda.

Faithful to the spirit of Fez, the 27th edition of the Festival offers an eclectic program open to the cultures and spiritualities of the world bringing together renowned musicians such as the great star of Sufi music Sami Yusuf, the virtuoso flamenquist Vicente Amigo, as well as creations original musicals like Yatra-Safar which promises a spiritual journey from the palaces of Rajasthan to the gates of Andalusia or the Stabat Mater concert, led by Maestro Paolo Olmi.

The Festival also hosts the Gospel Philharmonic Experience, bringing together the great American diva Kim Burrell, accompanied by the Contemporary Orchestral Ensemble conducted by Pascal Horecka.