#NST Sacred music amid pain, prayer and memory

Daniel CernutoOctober 12, 2026NoveltyNo comments

14 November 2026 · Sassari, Church of San Pietro in Silki · hours 19.00

A new appointment Note Senza tempo 2026 leads the audience into the heart of the great tradition of sacred music between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.

Saturday 14 November, in the evocative setting of Church of San Pietro in Silki in Sassari, will be the protagonist there Santa Cecilia Polyphony, historic choral formation from Sassari, directed by the Maestro Alessio Manca.

The program offers two important pages of the baroque sacred repertoire:

Emanuele D’Astorga (1680–1757)
Mother was standing

Alessandro Scarlatti (1660–1725)
Mass of the Dead

Two compositions united by a profound spiritual dimension and particular attention to the expressive power of the word, but capable of exploring different perspectives of the relationship between music, faith and feeling.

D’Astorga: the Stabat Mater and the pain of the Virgin

Lo Stabat Mater by Emanuele D'Astorga it is one of the best-known works of the composer of Sicilian origins.

The medieval text attributed to Jacopone da Todi describes the pain of the Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross and offers the composer a succession of images of intense emotional participation.

D'Astorga constructs his own interpretation through a language in which the contrapuntal dimension coexists with highly expressive writing. Pain is not represented only through the solemnity of sacred music, but it is internalized and transformed into a musical meditation on suffering.

It is precisely this ability to relate word, feeling and musical construction to make it Mother was standing one of the most significant works of the sacred repertoire of the eighteenth century.

Alessandro Scarlatti and prayer for the deceased

Next to the Mother was standing, the program proposes the The Mass of the Dead by Alessandro Scarlatti, one of the absolute protagonists of Italian musical life between the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and a central figure of the Neapolitan school.

The Mass of the Dead it belongs to the tradition of music for the liturgy of the dead and develops around one of the most profound dimensions of sacred music: the transformation of prayer into a collective experience of listening and memory.

In Scarlatti's language, the richness of polyphonic writing is not an end in itself. The different voices contribute to building a sound fabric in which the liturgical word gains weight, depth and solemnity.

The combination with D'Astorga thus creates a particularly significant path: from contemplation of the Virgin's pain to prayer for the deceased, two moments in which music becomes a tool for reflection on fragility, on loss and the spiritual dimension of existence.

The Santa Cecilia Polyphony: eighty years of musical history

This repertoire will be interpreted by Santa Cecilia Polyphony, one of the historical choral realities of Sardinia.

Founded in Sassari in 1945 by Don Gino Porcheddu, Over eighty years of activity, the Polifonica has built a presence deeply rooted in the cultural life of the city and the island.

His artistic career is characterized by a notable breadth of repertoire. Dal Gregorian chant to Renaissance polyphony, from sacred music to operatic repertoire, from the great symphonic-choral productions to the elaborations of Sardinian and Mediterranean folklore, up to modern and contemporary music: an itinerary that testifies to the desire to deal with different eras and languages.

Adult training is also accompanied by a youth section, expression of the attention that the association dedicates to the training and involvement of new generations.

Throughout its long history, the Polifonica has also brought its music beyond the Italian borders, performing in Europe and the American continent and collaborating with important protagonists of the music scene, including You Illimani, Paolo Fresu and Antonella Ruggiero.

A story that continues today through programming capable of maintaining memory and contemporaneity together.

Alessio Manca, director

The Polifonica Santa Cecilia will be led by M° Alessio Manca, violinist, choir director and teacher with over twenty years of professional activity.

Trained at the Musical Artistic Institute “G. Verdi”, he continued his studies at the Conservatory “L. Canepa” of Sassari under the guidance of Francesco Vargiu, obtaining a violin diploma in 2001. He subsequently deepened his training through masterclasses and specialization courses with musicians such as Felice Cusano, Vittorio Marchese, Franco Mezzena, Attilio Motzo and Agneska Marucha.

He has combined his violin activity with a long orchestral experience: dal 2001 in fact it collaborates with l’Concert Authority “M. De Carolis”, taking part in the lyrical and symphonic seasons of the Teatro Verdi in Sassari.

He also carried out an intense chamber music activity, tackling repertoires ranging from Baroque to Romanticism and also performing in important international halls, including the Palace of Catalan Music in Barcelona.

Choral conducting today represents a fundamental part of his artistic career. After the training gained under the guidance of M° Don Sanna, dal 2022 Missing is Musical Director of the Polifonica Santa Cecilia, taking on in 2026 also the Artistic Direction.

At the same time he carries out teaching activities such as tenured violin teacher at the Liceo Musicale “D. Azuni” of Sassari, contributing to the training of young musicians.

A concert between history and memory

The appointment of 14 November fits into the path of Note Senza tempo with a particularly significant program.

Lo Mother was standing di D’Astorga and there Mass of the Dead by Scarlatti belong to a repertoire in which the music does not simply accompany the words, but it amplifies its spiritual and affective strength.

It's music that asks to be listened to, attention and participation.

In the frame of Church of San Pietro in Silki, the voice of the Polifonica Santa Cecilia will thus return two pages in which the Italian musical tradition of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries meets universal themes: the pain, prayer, loss and memory.

A new meeting of Note Senza tempo with the great music of the past, still capable of speaking in the present tense.