The ninth concert in the series “Like a Sun That Warms Us in the Night”—launched last year to highlight and raise awareness of the Church of the Adoration of the Sacramentine Sisters in Bergamo, located at 14 Via S. Antonino—will feature the harp, an instrument that has spanned centuries of musical history, continually transforming its musical language without, however, losing that distinctive richness of resonance that makes its sound instantly recognizable.
The event, scheduled for Sunday, October 25, at 4:00 p.m., will shine the spotlight on Flora Vedovelli, a musician who graduated with highest honors from the Trento Conservatory and went on to continue her studies at theHaute École de Musique de Genève under the guidance of Florence Sitruck and, later, Elizabeth Fontan-Binoche, the last surviving student of the great harpist and teacher Marcel Tournier. She has received awards in various competitions, including: the “2011 National Arts Award (MIUR),” the “Concours Française de la Harpe” in Limoges, the “Riviera della Versilia” International Competition (Camaiore), the “Italian Festival” International Competition, the European Music Competition, and the “Marcel Tournier” International Competition. She has performed as a soloist and with chamber and orchestral ensembles in Italy and abroad at festivals, theaters, and musical institutions (Teatro Sociale in Trento, Auditorium S. Chiara in Trento, MACRO in Rome, Barcelona, the University of Seville, Viana do Castelo—Portugal, Roquebrune, Piegon, Monopoli, Eskişehir—Turkey, Amman—Jordan, The Hague—Netherlands). She collaborates with the Orchestra of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, the International Orchestra of the “Pergine Spettacolo Aperto” Festival, the “Bohème” Orchestra, the “Zandonai” Ensemble, the “Accademia Musical de Viana do Castelo” Orchestra, the Alps Symphony Orchestra, the “Sichuan Philharmonic Orchestra,” and the “Milano Classica” Orchestra. She performs regularly in a duo with flutist Davide Baldo (Salis Duo), with whom she has won numerous international awards. Having always been interested in contemporary music and the development of new harp techniques, she collaborates regularly with composers to promote the instrument’s potential. She teaches at the “I Minipolifonici di Trento” music school and at the “G. Pascoli” High School of Human Sciences, Arts, and Music in Bolzano.
The concert program, significantly titled *Concordanze*—a word that contains three others with meaningful connections: *con-corda-danze*, or “dances with a string”—bears the subtitle *…soaring through the centuries on the tips of the fingers*… precisely because it does not follow a chronological path, but unfolds through contrasts, affinities, and references across different eras. Baroque composition engages in dialogue with contemporary influences; the intimacy of dance meets Romantic virtuosity; while the musical narrative intertwines with the evocative elements of jazz and flamenco. The result is a journey that invites listeners to experience the harp beyond its most familiar image, discovering in turn its lyrical, orchestral, percussive, and narrative voices.
Female creativity is also well represented, with the American Deborah Henson-Conant (1953)—nicknamed “the hip harpist”—featured with her *Baroque Flamenco*; the Scottish composer Sophia Dussek (1775–1831), who led a stormy and turbulent life, whose Sonata in C minor, Op. 2, No. 3 will be performed; and Pearl Chertok (1918–1981), composer of *Around the Clock Suite* (1948), one of the most original examples of the fusion between the harp tradition and the language of American jazz. Pearl Chertok helped expand the instrument’s repertoire by introducing elements drawn from swing, ragtime, and American folk music. The program also features other highlights, such as the Concerto in B-flat major, Op. 4, No. 6, by Georg Friedrich Handel (1685–1759), the Sarabande from Johann Sebastian Bach’s (1685–1750) Partita No. 1 in B minor, BWV 1002, Bedřich Smetana’s (1824–1884) symphonic poem “Vltava” (The Moldau) in an arrangement for solo harp by Hanuš Trneček, and the Fantasy in C minor, Op. 35, by Louis Spohr (1784–1859), dedicated to his wife Dorette Scheidler, a refined harpist and his companion on numerous concert tours. Further enriching the concert is *Milelauva*—a bright star in the constellation Virgo, straddling the signs of Leo and Virgo—a world premiere commissioned for the occasion from the award-winning Bergamo composer Andrea Nosari (1972) and loosely inspired by a theme by the French composer Lili Boulanger (1893–1918).
