Gaudete! Christus est natus!:
holy chants of feast and reverence from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance

The Nativity, central event in the Christian calendar, has always inspired the musical repertory, promoting the composition of a lot of occasion fragments, and even suggesting the creation of real musical kinds and forms of Christmas theme. Even today, visiting in the Feasts period places like Andalusia or Southern Italy, you can remark how it is felt both the anniversary of the “Noche Buena”, of the Holy Night, and how fertile it has been the tradition they inspired. A tradition which still lays the mystery of Christ birth at he centre of the event, sometimes underlining the human and material dimension, sometimes with a greater mystic and celebrating fit: in any case, with a devotion fit worthy of great events and with a corresponding inspiration. This concert touches some of these ancient forms, from Spanish villancicos, to the carols of English and Nordic tradition, to Italian songs: occasion chants, with a Christmas theme, but also an evidence of the
rich cultural plot of the ancient holy music, where reflection and manifestation, theological mystery and joyful astonishment, celebration and feast met. It is this line along, where sacred and profane find an unpublished and perfect balance, that the itinerary of this musical trip takes place: travelling over these ancient ways, which musically joined Europe in the falls of Middle Ages, we will meet other chants which are at the same time of feast and devotion, from galego-portuguese cantigas to the pilgrimage chants. All this in a continuous rotation of instrumental and vocal mixture, which aims at returning the great variety of that period festivals, which in accordance with the different contexts were able to compose the subtle harmony of four voices
accompanied by organ, as the roaring entrance of bombardons and drums foresees.