Cappella Musicale della Basilica Papale di San Francesco
Assisi
The Chapel Choir goes back to fra Giuliano da Spira, who in 1230 was appointed to write a rhythmic divine office in honour of St. Francis and was probably the first choir master of the brand new Basilica.
In the Middle Ages, the Basilica was a centre of remarkable importance for the execution and creation of sacred music. Throughout its long history, famous names succeeded one another: fra’ Ruffino Bartolucci d’Assisi, who introduced the practice of the so-called beating or broken choir; fra’ Girolamo Deruta, author of “Transilvano”, the first and foremost theoretical opera on the art of the musical keyboard (1593); padre Alessandro Borroni and padre Domenico Stella. These and many others contributed through the centuries in enriching and producing music, all of which is preserved in the Library of the Sacro Convento.
The activity of the Chapel Choir is still going on today thanks to the commitment of young singers who offer visitors to the Sanctuary a precious execution of sacred music, with the clear intent of animating the liturgy and of collaborating with different instrumental groups. The repertoire goes from well-known classical components to unedited pages preserved in the archive, as well as new compositions which contribute to provide this prestigious Basilica in Assisi with splendour.
Among the several commitments and concerts which the Chapel Choir held throughout Italy and abroad (Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Malta, Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Turkey), worth mentioning is the invitation from the Holy See to offer the liturgical services in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome before His Holiness Pope John Paul II for the Jubilee for Artists in the year 2000. The extraordinary concert held for the 750th anniversary of the dedication of the Basilica of St. Francis under the direction of M° Keri-Lynn Wilson is also a fond memory.
The Chapel Choir has been accompanied by Orchestras such as “I Solisti di Perugia”, the Municipal Orchestra of Leopoli (Ukraine), the Regional Symphony Orchestra of Molise, the International Orchestra of Italy, the Haydn Orchestra of Bolzano and Trento, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Bologna and the National Symphony Orchestra of the RAI, in collaboration with masters such as Franz Albanese, Brian Schembri, Sergej Krilov, Ola Rudner, Keri-Lynn Wilson, Steven Mercurio.
It participated with Lucio Dalla in the show written by the singer-songwriter on the poems of Alda Merini “Song of a creature” and in 2010 performed the “Christmas Concert” broadcasted by RAI in Worldvision from the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi. The Chapel Choir participated at the fund- raiser broadcasted on RAIUNO and conducted by Carlo Conti “Con il cuore” and took part in the meeting for dialogue between believers and non-believers “Il Cortile dei Gentili”, organised by the Pontifical Council of Culture presided by Card. Gianfranco Ravasi: with special guest the President of the Republic Giorgio Napolitano.
It is currently directed by Father Peter Hrdy.