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Ars Cantica Choir PDF Print E-mail
arscantica001.jpg Founded in the year 1988 in Milano and, today, made up by professional singers, Ars Cantica Choir has given since the beginning particular attention to the repertorire of the late Reinassance and of the Baroque period, furtheremore to significant compositions of the nineteenth and twentieth century. The Chief Conductor of Ars Cantica Choir is Marco Berrini.
After having won the first prize in the choral competitions of Vittorio Veneto in 1991 and in 1996, Bresso in 1991 and Battipaglia in 1995, in August 2003 the Choir has won in Arezzo an enthusiasming series of prizes: First Overall Prize in the 51st Choral International Competition 'Guido d'Arezzo', the Grand Prize 'Città di Arezzo' assigned to the best choir during the same competition (Ars Cantica is first Italian choir that has recieved this prize in the last thirty years), and the First Overall Prize in the 20th National Choral Competition 'Guido d'Arezzo'. In July 2004, the choir has won the Second Prize ex-aequo in the16th Choral Grand Prize, competition that every year confronts the vocal ensembles that have won the five most important international choral competions.
Ars Cantica Choir has performed in several festivals and concert seasons, in Italy and abroad, such as the International W.A. Mozart Festival in Rovereto, the International Choir Forum in Alzenau (Germany), the Sagra Musicale Umbra, the series of the Settimane Bach (XV appointment) organized by the Società del Quartetto in collaboration with the City of Milan, presenting a new monographical program dedicated to J.C. Bach, the well-known series Musica e poesia in S. Maurizio (Milan) and the Settimane Musicali di Stresa e del Lago Maggiore. The choir has also performed at the Teatro Bellini in Catania, at the Teatro Due in Parma, for the Associazione Scarlatti in Napoli and for Ferrara Musica.
Ars Cantica has sung with I Virtuosi Italiani, the Orchestra Stabile di Bergamo, the Quartettone, the Orchestra of the theatre 'C. Coccia' of Novara, the Orchestra of the Teatro Comunale di Ferrara, the Orchestra delle Settimane Musicali di Stresa and the Orchestra Sinfonica Marchigiana.
In June 2003, with a concert in the Basilica di S. Ambrogio in Milano, Ars Cantica Choir has begun an important collaboration with the Orchestra dei Pomeriggi Musicali of Milan: during the concert season 2003/04, the choir has realized three productions, in particular the inaugural concert and the performance of the Messa in A flat major D 678 by Schubert (conducted by Ottavio Dantone); in the concert season 2004/05, dedicated to Mendelssohn and conducted by Aldo Ceccato, the choir has performed in the inaugural concert (Symphony no. 2) and in A midsummer night's dream; during the current concert season the choir has realized two productions: the Petite messe solemnelle (in the version for two pianos and harmonium) conducted by Marco Berrini, and La Betulia liberata by Mozart conducted by Antonello Manacorda.
Ars Cantica Choir has sung several world premières of compositions of Bettinelli, Danieli, Dipiazza, Ferrario, Zanolini and during the first Italian edition of Weihnachtsoratorium for soloists, chorus and piano of F. Nietzsche. The choir has released several recordings and CDs for the lable Sarx Records and Bottega Discantica. In September 2005 in Stresa, the choir has sung during the realization of the first performance of Les Noces by Stravinskij with the projection of the homonymous work of Oskar Schlemmer.
Enclosed in the issue of March of the magazine Classic Voice, there is Ars Cantica Choir's recording of the 18 Responsori per la Settimana Santa of Orlando di Lasso, first recording of the masterpieces of the Flemish composer.