Gianmartino Maria Durighello

Published by Ed. Ente Rassegne Musicali, Loreto (Itlay)

With the Messa in onore della Madonna di Loreto, written in the summer of 1992, Gianmartino Durighello won the International competition of compo­sition organized by the Ente Rassegne of Loreto for the Seventh Centenary of the Translation of the Holy Home. The Mass was performed for the first time in Loreto (April 23rd, 1995) and it was broadcast live by Rai Uno.

«(…) 61 composers from nine nations took part in the competition organized in 1992 by the “Ente Rassegne Cappelle Musicale N. S. di Loreto” on the occasion of the 7th Centenary of the Sanctuary of the Holy Home. The selec­tion committee: Hans Bernard (Germany), Jean-Francois Duchamp (France), Mario Lanaro (Italy), Carlo E. Semini (Switzerland) awarded the 2nd prize (the only one awarded) to the Mass by the composer Gianmartino Durighello from Belluno. In the five pieces of the Comune Missae the text is given in a mono­dic and contrapunctual way, in the style of Gregorian Chant; the rhythm fol­lows the words. The music is written in a modal-politonal way. An unusual feature is that the four voices enter on vowels, obtaining one single melodic line with a range of two and a half octaves.

The Kyrie and the Agnus are very short, the Gloria and the Credo are a lit­tle longer. The Sanctus is particularly spiritual. The style is economical, the text is declaimed without any retorical repetitions. We could call it “Missa Brevis”. In my opinion it recalls the intentional sobriety of Faurè and Hindemith, but in this work there is the desire to express the liturgical text with a contemporary language(…) ».

Sante Zaccaria (Bollettino Ceciliano, n. 12,1994)