Six hundred fifty choristers and 115 musicians have come together to accompany the Mass of Pope Leo XIV at the Porto of Rimini. With five days to go before the Pontiff’s visit, scheduled for Saturday, August 22, preparations for the musical portion of the celebration are entering their final phase, involving an ensemble unlike anything the Diocese of Rimini has ever seen.
“This is, to all effects, the largest choir ever to sing and play together for a liturgy in the Diocese of Rimini,” reads the statement. Counting technicians and volunteers involved in the organization as well, more than 800 people will take part in the musical machine set up for the celebration.
The project was launched at the request of Bishop Nicolò Anselmi, with the aim of involving as many local groups as possible. From the outset, the note explains, the wish was “not to entrust the musical animation to a single group, but to involve all the choirs of the Diocese,” creating “the image of a Church that comes together, recognizes itself, and celebrates as one.”
The initial response brought in more than 950 sign-ups. As the preparation schedule was later finalized, the number settled at the current 650 choristers. The first piece to accompany the celebration will be “Chiesa di Dio… Popolo in festa” (“Church of God… a People in Celebration”).
The voices will be directed and coordinated by Alessandro Pari, Barbara Gobbi, Filippo Maria Caramazza, Filippo Marsciani, Lorenzo Brancaleoni, Loris Tamburini, and Mattia Gherardi, while the orchestra will be led by maestro Davide Tura.
The orchestral section is drawn mainly from the EYOS Orchestra of the Einstein Lyceum in Rimini, joined by musicians from various parts of the Diocese, young people from the region’s high schools and conservatories, and a number of adults. The ensemble will have the features of a full symphony orchestra, including violins, violas, cellos, double basses, saxophones, clarinets, horns, bassoons, flutes, oboes, trumpets, trombones, percussion, and organ.
Behind the celebration lies weeks of preparatory work. Rehearsals were held at the Church of San Nicolò al Porto and, in this final stretch, also inside the Cathedral Basilica.
“Each choir has its own tone, its own experience, and its own sensibility,” says Filippo Marsciani, coordinator of the project. “But when they sing together, all these voices become a single harmony. That’s what we’re trying to achieve: not a concert, but the Church of Rimini singing.”
The choir will also bring together very different generations, with participants ranging from children under 14 to those in their eighties. The oldest chorister has just turned 85, while among the orchestra members there are also youngsters not yet 14.
The repertoire was chosen starting from the liturgy of the day, incorporating suggestions from the various choirs as well as guidance from the Holy See. “Music is not an addition to the liturgy, but a way to help the whole assembly pray. The hope is that, when the first notes sound, the emotion will give way to exactly that feeling: being part of the celebration,” Marsciani concludes.
Music will also accompany Pope Leo XIV’s appearance at the Cathedral, where the San Nicola International Choir will be present — an ecumenical choir of the Diocese founded fourteen years ago and made up of Italian, Ukrainian, and Russian singers.
“Our choir has more than thirty members, but this time we’ve spread ourselves a bit, precisely to embody the spirit of the whole diocese: five of our young singers are performing in the large diocesan choir, Federica Lisi will be a soloist in one piece, others will serve as ministers of Communion, and one of our organists will accompany the celebration,” says Marina Valmaggi, founder of the Ecumenical Choir.
In the chapel that houses the relic of Saint Nicholas, the ensemble will perform “Vjeruju – Credo,” a hymn from the Byzantine-Slavic tradition, with the solo part entrusted to Father Dimitri. The Pontiff’s entrance and departure, meanwhile, will be accompanied by the Mondaino Young Orchestra, an ensemble of about 30 musicians.
Meanwhile, preparations are also underway to ready the Cathedral for the event. The Basilica will be closed to the public from the morning of Wednesday, August 19, for setup work, and will reopen on Saturday, August 22 at 3:30 p.m., when those holding the special invitation for the meeting with Pope Leo XIV will be admitted.
With just days to go before the visit, strong demand has also been recorded for the white T-shirts produced by the Diocese as a memento of the event. “The first 1,200 shirts sold out quickly, and the subsequent reprint has now also run out,” the statement reports.
