I have been in this business at some level since I was in the fourth grade, when the spotlight found me center stage at St. James Catholic School in Falls Church, Va. The show was Victor Herbert’s Babes in Toylandand I was the lead toy soldier, second group on the left.
Now I’m in my mid-fifties. Over the years, the roles got better, but the thrill never changed. Recitals and oratorios have been my favorite forms of performance, because of the deeply personal level of communication with the audience: all those people who may have just come from work, maybe missed dinner, and are liable to fall asleep as soon as the lights are turned down. I love to embrace the responsibility and the joy, to escort them on a journey of reflection, beauty, pain, hope, and perhaps a few minutes of escape.
At the Assisi Music Festival the participants have an unusual opportunity to reflect on the awesome responsibility and gift musicians accept as a life’s calling, as a vocation. This peaceful medieval city invites you to inhale serious reflection and exhale exuberant joy. Artistic Director, Gregory Scime, the directors of the festival*, and the hotel staff** help the participants get as much reflection and as much exuberance as they want. Part of a typical day is spent in seminars and rehearsals dealing with performance standards, history and other aspects of the solo and choral music that participants have learned long before leaving for Italy.
As with all programs, the better prepared the individual singer is, the more these sessions will strengthen the personal investment, meaning and depth of the performances. The venues include the Basilica of St. Francis, where we sang from the high altar, just above the tomb of the saint; Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, built on top of a Roman temple to the goddess Minerva; and Santa Maria Maggiore, the Cathedral of Assisi until the time of St. Francis, also built on top of an ancient Roman temple (which itself was built on top of an ancient Etruscan temple). On a day trip to the important medieval city of Orvieto, we sang the Mozart Ave Verum in the Basilica that is closely connected, by miracle, with that article of faith. That rather simple little choral work never had such a profound impact on me.
The purpose of the festival, as described by Gregory Scime at the 2004 Classical Singer Convention, is to have singers and musicians seriously consider church work as part of their professional performance careers.
When pilgrims sought us out to say how “blessed” they felt because of our music, it was hard to give that old standby response: “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” Maybe the next time the going gets rough at my regular church job, I’ll be able to remember how very powerful music is to the soul and argue even harder for a program of true quality. If God has given us His very best, why should we think it OK to offer Him whatever we can just put together?
Sacred music is not the only performance aspect of the Assisi Music Festival. One night there was a program of mostly Broadway music. The same pilgrims taught us that all music is a blessing, for both hearer and giver. The locals loved that repertory too, since they don’t get to hear that part of American music very often.
One very hot, humid night, we sang an all-operatic program in the piazza. It’s strange singing to an audience who knows the music more intimately than the performers. (It is their national music!) We also performed Handel’s Messiah and the Vivaldi Gloria, under the strong leadership of Estelle Maria Gibbs.
In addition to vocal music, there were perhaps a dozen or more chamber music, organ, and piano concerts.
At the 2004 festival, audiences received each performance with standing ovations and cheers. The applause and bravos greeted us later in the piazza as we tried yet another flavor of gelato. (During only two weeks of the festival, I do not believe it is possible to try every flavor, but we tried!)
The concert venues are not large. Most are churches that hold only a couple of hundred people. But at every concert, the doors had to be opened so that the people crowding in the street could hear us.
The music wasn’t all from the standard repertory. Composer-in-residence Francesco Santelli has premiered several works at the festival, including his opera Il Poverello, which is based on the life of St. Francis, and an organ concerto.
The age and experience levels of the performers varied greatly. Some were college or graduate students, others seasoned professionals, many of the choristers are members of church choirs. Participants last year came from California, Tennessee, New York, New Jersey, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Japan, Northern Europe and Sicily.
There is ample opportunity for solo work, if desired. Coaches and rehearsal accompanists are of excellent quality. The festival makes sure that good pianos are available all around the city, but the reservation list does fill up quickly. Gloria Banditelli, the wonderful Italian mezzo, made herself available, beyond her scheduled master classes, to coach any singer who wanted to study Baroque performance technique.
Days were long, but the festival staff included plenty of free time to roam around Assisi or take advantage of trips to the festival at Spoleto, or for sightseeing in Capri, Orvieto, Rome and Lake Trasimeno. The daily siesta was a welcome escape from the heat and humidity. The hotel was very comfortable, with a beautiful rooftop patio. The rooms were quite large by European standards.
The hotel is beautifully situated next to the ancient Roman gate and the Basilica of St. Clare but it can be a bit noisy, especially when groups of young pilgrims take to the streets. That is also part of being in Assisi. We get loud too, especially at dinner.
The food is abundant and served family style. Special dietary restrictions do not seem to be a problem for the kitchen. In two weeks I don’t remember one main course being repeated.
The Assisi Music Festival at some level becomes intensely personal. The encounter with the sacred in this place, which has been considered holy for thousands of years, can be awe-inspiring and humbling. The power of the music can refresh artistry that may have become routine, or inject a cosmic sense of artistry in those who are beginning careers in music.
There is a sense of comfort and peace that comes with knowing your colleagues understand and share in the powerful effect Assisi offers to our lives and our music. I invite you to investigate this festival further and consider if Assisi is what your heart—and your art—yearn to experience.
*The Board of Directors/Faculty: Bobbie Boulware-accompanist, Estelle Maria Gibbs-conductor, Francesco Santelli-composer, Dr. Gloria Thurmond-theology and music. **notably “Emma.”
