A mezza voce - Early Music Festival

A mezza voce: early music returns to Manduria

In the first days of January, as the holiday season draws to a close, the city of Manduria, in the province of Taranto, transforms into a small temple of early music. A mezza voce - Early Music Festival brings three evenings dedicated to 17th-century and early Italian Baroque repertoire, performed according to historical practices, to the evocative Church of the Immaculate Conception on Via Pacelli.

The festival is curated by the Ensemble Orfeo Futuro, a group of musicians with international experience in the rediscovery and philological performance of early music. Artistic direction is led by Gabriele Natilla, while the ensemble is guided by Gioacchino De Padova. The project was born from the cultural initiatives of the Municipality of Manduria and its historic churches, enhancing an artistic and architectural heritage that serves as an ideal setting for music.

A journey through voice, lute, and ancient instruments

The festival's title, A mezza voce (at half voice), evokes the intimacy and delicacy of a repertoire that favors expressive singing, melodic whispers, and the refined dialogue between voice and string instruments. Each edition explores different themes: 17th-century love cantatas and serenades, the relationship between lute and voice, the origins of Italian opera, and plucked instruments across Italy, Spain, and France.

The concerts, all free of charge, begin at 7:30 PM, turning the nave of the Church of the Immaculate Conception into a concert hall with immersive acoustics. The audience is invited to an up-close, chamber-like listening experience that captures all the nuance of a repertoire often overlooked by mainstream circuits.

An event for the cultured side of Puglia

With its essential and high-quality format, A mezza voce has established itself in just a few years as a benchmark for early music in the Salento region and throughout Puglia. It is a precious opportunity for visitors to Manduria—famous for its Primitivo wine and Messapian historic center—to discover a sophisticated cultural dimension right at the start of the year, when the event calendar is still wide open.