Festival 2024. 

XVI edition. 

Gathering together a town and beyond around music is one of the celebrations that dignifies mankind in the most positive and profound way. Music has no borders, it is a universal language; it is the most abstract art form, the most volatile and, nonetheless, the one which most reaches the soul. This is how philosophers of the Romantic period described the role of music. I share this and I am sure that most of you will as well. Some of them added that music is the only thing that can save humankind. 

We have been gathering around music for 16 years in Godella. We have found that not only the locals attend these gatherings, but people from far and wide come to enjoy the most intimate way of music making – chamber music. We are most grateful to feel this support, it is what gives us the strength to continue despite all of the economic and administrative difficulties which we encounter year on year. 

‘Nature’ is the unifying thread of this edition. A theme which was suggested by a share of the members and friends of the Festival and that we adopt with pleasure. Music has never been separate from life, and in this edition we want to contribute to the collective awareness of the 

immense importance of this recognition. Without a doubt it is a salient issue, but it has always been in the minds of people, of artists and intellectuals to express their gratitude for the contact with the fields, woods, the sea, the mountains… 

We begin and end with Beethoven. For him, contact with nature was vital, and he expressed this feeling in a magnificent way in his Pastoral symphony which you will hear in the final concert. 

In this edition great musicians will grace the stages of Godella, such as Carles Marín, who, alongside Moonwinds, will interpret Beethoven’s quintet for winds and piano, as well as their own creations for the inaugural concert. In the same concert, Moonwinds and the actress Laura Romero will offer a chamber version of one of the most iconic pieces of the XXth century, Prokoviev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf’ – a piece with many layers of interpretation which was initially thought of for children (we will offer a special edition for the summer school), but with a strong moral load in the form of a fable. 

In the second concert, we will hear the original female choir ‘A cau d’orella’, conducted by Monica Perales, as well as two of the winners of the last editions of the Intercentros competition, the soprano Sofia Gutiérrez-Tóbar, and the pianist Roberto Rumenov. It will be an evening led by the voice. 

Francesc Aguilar and the Gregal ensemble will stage the play ‘Dietari de Matilde Salvador”, one of the most important female composers from Valencia. Someone who, moreover, deeply influenced several generations of Valencian music students in her time as professor at the Music College in Valencia. This piece, half-concert, half-play, won the award from the Diputació provincial d’Alacant in 2023. 

As in previous years we will be able to enjoy a gastronomic concert and a cultural promenade with music. I would like to especially emphasize a proposal which also came from our members and which will be surely enriching – the 20th in the evening we will have a preparatory session for the closing concert in order to enjoy it with greater pleasure. Some of our members will read texts and commentary about Beethoven and nature, followed by a discussion and a mini-concert. 

In the closing concert, as is our custom, we will form a Festival orchestra and participative choir. This concert is always a great musical festivity, an experience which is remembered long after the Festival has ended. 

the programme includes Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony, ‘Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage’ by the same composer, and a short piece so that we don’t forget the tragedies which continue to take place not so far away from us: John Rutter’s ‘A Ukrainian Prayer’. 

We look forward to welcoming you, as enthusiastic as ever. 

Joan Enric Lluna, May 2024