‍

The text of the oratorio Apokàlypsis is an excerpt of passages from the book of the Apocalypse of St. John, the last and most mysterious of the books of the Bible; the choice of verses was made according to the indications of one of the greatest commentators of the Holy Scriptures, H.E. Msgr. Gianfranco Ravasi.
From his indications I have drawn a libretto for a modern sacred performance with two reciting voices, a man and a woman, who recite the verses in Italian, alternating and to sometimes overlapping with the music. The choir, on the other hand, intones the version in Latin, but also in French, English, German, Spanish, and in the finale in Greek, the language in which Revelation was probably spread in the early centuries of Christianity.
John's vision is all full of references to music: the 7 trumpets and harps sound, and over and over again, angelic and Elder choruses are sung, worshipping the Lamb, not to mention the natural noises of storm, thunder, flaming flames, earthquake.
How to flesh out to this gigantic sound vision? How to embody those instruments, which we have so often seen in the frescoes of Beato Angelico and Signorelli?

Various were my choices: symbolically I adopted the number seven as the rhythmic and structural building block of music. Are not seven the notes and seven the heavens, revolving around the Earth, producing the Harmony of the Spheres? Seven are also the pictures, like great frescoes, that make up the oratorio, with a prologue and an epilogue, in all 9 parts (another magic number, 3 to the second, that is the Trinity squared!).
But the most difficult thing was to choose the harmonic and melodic style of such a complex text. Renouncing to a technological Apocalypse with electronic effects and cinematographic style,(it was the most obvious solution), I chose an austere reading that evokes rather a shamanic rite, a primitive sacredness, an ancient and timeless ceremony, with elements of folklore and whose inspiration comes to me from the gigantic medieval tapestries of the Apocalypse of Angers, which I know and love from many years, woven for the great solemnities of its Cathedral.
I have chosen to take as my main themes some shamanic melodies of aboriginal origin from South America, grafting them onto an evocation of medieval contrapuntal forms (motetus, conductus, organum) and Gregorian solmization. The harmony will be harsh and dissonant based on polytonal encounters of defective scales, typical of Aboriginal music. Having to give an immediate musical reference, I would cite Darius Milhaud's Création du Monde and La mort d'un Tyran or Laborintus II by his pupil and my teacher Luciano Berio.
It will be the Band of the Italian Army to deploying its forces with forty-five instruments to wind, like a giant organ to pipes, to to which will be added four percussionists (45 + 4 = 49 that is the square of 7) who will evoke rhythms and noises, sacred and profane.
The 28-piece choir (7x 4 ) is also divided, according to the text, into 24 Elders and four Living Ones (Eagle, Ox, Angel and Lion) who make up the court in adoration of the Lamb.
The choir will from time to time be processional, dancing, echoing the reciters, rumbling and thundering,
while the purity of the white voices will fit into the angelic moments.
The Russian sculptor Yuri Kalenderev, author of a series of impressive sound sculptures to to whom I entrust an important role in percussion, will participate in the performance, at times also as a performer.
The two acting voices will share the text, the male voice in the more visionary part and the female voice in the defeat of Satan (first ending) and the descent of the Heavenly Jerusalem (second ending). Before each of the two parts, to guise of preface and interlude, H.E. Monsignor Ravasi to to whom my work is dedicated, will personally comment on the symbolic content of John's text.
Marcello Panni

Marcello Panni
Born to Rome in 1940, Marcello Panni completed his studies in piano, composition and conducting in his hometown, graduating from the Conservatory of Santa Cecilia. He later specialized in composition at the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with Goffredo Petrassi and in conducting in Manuel Rosenthal's class at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris.
He made his conducting debut in 1969 at the Venice Biennale with a concert dedicated to music by Petrassi. from then, Panni pursued parallel careers as composer and conductor.
He made his debut as a composer with such works as Prétexte for orchestra (Rome, 1964), Empedokles-Lied (from Hölderlin) for baritone and orchestra (Venice, 1965), Arpège for harp and percussion (Paris, 1967), D'Ailleurs for string quartet (London, 1967), Patience for chorus and orchestra (New York, 1968).
In 1971 he founded the Ensemble Teatro-musica. With this formation he tours all over Europe, performing and recording works by Schnebel, Cage, Pennisi, Berio, Bussotti, Clementi, Donatoni, Feldman, and performs at the Piccola Scala in Milan Klangfarbenspiel, a musical pantomime in collaboration with Piero Dorazio and Mario Ricci (1972), which is followed at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino La Partenza dell'Argonauta from Savinio, in collaboration with Memè Perlini and Antonello Aglioti (1976).
Since the late 1970s, he has been a regular guest of the main Italian musical institutions and the most important international opera houses, such as the Paris Opéra, the Metropolitan in New York, the Bolshoi in Moscow, and the Vienna Staatsoper. He conducted the premiere performance of Morton Feldman's Neither atOpera in Rome (1976), Silvano Bussotti's Cristallo di Rocca at La Scala in Milan (1983), Philip Glass's Civil Wars atOpera in Rome (1984).
From 1980 to 1984 he taught composition at Mills College in Oakland, California, holding the prestigious Milhaud Chair.
Among his most recent compositions: Trenodia, for viola and 11 strings (Rome, 1991), Missa Brevis, for children's choir, winds and percussion (Nice, 2000), Sinfonietta for orchestra from chamber (Milan, 2001), Calatafimi! for reciting voice and orchestra (Turin,2008).
Panni has composed several operas: Hanjo (1994) based on from a Modern No by Yukio Mishima, directed by Bob Wilson, commissioned by the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino; Il Giudizio di Paride, libretto by the composer from the Dialogues of Lucian of Samosata, written for theOpera in Bonn (1996), The Banquet (Talking about Love), libretto by Kenneth Koch, commissioned byOpera in Bremen (1998), revived in 2001-2002 to Rome, Genoa and Florence. In April 2005 he presented at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples Garibaldi en Sicile, commissioned by the Neapolitan theater, libretto by Kenneth Koch based on from Les Garibaldiens by Alexandre Dumas father.
In 1994, Marcello Panni was appointed artistic director of the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan and almost simultaneously, music director ofOpera in Bonn. In September 1997, he took over as music director ofOpera and the Nice Philharmonic Orchestra. From 1999-2004 he was artistic director of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana. In the fall of 2000 he leftOpera in Nice to take the post of artistic advisor at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, which he held for two seasons. In 2003 he was appointed Academician of Santa Cecilia.
Since 2007 he has resumed the artistic direction of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana.
Marcello Panni has recorded numerous discs of music of our time and a number of operas including: Pergolesi, Il Flaminio with Daniela Dessì, San Carlo Orchestra of Naples, Donizetti, La Fille du Régiment, with Edita Gruberova, Munich Radio Orchestra, Homage to Verdi, with Fabio Armiliato, Nice Philharmonic Orchestra, Rossini, Semiramide with Edita Gruberova, Bernadette Manca di Nissa, Diego Florez, Austrian Radio Orchestra.

Sonia Bergamasco

Sonia Bergamasco was born to Milan where she graduated in piano from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory and in acting from the Piccolo Teatro School directed from Giorgio Strehler. She made her debut in Harlequin servant of two masters directed from Giorgio Strehler. collaborated with Massimo Castri, Glauco Mauri, Theodoros Terzopoulos. She was the "Fatina" of the theatrical and television edition of Pinocchio, directed and performed from Carmelo Bene.
Performer and director of Days in White, a monologue based on the short story "The Thirtieth Year" by Ingeborg Bachmann, she debuted as an author in the show-concert Orfeo bambino. She created, for the 2007 edition of the International Festival of Children's Literature, the show La voce viene from molto lontano, from a short story by Antonio Skàrmeta. In 2008, she created and performed Croce e delizia, a recital-concert with video-projections that also features her as the performer of the music on the piano.
She also devotes herself to the repertoire for reciting-singing voice ranging from the romantic melologue from concerto to the repertoire for ensemble or orchestra of the 1900s and contemporary. She is Pia de Tolomei in Azio Corghi´sopera from camera Pia? (Settimane Musicali di Siena ). In 2006 she is Donna Elvira in the world premiere ofopera Il Dissoluto assolto by Azio Corghi, libretto by José Saramago (Teatro São Carlos, Lisbon and Teatro alla Scala, Milan). She is the interpreter ofopera for children Le due Regine with music by Azio Corghi (Ricordi CD recording). She is Belisa in Bruno Maderna´s Don Perlimplin for La Biennale di Venezia. She interprets Poudre d´Ophélia by Azio Corghi for the Teatro Lirico di Cagliari. For Taormina Arte she writes and performs with Fabrizio Gifuni the musical performance I kiss your hands, a semi-serious catalog of Mozart´s letters.
In cinema, after the short film D´estate by Silvio Soldini, she stars in the film L´amore probabilmente by Giuseppe Bertolucci. She is among the performers in La meglio gioventù, directed from Marco Tullio Giordana (Nastro d´argento 2004 as leading actress), De Gasperi directed by Liliana Cavani (for which she receives the 2005 Flaiano Award). Again with Liliana Cavani, in 2007, she is among the leads in the film Einstein. She is also featured in the films Musikanten and Niente è come come sembra directed by Franco Battiato, in Tutti pazzi per amore by Riccardo Milani and in the film Giulia non esce la sera directed by Giuseppe Piccioni.
In 1999 she recorded Schoenberg´s Pierrot lunaire (ARTS) and in 2005 Recitarsonando, an anthology of melologues for voice and piano (RaiTrade).

Andrea Giordana

was born to Rome on March 27; his is a brilliant artistic career that has seen him, a successful protagonist, try his hand in both theater and television, in comedy, sophisticated comedy, drama and tragedy. Among his latest theatrical works are from to mention: Bedbound by Enda Walsh, directed by V. Malosti, to Number by C. Churchill directed by V. Malosti, Zio Vanja by to. Checov, directed by S. Fantoni La lunga vita di Marianna Ucrìa by Dacia Maraini, directed by L. Pugelli, Giù dal Monte Morgan by Arthur Miller, directed by S. Fantoni and, last season, Shakespeare's Othello directed by G. Sepe. His next theatrical engagement will be in John Boynton Priestley's Inspector in the Birling House, again directed by Giancarlo Sepe.
Performer in many film and television works (in 1983 he also presented the San Remo Film Festival) we include of these only the most recent: Avvocati, six films directed by Giorgio Ferrara, Un figlio to metà, directed by Giorgio Capitani, Guerra e Pace directed by R. Dornhelm and Puccini (2009) directed by Giorgio Capitani in the role of Giulio Ricordi. He will be S.Ambrogio in the dedicated film to S.Agostino directed by C. Duguay soon to be shown on RAI1.
Among the awards bestowed on him are from remember the Maschera d'Oro, the Maschera d'Argento, three Golden Tickets, the award for Best Performance in the fiction Provincia Segreta directed by Francesco Massaro and the Flaiano award. In 1976 he participated in the Festival dei 2Mondi with Simplicissimus directed by Aldo Trionfo with whom he collaborated to long.

Band of the Army
Commander: Col.to (c/to) Marco Mastrantonio
Master Conductor: Lt. Col. Fulvio Creux
Master Deputy Conductor: Lt. Col. Antonella Bona
Every army has always needed musical ensembles in its own sphere, which performed a function both of a purely military type (leading the pace, making signals, etc...) as well as recreational (to lift the soldiers´ souls); for this reason, the bands formed in the individual departments of the various arms and specialties of the Army are certainly the oldest of the military bands, losing their origin with the very history of these departments; however, none of these bands was representative of the entire Armed Force, so in 1964 the current Army Band was founded. Its organizational structure provides for the Command, currently under Col.to(c/to) Marco Mastrantonio, which is in charge of administrative, logistical and organizational needs, and the Musical Band, currently directed by Maestro Lt. Col. Fulvio Creux, which is made up of from performers who graduated from the Conservatory and were recruited through selective national competitions. The Army Band has had at its leadership in the past, Maestros Amieto Lacerenza, Francesco Sgritta (f.f.), Marino Bartoloni and Domenico Cavallo (f.f.).
It is active both for institutional services of representation (Oaths, Ceremonies, Guards of Honor at the Quirinal Palace, reception of foreign Heads of State on official visits to Italy), and in an intense concert activity, which Pha seen present in¬numerable Italian cities, where it has played in the main squares, halls and theaters (we recall among them the Massimo of Palermo, the Bellini of Catania, the Petruzzelli of Bari, the S. Carlo in Naples, theOpera in Rome, the Fenice in Venice, the Regio in Turin and La Scala in Milan). Among its appearances abroad are those in 1965 to Nancy (France) and Arnhem (Holland), those in 1975 to Malta, Luxembourg, Mons ( Belgium), Ljubljana (Yugoslavia), those in 1991 to Salzburg (Austria), in 1992 to Tarascon (France) and again those in 2002 in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2003 to Berlin (Germany) and in 2004 to New York (USA).
Besides to these activities the Army Band performs an extensive educational function, carrying out at its Audito-rium "to. Lacerenza" lecture concerts for schools and collaborating with instrumentation and conducting classes of Conservatories and Academies. to In this regard, he has collaborated, in 2002, 2003, 2004 2005 and 2008, to the Specialization Courses dedicated to Italian band music held by M° Fulvio Creux for the students of some American Universities and for the National Band Association; in November 2003 he carried out a study meeting hosting the Wind Orchestra of the Conservatory of Salerno and, in March 2004, the students of the Conservatory of Trento; identical initiative was carried out in 2006 for the Conservatory of Rome.
Among the most significant artistic activities of recent years (i.e., those included in the programs of important opera-symphony institutions and musical associations) are the following:
- "Celebrazioni Nazionali Verdiane" (Parma, Teatro Regio, 2001 and 2007);
- "Feste Musicali" (Bologna, 2001);
- "Festival Intemazionale delle Bande Militari" (Modena, attended almost every year);
- "Concerto di Cala for the 90th birthday of Cioncarlo Menotti" (Spoleto, July 8, 2001, with other artists including Placido Domingo);

- "Spoleto Festival" (Spoleto, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2005 editions and 2002 inaugural concert);
- "International Competition II Flicorno d´oro" (Riva del Carda, 2005 Gala Concert);

- "K Festival," (Rome, Parco della Musica di Roma, 2004 and 2005, forAccademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia);
- "Settembre Musica" (Turin, Palazzo Reale, 2006);
- "GOG Symphonic Season" (Genoa, Teatro Carlo Felice, 2006);
- "Fondazione Festival Pucciniano" (Torre del Lago, 2008, at the opening of the opera season);
- "Nuora Consonanza" (Rome, 2008).
It has collaborated with internationally renowned soloists such as Jacques Mauger and Steven Mead.
It is the first and still the only Italian military ensemble to have had "guest conductors" on the podium, such as Daniele Carnevali (professor at the Conservatory of Trento), Thomas Fraschillo (director of the bands of the University of Southern Mississippi), David Gregory (former president of the National Band Association of the USA) and the Dutch composer/director Hardy Mertens. 11 its repertoire ranges from the celebratory one (marches, hymns) to the lyrical symphonic one, with particular predilection for original music for Band, deepened both in historical pages and in pieces with the most vivid actuality. to this regard it has been the first Italian military ensemble to perform in concert (since 2001) a monumental page of the original literature for band such as Berlioz´s "Grande Sinfonia funebre e triumphale". Recently it has been particularly attentive to the proposal of initiatives aimed at the better knowledge of the Italian National Anthem, which it has recorded (with the Choirs of the Accademia Filarmonica Romana and of St. Peter´s Basilica conducted from Pablo Colino) in the version faithful to Novaro´s autograph score; this version has been chosen and included, among the symbols of the Republic, under the heading "National Anthem" on the Quirinale´s website (>www.quirinale.itto>). The Army Band has to its credit the presence to numerous radio - television broadcasts and an intensive record production, recently expanded with the CDs containing the live recordings of the concerts held in 2001 and 2003 for the "Festival Intemazionale delle Bande Militari" in Modena, with the CDs "Cinecittà", "Flumen" and "The Age of Mozart" made for Edizioni Scomegna, of the CD "Bella Italia" (made with the presence as soloist of Steven Mead for Edizioni Bocchino of London), with the CD "Divagazioni musicali" published by Edizioni Eufonia and, in 2007, with a CD of music by Luigi Zaninelli recorded in a co-production with the American Universities of Southern Mississippi and dell´lllinois.

Coro Goffredo Petrassi
The Goffredo Petrassi Choir, a formation from camera of the Nuovo Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano, with its activity in the historic setting of the Evangelical Baptist Church in Via del Teatro Valle in Rome, constitutes, since 1998, a project that has been defined and characterized over time and whose objectives are research the study, the realization, independently or in collaboration with other Associations, Institutions, Bodies, Foundations to local or national character and with artists of national and international relevance, of works by authors of ancient, twentieth-century and contemporary music; the training of young and adult performers; the promotion of musical resources territory.
This activity has constituted and continues to to constitute an important point of reference for musicians and singers operating to Rome who wish to approach or deepen their knowledge and vocal practice of music from chamber, thus constituting, for the Association Nuovo Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano, an important investment in terms of artistic and human resources in the territory.
The Petrassi Choir has also become a reference for Authors, Organizations, Associations and Entities that intend to realize musical events that require peculiar interpretative skills. All this has enabled the Goffredo Petrassi Choir to achieve the objectives of the project that connotes it, namely to independently produce or participate to musical events on the city, regional and Italian territory, of national and international relevance, fostering the dissemination of unusual musical works to an audience that is not only specialized, thanks to the original character of the musical proposals and the choice of places in the history and art of the territory and the nation, and at the same time to employ musical resources of the territory or to collaborate with them, and to contribute to the dissemination of music among young people through work on the training of young performers.
Among the choir's performances are: Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle with Maestros Canino and Ballista at the pianos; the first Italian performance of Giacinto Scelsi's Canti Sacri; The Representation of Anima et di Corpo by Emilio de' Cavalieri for the Easter Festival in the Basilica of St. Paul to Rome.
In 2004 Il sole e l'altre stelle by Domenico Guaccero for the Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti; Kyrie and Three Choirs by Goffredo Petrassi, at the Parco della Musica in Rome; Five Nonsense by Goffredo Petrassi in the concert season of the University of Tor Vergata; Goffredo Petrassi's Cori Sacri, Marcello Panni's Laudate Dominum for the study conference Il Secolo di Petrassi to Latina; Bernard Cavanna's Messe un jour ordinaire for the Nuova Consonanza 41st edition festival.
With Rosamunde by Franz Schubert, the choir opened the 2005 concert season of the Orchestra di Roma e del Lazio at the Parco della musica in Rome.
During 2005, it took part in the filming of Nanni Moretti's Il caimano.
It participated, with a program of twentieth-century American (USA) music, in the closing concert of the Notti Malatestiane, as part of the Sagra Malatestiana in Rimini.
She also collaborated with the Adkins Chiti Foundation: Women in Music, producing a series of concerts to cappella (music by contemporary Italian and foreign female composers).
In 2006 she participated in the concert season of the Orchestra di Roma e del Lazio with Die Maurerfreuder Kantate K471 and Freimaurerkantate KV 623 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, under the baton of Lü Jia at the Parco della musica in Rome.
In 2007 he performed G.F.Haendel's Messiah in the concert season of the Orchestra Roma Sinfonietta at the Auditorium of the Faculty of Letters of the University of Rome Tor Vergata and in the Concert Season of the Province of Rome in the Auditorium della Conciliazione.
In 2008 he performed, in female ensemble, to Ceremony of Carols by B.Britten and Vier Gesänge by J. Brahms; in octet the Romancero Gitano by M.Castelnuovo-Tedesco, for the concert season of Roma Sinfonietta at the University of Tor Vergata.
He also inaugurated the Divinamente Roma event organized by ETI under the Artistic Direction of Pamela Villoresi, with a concert directed from Luis Bacalov in the Basilica dell'Ara Coeli in Rome.
He participated in the Easter concert organized to Rieti by the Varrone Foundation.

Piccolo Coro Romano
Founded in 2000 within the activities of the Musical Association "Alessandro Longo" directed from Anna Bellantoni. In 2000 it won the call of the Municipality of Rome, Assessorato politiche per l'Infanzia and for two years officially represented the Municipality in numerous charity initiatives, concerts and performances in the Capital and other cities. The Choir has collaborated with prestigious Musical Institutions and important conductors. Notable performances include: Marcello Panni's Missa Brevis conducted by the author for the Nuova Consonanza Festival; Alberico Vitalini's Il mistero del Corporale with the Orchestra di Roma e del Lazio at the Parco della Musica; Carmina Burana by Carl Orff with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma at Teatro Sistina, as part of the Concert Season of the University of Tor Vergata and at the San Leo Festival; Tosca by Giacomo Puccini for the Arts Academy Foundation, as part of the Circuito Lirico del Lazio; Il sole e l'altre stelle by Domenico Guaccero for the IUC. In 2004 it became "Coro di Voci bianche della Regione Lazio," and performed, among other things, Brundibar, opera in two acts for children (Terezin 1943) by Hans Krasa with the Arts Academy Teaching Orchestra under the direction of Vincenzo Di Benedetto. In 2005 he participated in the world premiere of Roger Waters'Opera Ça Ira at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome. Since 2006 it has been Piccolo Coro Romano, an integral part and internal resource of the Nuovo Coro Lirico Sinfonico Romano Association; it takes part in the recordings for Riccardo Cocciante'sopera popular Giulietta e Romeo. In 2008 it participated in the filming of the Disney production When in Rome. Since its founding, it has been permanently directed from Stefano Cucci joined since 2005 from Ornella Scocca, choirmaster, with the musical collaboration of Elisa Maiorano, vocal technique consultant, and with Teodosio Bevilacqua on piano.

Beyond the Sound
Sound Sculptures by Yuri Kalendarev

Yuri Kalendarev, born to San Pietroburgo , belongs to the generation of "non-conformist" artists, the dissidents of the 1970s.
After 30 years of working with granite, environmental art and light-projects, he now investigates the boundary between sculpture and sound. His sculptures are made so from produce massive sound pulses to low, medium and high frequencies, which generate a wide variety of deep polyphonic sounds.
Forged with hammer and fire from acoustic bronze alloys, Yuri Kalendarev's "The Sound Plates" generate vast spectrums of sound frequencies that allow countless interactions with the listener's inner being.
Redefining the concept of sculpture in pure sonic terms, Yuri Kalendarev extends his research and explores an aural experience beyond sound itself, an investigation into the space of "pure acoustics."

‍