I Concerti di Campagna

A season of early music in the Castelli Romani

For over twenty years, I Concerti di Campagna has been the flagship event of the Karl Jenkins Musical Association, an organization born in the Castelli Romani from the passion of flautist Romeo Ciuffa and a group of baroque music enthusiasts. The festival is based in Monte Compatri, a town in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, in the Lazio region, specifically within the halls of Palazzo Annibaldeschi, at via Annibaldeschi 2.

The festival's name speaks volumes about its spirit: it is not a typical urban concert season, but a series of "countryside" musical encounters in a village of the Alban Hills overlooking the Roman countryside, where intimate listening takes precedence over large concert halls and the audience sits just a few meters from the instruments.

Historical instruments, beyond the repertoire

The hallmark of I Concerti di Campagna is its focus on historical instruments. The halls of Palazzo Annibaldeschi host harpsichords, fortepianos, clavichords, court musettes, and baroque strings, often original instruments or philologically accurate replicas. In recent years, the program has expanded to include the 19th-century historical piano, with evenings dedicated to a 1860 Pleyel and an 1890 Berlin C. Bechstein, offering the audience the authentic sound for which that music was originally composed.

• Harpsichord recitals dedicated to the North German school, from Sweelinck to Bach
• Fortepiano evenings featuring Haselmann, Haydn, and Beethoven
• Italian violin music programs from the 17th and 18th centuries
• Concerts for court musette and ensemble, featuring works by Boismortier
• Four-hand recitals and complete cycles of Bach, such as the Goldberg Variations

An intimate audience and international guests

Despite its modest size, the festival regularly hosts musicians from across Europe: harpsichordists, fortepianists, and specialists in historical performance practice who choose Monte Compatri for the acoustic quality of the halls and an attentive audience that has been cultivated over the years. Alongside the concerts, the Karl Jenkins Association organizes lectures, masterclasses, and social gatherings centered on local products and wines, in line with their motto: "a world of music in the Castelli Romani."

Monte Compatri and other venues

Palazzo Annibaldeschi remains the heart of the festival, but the association's programming also reaches other locations in the Castelli Romani: the Pinacoteca of the Convento di San Silvestro and the Church of San Michele Arcangelo in Monte Compatri, Villa Falconieri and the Auditorium of the Scuderie Aldobrandini in Frascati, and the House of Cultures and Music in Velletri. It is a geography that allows you to discover the historical heritage of the Alban Hills through music.

When to go

The season is spread throughout the year, with a concentration of events between September and June and a few isolated dates in early summer. Concerts usually take place in the late afternoon, typically at 6:30 PM: a schedule that fits perfectly with a day in the Castelli Romani, combining a visit to the village of Monte Compatri, the view over the Roman countryside, and a food and wine stop before or after the concert.

Why it's worth the trip

Those looking for large-scale events will find them elsewhere; here, the value lies in proximity. Listening to a harpsichord or a fortepiano in a historic hall, just steps away from the performer, is an experience that large concert halls cannot replicate. This is why I Concerti di Campagna has become a small landmark for early music in Lazio, attracting audiences from Rome and beyond.