Presentation

This year marks the 15th edition of our festival. Fifteen years offering music, not only to the people of Godella, but also to an audience whose origin is increasingly expanding to other regions, other parts of the country and even internationally thanks to the groups that have visited us from France or England. It is a festival, undoubtedly, that holds a consolidated prestige based on two basic principles: on the one hand, to offer quality music and interpretative excellence, and on the other hand, to bring this art to people in a way that feels close, so that our audience discovers the human side of the artists who participate in it, both those who already enjoy an international career and those younger who are trying to make their way in this wonderful but hard profession. We want to show that chamber music is not something elitist, but that it is a necessary heritage of Humanity, and our obligation is to bring it to the widest possible audience, especially to those who have fewer opportunities to access it.

Our goal is to make people happy, happy in as deep of a sense as chamber music offers, since it is an art form that is both physically and spiritually close and familiar. We offer an experience that, we hope, will last in the memory of our audience, and also in that of the musicians. Music has the power to discover and awaken the hidden or dormant parts of the soul, and to make us feel more human.

The thematic thread of this edition is the relationship between chamber music and dance. We have chosen the title of a beautiful piece by the German composer Carl Maria von Weber, “Invitation to dance”. In the same way that music moves the body, the movement of the human body and music interact in a whole that is capable of expressing infinite emotions. A large part of the repertoire in the history of music has its origins in the music composed for dancing, and many of these pieces have remained as concert repertoire, both in the fields of chamber music and orchestral music. Starting from this idea of works that have been written for dance, we have built much of the repertoire that will be heard at the Festival.

The first concert will begin with Weber’s piece in its original version for piano, at the hands of the great pianist Carles Marín, followed by the chamber version of a well-known waltz by J. Strauss arranged for seven instruments by Schöenberg, and ending with the South American rhythms of M. del Águila.

Once again, we will have the honor of hosting our respected master of pianists Josep María Colom, who is also a composer, offering us together with Llúcia Colom, dancer of the Coburn Theater, a music and dance show with music by Colom himself, Chopin and other composers.

For the closing concert, where all participants of the festival and the chamber course converge in the form of an orchestra, we will perform the first Suite “El rapto de las sabinas”, a recently recovered ballet, unpublished since 1785, by the Valencian composer Martín i Soler, and, as a climax, the anti-war cantata “The armed man”, by Jenkins, a symbol of reflection on the escalation of wars worldwide. The young Valencian Júlia Cruz will be our guest conductor.

Additionally, in this edition the fantastic French string quartet Quartuor Diotima will be our special guest, offering two concerts and masterclasses. Other wonderful guest musicians will join us, including Juan Carlos Garvayo (piano), Toni Garcia (double bass), Voro Bolón (cello), members of Moonwinds, and a cast of musicians who will form the ensemble of the festival.

As every year, the Young Talents Program will develop parallelly to the festival of great stars, so that young performers can join the veterans in some programs and play side by side in the final orchestra concert.

The Festival has reached a collaboration agreement with the FIM València to jointly organize the chamber music competition, so that the groups participating in the course and festival can prepare for this competition with our guest artists. The first round will be held in Godella on July 17, and the final round will take place in Manises on July 18 and 19.

Also, as every year, the Festival will have a participatory choir, an open opportunity for everyone who wishes to come on stage with us to perform “The armed man”, an experience that we promise will be intense and exciting.

The festival also organizes several outreach activities for children, as well as meetings with guest artists for the public and students to get to know better the human side of artists with international careers, a gastronomic concert bringing together the pleasures of the ear and the palate, and also a musical-cultural walk to discover the hidden secrets of Godella, guided by the local history workshop.

We invite everyone who wants to experience good music in a shared and intimate setting to come to Godella to accompany us and enjoy the wonderful music that we will perform in July 2023.

Joan Enric Lluna, festival director

March 2023