Rosarium – Sacred Music Concert in Pallavicino

Rosarium: Great sacred music in the heart of Pallavicino

Rosarium – Carmina Beatae Virginis Mariae is a sacred music concert held in the Maria SS. Addolorata parish church, located in the Pallavicino district of Palermo, in northwestern Sicily. The event offers a refined listening itinerary dedicated to Marian devotion, capable of transforming a suburban space into a place of profound spiritual and cultural intensity.

A journey through the mysteries of the Rosary

The concert program is conceived as an authentic spiritual journey through the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. The repertoire spans centuries of liturgical music history: starting from the essential and meditative monodies of Gregorian chant, it arrives at the complex sacred polyphonies of the Renaissance, including works by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, after whom the choir is named. The result is a broad panorama of Marian devotion in music history, where the sung word and sonic architecture engage in a dialogue with prayer.

The Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Choir

The star of the evening is the Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Choir, conducted by maestro Giosuè D'Asta, a composer and organist at the Palermo Cathedral and the Institute for the Blind. During the concert, the maestro also performs short solo interludes on the parish's Ruffatti pipe organ, recently restored and brought back to full working order by the Cimino brothers, Sicilian organ builders. The renewed sound of the instrument is one of the reasons this event was made possible.

Sacred music for the suburbs

Rosarium is part of a multi-year project aimed at bringing high-quality sacred music to the peripheral parishes of Palermo, far from the city center. In previous editions, the initiative has visited the church of San Carlo Borromeo at Pagliarelli and Maria SS. di Pompei in Bonagia, in a concrete effort to support more marginalized urban communities through the beauty of music. In Pallavicino, the concert also coincides with community life in the district, which was founded in 1717 by Abbot Pietro Pallavicino.

A listening experience in Palermo

• Evening sacred music concert in the province of Palermo, Sicily
• Repertoire ranging from Gregorian chant to Renaissance polyphony
• Performance by the Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina Choir, conducted by Giosuè D'Asta
• Interludes on the restored Ruffatti pipe organ
• Free admission, with donations encouraged to support organ maintenance