How the choir developed
The choir’s development is perhaps clearer from the history of our non-liturgical performances than from any recitation of our liturgical support. While the latter, until recently under our founder director, are the leitmotiv, the former, exhibiting a rich and extremely varied repertoire, show how far we have come.
To summarize (drawing on a thirtieth anniversary written by our founder Giuseppe Gai) here are some of these moments with which we hope to have marked “the social, cultural and religious life of Asti”. Although we do not list the programs in detail, the “Concerts” page shows some of the posters.
1974 – December - First concert for the choir directed by Maestro Giuseppe Gai.
1975 – May - First concert in the Alfieri Theater
1976 – December - Christmas concert accompanied for the first time by violins and cello
1977 – May - Exhibition in Rome during a convention
1978 – December - Christmas concert of popular songs
1979 – April – Rome concert celebrating the centenary of the foundation of the Oblates
1979 and 1980 – December - Christmas concerts: Medieval and Renaissance Lauds with a group of flutes
1981 – May - Concert at the Piccolo Regio in Turin as part of a choir festival
1981 – December - Christmas concert with music by Calderara with orchestral accompaniment
1982 – May - First reprise of Calderara concerts
1982 – July - The choir wins the "Castagna d'or" culture prize in Castagnole Monferrato for its contribution to the
rediscovery of Calderara’s music
1982 – First official constitution
1983 – May – Our first concert season
1983 – September – Trip to Biberach – Asti’s twin town in Germany
1985 – May - Second concert season
1986 – June - Second Calderara concert
1988 – April - Concert for the centenary of the death of Don Bosco
1989 – August - Concert for the centanniversary of Cardinal Guglielmo Massaja
1993 – September - Celebration in Piazza del Palio with other choirs from the diocese, in front of Pope John Paul II
1994 – 1995 - Mozart's Great C minor Mass K427 with the choirs of Valence (France) and Biberach (Germany) – sung in Italy, France and Germany
1999 – December - Christmas of Christmas carols accompanied by the Italian Quintetto d'Ottoni
2000 – September - Rome trip to support the Interuniversity choir for the Universities’ Jubilee
2003 – October - Bicentenary Calderara concert
2013 – December – Christmas Concert: Duke Ellington's Sacred Concert.
2014 – Maestro Mario Dellapiana takes over as choir director
2017 – April - Concert of unpublished Piedmontese Baroque music
2018 – February - The Choir founds its own website
2019 – October - The Choir website has an English version (ie this)
2019 - September - Concert with the Kyrie-Gloria of Brusasco and animation of an interreligious ceremony in St. Martin in Biberach (D)
2019 - December - Missa Santa Cecilia by Jacob de Haan, conducted by the author in San Secondo, together with the Cotti Band and the Officina Vocis Choir.
2020 - The activities of the Corale are suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
2021 - The activities of the Choral have resumed, even if we are not yet at normal, with the performance of the Missa San Cecilia in concert in Agliè, with maestro de Haan, and the Christmas Concert in San Secondo.
2022 - The choir's website becomes multilingual by adding a French version.