Organ Sounds in the Duomo for Advent and Christmas

For all those who love the Duomo and the unmistakable tone of its extraordinary organ, the largest in Italy and among the first in the world, with 15,800 pipes, a new unmissable musical opportunity is coming.

For Advent and Christmas, with "Organ Sounds in the Duomo", starting from 12 November 2022 and until 7 January 2023, every Saturday, from 4.45 pm to 5.15 pm (and, in addition, Wednesday 7 December and Thursday 5 January 2023), before the Vigil Eucharistic celebration, all visitors of the Duomo of Milan will have the opportunity to listen to the majestic sound of the organ of the Cathedral.

The melodies of the Organ, thanks to maestro Alessandro La Ciacera, will blend with the architectural harmonies of the Cathedral, giving life to a real musical accompaniment to the visit, in an atmosphere of profound suggestion.

The programs of the various appointments of "Organ Sounds in the Duomo" will be published on this page.

"Organ Sounds in the Cathedral" begins on November 12 at 4.45 pm with music by Henry Purcell, Jeanne Demessieux and Léon Boëllmann.

For the occasion, the concerts will be broadcast in live streaming on the YouTube channel of the Duomo di Milano Duomo Milano Tv (also accessible from the official website www.duomomilano.it).

An opportunity to discover the complexity of this magnificent instrument, the protagonist of a complex restoration project carried out by the Veneranda Fabbrica, started in 2019 and still in progress.

Organ Sounds in the Duomo

For Advent and Christmas

Milan Duomo

Every Saturday from 12 November to 7 January 2023
and Wednesday 7 December and Thursday 5 January
at 4.45 pm

Organist
Alessandro La Ciacera

The restoration of a tech giant

Time, care, energy, passion: these are four fundamental ingredients that underlie the restoration work on the Milan Duomo. The Great Organ construction site, in particular, embraces them all. In the last year - after the forced arrest of 2020 due to the pandemic - the specialized workers of the Veneranda Fabbrica and the laboratories it relied on for the restoration of some specific parts of this musical giant, did not stop and continued with great commitment specific and targeted interventions.

After a general overhaul of the Organ, the Colzani company took care of the disassembly of the pipes of the northern part, many of which were transported to the laboratory for repairs. At the same time, the restoration of all the bellows was also carried out, using over 500 square feet of leather. The real novelty, however, concerns above all the installation of the new computerized management system of the instrument, absolutely avant-garde, which made it possible to connect a new console to the Organ, inaugurated for Christmas 2021, thus allowing to overcome the problems. of operation linked to the age of the electromechanical components.

The restoration of the mechanical part of the instrument is now substantially completed; Instead, under the eyes of all visitors, work continues on the decorative parts.

The restoration is possible thanks to the fundamental support of Intesa Sanpaolo as main sponsor, the donors of the 5x1000 to the Veneranda Fabbrica and of the fundraising campaign 15,800 notes for the Duomo, the contribution of the Municipality of Milan for the Christmas Market in Piazza del Duomo, Fondazione Bracco and Zucchetti.

Donate now for 15,800 notes for the Duomo and support the restoration of the Organ

Alessandro La Ciacera (1979) graduated in Organ and Organ Composition with highest honours at the Milan Conservatory, under the guide of Luigi Benedetti. Then, La Ciacera refined his expertise with Alessio Corti, Patrick Delabre (interpretation) and Sophie-Véronique Cauchefer-Choplin (improvisation).
Winner of various national organ competitions (Rome, 2001; Viterbo, 2002; Vanzaghello 2002), in September 2009 won the «Troisième Prix d'Interprétation» at the International Organ Competition «Organ without Borders» of Luxemburg and the first prize at the international organ competition «Città di Ovada».

He has been the second organist of the Milan Cathedral since 2005 and organist of the Milan Cathedral since 2022; in addition to that, he worked as organ teacher at Pontificio Istituto Ambrosiano di musica Sacra di Milano (2003-2013) and Scuola Diocesana di Musica e Liturgia di Como (2013-2021). In 2005 he was called to collaborate with Karlheinz Stockhausen to the final draft of the composition «Himmelfahrt», the only piece for organ written by the famous German compositor, which he performed at the Milan Cathedral for its world premiére, obtaining unanimous consensus from Italian and foreign critics. Considered one of the best improvisers of his generation, his repertoire equally ranges from (the) Baroque to the twentieth century. He realised recordings for the Italian label «Bottega Discantica» and for the Swiss label «VDE-Gallo».

For more information:
Duomo Info Point
Tel. + 39.02.72023375
info@duomomilano.it