The monumental historic organ of Montanaro (TO) resounds in the Concert of Santo Stefano

To mountaineer, town of Canavese about thirty kilometers from Turin, the traditional Concert Christmas on Boxing Day offers the extraordinary opportunity to hear the mighty organ of the Church of S. Maria Assunta: built for the first time in 1810 and extensively remodeled in 1872, with its 2700 rods it is still one of the most majestic instruments in the region.

The concert, edited by Ancient Organs of Canavese and of Pro Loco of Montanaro, sees the master as the protagonist Rodolfo Bellatti, who will perform a singular composition of Ottorino Respighi, Birds, in organ transcription. The piece by the Bolognese composer, also the subject of a recent recording by Bellatti, reinterprets seventeenth-century music evoking the verses of the dove, the hen, the nightingale and the cuckoo, which will arouse amazement and amusement in the audience. They complete the programme Christmas-inspired songs by different authors.

The appointment, for free entry, it's for Monday December 26, 2022 at 15.30 at the eighteenth century Church of S. Maria Assunta, part of the abbey complex of Montanaro designed by the architect Bernardo Antonio Vittone.

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Graduated in organ and harpsichord at the Paganini Conservatory of Genoa, Rodolfo Bellatti (Genoa 1973) obtained the soloist diploma at the Basel Musikhochschule in the class of Guy Bovet and the II level academic diploma in musical disciplines - organ, at the Vicenza Conservatory with Roberto Antonello. Eight times awarded in national and international competitions, he carries out concert and musicology activities. He is part of the Ensemble Baroque Rapallo music. He is the promoter of numerous initiatives to enhance the historical organs in Liguria.

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The Organ of Montanaro
In 1810 Giovanni and Giacinto Bruna were called to Montanaro to replace the organ in the church of Santa Maria Assunta. They created a monumental instrument with a large wooden case and 2400 pipes. In 1872, the organ was largely rebuilt by Giacomo Vegezzi Bossi: it underwent many modifications, while the case-choir complex was preserved. In 1896 it was Giuseppe Lingua who worked on the instrument; a hundred years later, in 1996, the restoration project started, at the behest of the Superintendency. The works were carried out by the Dell'Orto & Lanzini organ workshop of Dormelletto, in the province of Novara, and, for the case-choir loft, by the Bulgarelli firm of Turin. For 2023, a further intervention to clean the flues is being evaluated.