In the early days of October, the weather in Rhodes is still mild—autumn lingers—and the island echoes with solemn notes, sweetly spreading around the Church of St. Francis.
From October 1st to 5th, the Church of St. Francis in Rhodes hosted the twelfth edition of the Organ and Music Festival Rhodes, organized by the Catholic Church of Rhodes and the Terra Sancta Organ Festival, in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Athens and the Hungarian Embassy in Athens, as well as Pro Terra Sancta. The creator of this event, for years, has been Brother Riccardo Ceriani. In a time when the horror and tragedy of war are rampant across the world and in the Holy Land, this festival—held in Rhodes but also organized annually in the city of Jerusalem—offers an opportunity to reflect on the ability of art to become a bridge between peoples, between us and "the other."
The event welcomed musicians from all over the world, gathered in Rhodes for the celebration of St. Francis. The festival was inaugurated by Hungarian organist Robert Kovács, followed by Gianluca Cagnani, a renowned Italian organist, who took the audience on a journey back in time. Cagnani improvised while accompanying the screening of Frate Sole, a 1918 Italian silent film about the life of St. Francis. This way of experiencing the film recalled the atmosphere of the early 20th century when films had no soundtracks, and they were accompanied live by organ and piano players.
Back in time, to silent cinema and the tradition of the organ—an instrument tied to the Christian Church and brought to the Holy Land thanks to this connection. Since the Middle Ages, pilgrims from Europe brought with them, along with other customs, sacred organ music, and the establishment of the Franciscan friars rooted this art form. However, the perspective offered and sought by the Rhodes festival does not only look back; rather, great attention is given to the present, in the creation of a bridge between sacred music and the local community, forming a strong bond between Greece, the Holy Land, and the international musical culture. For this purpose, several Greek artists were involved, bringing bouzouki and other traditional local instruments to the stage.
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Looking toward the present also requires not turning away from current events, even when they are painful and difficult. Choosing to consider art as a way to unite and understand each other means not neglecting those who need to be heard, lest we fall into superficiality and dishonesty. Current events made their entrance in the festival’s final moments: the festival closed with the last notes of a Lebanese group, Les Solistes de Beyrouth. The musicians, through classical pieces and compositions by Lebanese composer Khalil Rahme, portrayed a Lebanon that goes beyond the humanitarian crisis and the rubble left in the streets after bombs fall from the sky. In such a dramatic moment for Lebanon and the entire Middle East, their art was a symbol of hope and resistance through music.
The Rhodes festival brought together artists from different nations on the shores of the Mediterranean, each singing different notes, different stories, yet composing a single piece of music. In a world torn apart by conflicts, Rhodes offered a tangible opportunity to demonstrate how music and art can bring together what sometimes seems irreconcilable, highlighting what, beneath the differences, unites peoples and makes them resonate together.
Copyright photographs: Custodia Terrae Sanctae
