At the heart of the season, the Special Inner_Spaces titled “Crucifixus” in the Church of San Fedele, featuring percussionist Simone Beneventi and the Varese Chamber Choir, in a sacred representation on the theme of the cross, with vocal works from ancient and contemporary sacred repertoire, pieces for liturgical percussion instruments, and electronic transitions that weave the framework and transitions of the representational action.

The mystery of the cross of Christ is central to the Christian faith and has been and remains an object of prayer, contemplation, adoration, and meditation for believers, as well as sacred representations through various artistic languages: from paintings to sculptures, from sung hymns to liturgical dramas. The crucifixion of Christ is a historical event (he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, he died and was buried) and a theological event, a mystery that has from the beginning evoked misunderstanding, wonder, involvement, and attraction. The most appropriate words to outline the paradoxical nature of the cross were written by St. Paul: “Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, which is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” (1 Cor 1:22-23).

Moreover, the cross of Christ overturns existence into conversion and evokes tenderness, as suggested by the episodes of the good thief and the encounter with the Mother and the beloved disciple, provoking emotional participation and involvement of affections. This dimension is central in many pictorial and musical works. This is the case with the three “Crucifixus” by Antonio Lotti (1667-1740), polyphonic motets a cappella taken from three different Creeds for voices and instruments.

The words that describe the crucifixion and death of Christ, taken from the Nicene Creed (“Crucifixus etiam pro nobis sub Pontio Pilato passus et sepultus est” – he was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, he died and was buried), have inspired extraordinary pages by composers over the centuries. J.S. Bach, in his Mass in B minor, depicts human bewilderment in the face of such an event with continuous descending chromatic lines, the voices plunge into the depths of their range and then fall silent. In the Missa Solemnis, Beethoven also leads his music further down, staggering and eventually coming to a complete stop.

Antonio Lotti’s approach, chapel master at St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice, regarding the “Crucifixus” sequence of the Creed, is different and unique. He employs the dramatic element of dissonances and seconds’ delays, in a perspective of resonant friction, almost suggesting the emotional impact of the hammer’s blow on the nails and the inner cry at the painful sight of the Son of God hanging on the cross, humiliated and mocked. Additionally, harmonic progressions are widely present, creating a strong emotional coloring effect to illuminate the contemplative gaze of those who wish to linger before such a mystery.

PERFORMANCE OF THE SACRED REPRESENTATION
INTRODUCTION
The Introitus serves as the gateway to the sacred representation, entered through a symbolic ritual featuring a solo Semantron—a maple wood slab struck with two hammers. This instrument, used in Greek Orthodox liturgy, calls monks to prayer. The Semantron carries a Christological dimension: its wooden sound evokes both the Tree of the Garden of Eden, which caused Adam’s fall, and the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, who atoned for the first Adam’s disobedience. The resonances of the Semantron are reverberated and spatialized in quadraphonic sound, evoking an expansion from the church to a universal dimension.
At the end, deep gong strikes with electronic resonances announce the beginning of the first part.

PART I: PENITENTIAL PRAYER
– Miserere, Gregorio Allegri
The first part of the sacred representation, following the Introitus, prepares the listener for the theme of Christ’s cross through two penitential pieces. The first is the famous Miserere by Gregorio Allegri, composed around 1638 for two choirs and intended for the Tenebrae service of Holy Week in the Sistine Chapel. The text is Psalm 50 in its entirety—a heartfelt plea for God’s forgiveness by King David after acknowledging his sin. It is a personal prayer expressing trust in divine mercy (Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy lovingkindness), recognition of sin with a plea for purification (I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me; cleanse me from all my iniquities), and finally, a desire for inner renewal (Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me).
The composition alternates between Gregorian chant, polyphony, and a solo choir sequence featuring a motif sung by a soprano in an extremely high register.

A brief transition, with recorded choral samples diffused spatially alongside a percussion sequence using slab bells, leads to the second penitential piece.

– Triodion, Arvo Pärt
A supplicatory prayer from Orthodox liturgy, set to music by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt in 1998. The musical form follows the text’s structure, divided into three odes, each with a brief introduction and final coda. The three chants suggest a silent discourse, a whispered prayer, with rare crescendos. Each chant concludes with a litanic prayer, marked by long pauses to emphasize the words suspended in silence:

Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on us;

Most Holy Mother of God, save us;

Saint Nicholas, pray to God for us!
The climax of the entire composition arrives in the third chant with the words “that our souls may be saved.”

– Passacaglia for Tubular Bells and Electronics
Percussion and electronics return in a composition that, on one hand, continues the Triodion without voices, and on the other, introduces the second part: Crucifixus. At times, the electronics blend with the tubular bells in a three-voice chorale with expressive motion.

PART II: CRUCIFIXUS
– Crucifixus a 6, Antonio Lotti
Of Lotti’s three Crucifixus settings (mentioned in the introductory text), the six-voice version employs rich yet restrained polyphony, where each voice has a precise role without overpowering the others. The vocal writing is balanced and well-structured, with strong attention to dynamic contrast and the emotional expression of the text from the Creed: “Crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, He suffered and was buried.” Despite its relative simplicity compared to the larger versions, the music conveys the depth of sorrow and sacrifice.

– Resonance I, for Crotales and Electronics
Lotti’s three Crucifixus settings are each followed by a corresponding Resonance, echoing key elements of the vocal compositions. The transition from choral sonority to the high metallic tinkling of crotales shifts the listening perspective and participatory intensity—from bodily engagement with voices to ethereal contemplation with crotales.

– Crucifixus a 8, Antonio Lotti
In the second version of Crucifixus, the voices divide into two choirs, resulting in a richer, more majestic texture. Contrasts between sections and dissonances reflect the suffering and torment evoked by the Creed’s words. Moments of intense drama culminate in harmonically powerful resolutions.

– Resonance II, for Crotales and Electronics

– Crucifixus a 10, Antonio Lotti
The final version of Crucifixus represents the pinnacle of Lotti’s polyphonic virtuosity. The writing is even more complex, with continuous register shifts, contrasts between the two choirs, and passages where voices intertwine in imitation. Lotti conveys a sense of solemnity and grandeur, portraying Christ’s death as a universal event involving not only believers but all humanity.
The contrast between the three versions lies not only in the number of voices but also in their handling of tempo and dynamics. While the six-voice version is more meditative, the eight- and ten-voice settings explore greater stylistic variety, with moments of harmonic tension and lyrical expansiveness.

– Resonance III, for Crotales and Electronics

– Transitio II, for 5 Cowbells
A brief percussion solo anticipating the choral piece Summa by Arvo Pärt, using the soprano’s melodic framework in the E mode.

– Summa, Arvo Pärt
While Lotti’s Crucifixus settings focus on a single phrase from the Creed, Pärt’s Summa sets the entire text to music. Composed in 1978 for a cappella choir, this work fully realizes Pärt’s signature tintinnabuli style. The term (Latin for “little bells”) refers to a method where one voice follows a traditional melodic line while another moves through static chords, creating a bell-like effect. Pärt describes it as a form of “musical prayer.”
Though seemingly simple, the piece is built on a profound tension between vocal stillness and internal melodic motion. Harmonically, Pärt avoids traditional tonality, instead using narrow intervals (often thirds and fifths) to evoke stability and fullness. The vocal texture reflects an architectural structure, with melodic lines converging or diverging intentionally, creating spaces of breath that lend concentrated intensity.

– Transitio III, for 5 Cowbells and Electronics

– Christus factus est, Anton Bruckner
The second part closes with a verse from a liturgical hymn based on St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians, masterfully set by Bruckner. The hymn sheds further light on the meaning of Christ’s cross, presenting the Son of God’s incarnation as a self-emptying: “Christ Jesus, though He was in the form of God, emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in human likeness.” The central verse, set by Bruckner, establishes a threefold connection: Christ’s humiliation, His perfect obedience to God, and His death on the cross: “He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even death on a cross.”
The piece begins with two equal-duration notes on the syllables of “Christus”—He is the protagonist of the musical narrative. The key of D minor and the choir’s hushed tones immediately immerse the listener in an atmosphere of pathos and mystery. Voice by voice, rising in intensity, they sing “obediens” (obedient), the keyword of the piece, until the sopranos respond with a forte, then fade to a pianissimo on “usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis” (unto death, even death on a cross).
Just as all seems lost, the choir swells from a piano on “propter” (therefore) to a fortissimo on “exaltavit” (exalted). The Father’s love could not abandon the obedient Son; He raises Him from the dead and gives Him “the name above every name.” Theology becomes music; music becomes sound and silence, expressing both human sorrow and secret hope. [Michele Carretta]

CONCLUSION
– Nocturnal Contemplation, Simone Beneventi – Ars Discantica – Varese Chamber Choir
Adoramus te Domine, Cancionero di Montecassino

Jesus in the Garden of Olives.
The choir withdraws to the apse, leaving only the illuminated wooden cross in the presbytery. A percussion solo begins, played on muted and slightly amplified wooden instruments and a snare drum, evoking the instruments of the Passion.
The choir in the apse intones a verse of Adoramus te Domine (a four-voice hymn from the Montecassino Manuscript, S 250), while the percussionist improvises for several minutes. After a pause, they sing the second and then the third verse.
The sacred representation concludes with the final resonances of percussion.