Organ Festival – Sepicciano Stage in Piedimonte Matese

The Organ Festival in the Alto Casertano

The Organ Festival is an annual event series that brings the sound of pipe organs back into the churches of the Caserta province, in Campania. Promoted by the Anna Jervolino Association – Chamber Orchestra of Caserta, the festival has no fixed venue; it travels from town to town, selecting sacred buildings that house instruments worthy of being heard. Alvignano, Castel Campagnano, Vairano Scalo, Pietramelara, Aversa, and Piedimonte Matese are the stops that have formed this musical itinerary in recent years, suspended between the slopes of the Matese mountains and the Caserta plains.

The Sepicciano Stage in Piedimonte Matese

In the Municipality of Piedimonte Matese, the event is held in the Sepicciano district, inside the Church of SS. Marcello e Michele, an 18th-century building consecrated in 1743 and seat of the local parish. It is a single evening, usually at 8:00 PM, but it has become one of the most anticipated events in the local cultural calendar: the audience sits among the naves to listen to the organ repertoire in the very space for which it was intended, without amplification or filters.

A Restored Organ Returns to Life

The heart of the event is the instrument itself. The pipe organ in the Sepicciano church, built by the Mayer firm in 1946 and restored by the Fabbrica Artigiana Organi Michelotto, was inaugurated on December 26, 2021, following extensive work made possible by donations from the faithful, the parish, and the 8xmille funds of the Italian Catholic Church. It is a remarkably large organ for a small village church:

• 23 stops of real pipes, totaling 1,648 pipes
• Oak console with two 56-note keyboards and a 30-note pedalboard
• Electric transmission
• Located in the choir loft, above the main entrance

The instrument is also made available to local youth for study and practice; the festival was born partly from this idea: to keep the organ alive all year round, not just during liturgical celebrations.

The Music

The program for each stage is curated by the guest organist and typically follows a path through classical and sacred repertoire: Baroque pieces, Italian and European composers, and transcriptions. However, there is no lack of experimentation with unusual ensembles—in 2025, for example, the Sepicciano evening featured the organ in dialogue with a saxophone. The performers are established concert artists alternating with young talents, a selection strategy that has characterized the programming of the Anna Jervolino Association for years.

A Free Festival of Music and Heritage

All Organ Festival concerts are free to attend, with the patronage of the involved municipalities and the collaboration of the Association of Historic Organs of Campania. The stated goal is twofold: to spread knowledge of organ literature and to enhance a heritage—the historic organs of Campanian churches—that might otherwise remain silent. For those visiting the Matese area, attending a concert in Sepicciano is also a way to discover a village that rarely appears on mainstream tourist itineraries.

Piedimonte Matese and Its Territory

Piedimonte Matese is the main hub of the Alto Casertano, located at the foot of the Matese massif, and preserves a remarkable ecclesiastical heritage of churches, convents, and historic palaces. The organ evening fits naturally into a day trip to the town and its surroundings, between visits to the historic center and excursions in the Matese Regional Park: music, architecture, and landscape in a single experience, in line with the festival's spirit of fostering dialogue between instruments, architecture, and territory.