Gaudete! International Early Music Festival

Gaudete!, early music crossing the Vercelli region

The Gaudete! International Early Music Festival is one of the Piedmontese events most cherished by lovers of early, Baroque, and Renaissance music. Created to enhance the musical and architectural heritage of upper Piedmont, the festival has a travelling nature: each concert is held in a different location, including churches, basilicas, and historic sites across Valsesia and the province of Vercelli, sometimes reaching into neighboring provinces. In 2026, the event celebrates its 17th edition.

The festival in Albano Vercellese

Among the stops on the tour, the small town of Albano Vercellese, in Piedmont, hosts one of the most refined events at the Church of Maria Vergine Assunta. Here, the festival presents the concert Exaudi vocem meam: instrumental voices of light and shadow, performed by the Alta Amici ensemble, a group specializing in historical 'alta cappella' wind instruments. The program weaves together ancient sounds and rare timbres, designed to highlight the acoustics and intimate atmosphere of the sacred building.

A widespread regional program

The 2026 edition of Gaudete! features numerous concerts spread throughout spring and summer, touching various towns in the region. Highlights include:

• Albano Vercellese — concert by the Alta Amici ensemble at the Church of Maria Vergine Assunta;
• Lozzolo — at the Church of San Giorgio, a program dedicated to the journey "from Baroque courts to the virtuosity of the Romantic cornet," with Michele Santi on historical trumpets and Marco Arlotti on the organ;
• Scopa — at the Church of San Bartolomeo, the recital "The piano of the first Italians" with Massimiliano Génot on a historical Ronisch piano.

The artistic direction is entrusted to Mara Colombo, while the organization is managed by the Triacamusicale Association based in Varallo, supported by the patronage of local entities including the Fondazione Valsesia.

Early music and heritage

More than just a concert season, Gaudete! is a cultural project that combines the rediscovery of ancient repertoire with the promotion of local sites: each concert becomes an opportunity to visit churches and sites of great historical and artistic interest in the province of Vercelli and Valsesia. The focus on outreach, inclusivity, and interpretative quality makes the festival a landmark event in the early music scene of Northern Italy.