Lucia Ronchetti
Portrait

The opening track of this CD, "Naufragio con spettatore" (1997), is a study for orchestra that does not present particular points of interest (with the exception of the curious title, inspired by a book by philosopher Hans Blumenberg). More intriguing is the second piece, "Pinocchio, una storia parallela" (2005), a dramaturgy for a rather unusual ensemble: four male voices.

She is Lucia Ronchetti, a Roman composer who has been at the forefront for years. Her Pinocchio entrusts the subject of the popular puppet to a male vocal quartet (countertenor, tenor, baritone, and bass), but this time inspired by the enigmatic book by Manganelli (Pinocchio, un libro parallelo) rather than Collodi's original.

From a musical point of view, the piece has an undeniable scenic value, with the four voices intertwining in daring figurations for 20 minutes and adopting a variety of vocal techniques: singing, whispering, onomatopoeias, and so on. Here and there, the text becomes intelligible, and glimpses of the puppet's story appear: but they are only fragments, sparks that for a moment illuminate the dark matter of this piece.

Closing the CD is another study, "Il sonno di Atys" (2004), this time for viola and live electronics. In 16 minutes, Lucia Ronchetti makes the electronics interact with the solo instrument in an attempt to explore its polyphonic possibilities. Truly suggestive in the third and final episode of this piece is the effect of rubbing the bow on the strings without producing sound or almost, which surprisingly effectively imitates the slow human breathing during sleep.

This last piece is a confirmation of the extreme attention that the composer gives to sound, used both in terms of experimentation and for the creation of micro-works, a kind of instrumental theater: imaginary dramaturgies based solely on listening and which it is up to the listener to reconstruct in their own mind.