CONCERT I Saint Francis 800: A Musical Celebration

To mark the 800th anniversary of the death of Saint Francis of Assisi, the Italian Cultural Institute of New York presents Il Canto delle Creature (The Canticle of the Creatures), an original project by Ambrogio Sparagna, featuring the soloists of the Orchestra Popolare Italiana of Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica, with the participation of poet Davide Rondoni.

Il Canto delle Creature  is a poetic and musical journey in the footsteps of Saint Francis, inspired by his Canticle. Written by the poet-saint and “jester of God” in three stages of his life and completed shortly before his death, the text offers a simple yet profound expression of his vision of the world. In this performance, created by Ambrogio Sparagna, audiences explore the Canticle and the many folk songs that echo its themes through music, song, and dance.

Songs from different lands, a blend of ancient and contemporary sounds, and the wondrous poetry of Saint Francis accompany us on this journey. His words guide us through difficult times, sustaining us with hope and beauty.

Alongside a complete musical setting of the Canticle of the Creatures, the performance features laudi—devotional songs associated with the Franciscan tradition—drawn from the medieval Laudario di Cortona. Over the centuries, the Canticle inspired a rich repertoire of Italian songs that embraced its poetic style, including the 16th-century laudi attributed to Saint Philip Neri and the 18th-century spiritual songs of Saint Alphonsus Liguori.

Sparagna has arranged some of the most significant of these works, including the filippine—songs associated with Philip Neri—such as Chi vuol salire in cielo, Vanità di vanità, and Lodate Dio, as well as songs in an old form of the Neapolitan dialect, including Viene Suonno, E ninnillo mio si tu, and Oggi è nata na nennella.

Instrumental music, voices, and traditional dances, led by Ambrogio Sparagna on the organetto (diatonic accordion) and enriched by the poetic contributions of Davide Rondoni, come together in an extraordinary concert that evokes singing forests, resonant meadows, and hearts alive with joy.

BIO

Ambrogio Sparagna studied ethnomusicology at the University of Rome with Diego Carpitella. In 1976, he founded Italy’s first school of folk music at the Circolo Gianni Bosio in Rome, and in 1984 he established the Bosio Big Band.

In 2007, he founded the Orchestra Popolare Italiana at the Auditorium Parco della Musica. Establishing a permanent orchestra dedicated to celebrating Italian folk music has enabled him to create a series of unique performances, enriched by a polyphonic choir, a children’s choir, and an ensemble of traditional dancers.

Together with director Gianfranco Pannone, he has made several films produced by the Istituto Luce. He also curated L’Italia che risuona, a RAI documentary series devoted to Italian musical traditions. He has collaborated with numerous artists, including Lucio Dalla, Gianna Nannini, Peppe Servillo, Teresa De Sio, Simone Cristicchi, Nino D’Angelo, Angelo Branduardi, Tosca, and Luca Barbarossa.

Davide Rondoni, a poet and writer, has published several poetry collections that have won some of Italy’s leading poetry prizes. His work has been translated and published in books and journals in countries around the world. He contributes to radio and television programs on poetry and writes opinion columns for several newspapers.

In 2015, he won the Andersen Prize for children’s fiction with Se tu fossi qui (San Paolo Edizioni, 2015). He also writes for the theater and has translated works by Baudelaire, Rimbaud, Péguy, Jiménez, Shakespeare, and others. He founded the Center for Contemporary Poetry at the University of Bologna and the literary journal clanDestino. He is president of MUNAF, the National Museum of Photography, and edits the I Passatori–Contrabbando di poesia series for CartaCanta.

He was appointed by Italy’s Council of Ministers as Chair of the National Committee for the Commemoration of the Eighth Centenary of the Death of Saint Francis of Assisi (2026).

Raffaello Simeoni is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and composer. He plays modern, historical, and traditional flutes, bagpipes, diatonic accordions, traditional shawms (ciaramelli), Arabic lutes, and the hurdy-gurdy.

Anna Rita Colaianni studied ethnomusicology with Diego Carpitella. A graduate in classical singing, she combines her work as an ethnomusicologist with teaching and performing. For approximately ten years, she has directed the Coro Popolare of Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica and the Polifonia Aurunca ensemble.