The coirs for 2025

Il Coro La Martinella

The "LA MARTINELLA" Choir, founded in 1970 by Claudio Malcapi who directed it until 1989, is part of the Florentine section of the C.A.I. (Italian Alpine Club), is co-founder of the Association of Tuscan Choirs and promoter, founder and member of the management of the CNC, "National Choral Center" of the national C.A.I. (about 80 choirs and 2700 choristers). From 1989 to 2002, the choir was conducted by Fabio Azzaroli, and finally by the current conductor Ettore Varacalli. It is a male choir of about 45 members who sing a cappella (first tenors, second tenors, baritones, basses).

The repertoire includes both classic mountain songs and popular songs, including authors, Tuscans and others, the result of systematic research. It includes more than 150 pieces, continuously studied and refined in rotation in order to offer programs adapted to the type of event to which the choir is invited.

From 1978, the Choir has made several recordings (2 LPs, 1 cassette and 6 CDs, the last 2 of which were made in 2020 for the 50th anniversary of the Choir's founding: "50 ANS 3 MAÎTRES 1 Chœur" and "ALL'OMBRA DEL TRICOLORE"). He has published the collection of songs "Canzoni Tuscany" (40 popular motifs harmonized and commented by Claudio Malcapi) and, for the 50th anniversary, the book "IL CORO LA MARTINELLA – 50 YEARS OF FLORENTINE HISTORY OF MUSIC AND PASSION", edited by Luca Giannelli, Florentine journalist and historian.

The Choir has participated in a long series of festivals and concerts in Florence, Tuscany and throughout Italy. Among the performance venues, the Salone de' 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the Goldoni Theatre and the Tepidarium, in Parma the Teatro Regio and the Certosa, in Turin the RAI Auditorium, in Venice the Scuola Grande di San Giovanni, in Rome the Montecitorio Hall for the 2011 Christmas Concert organised by the Group of Friends of the Mountain of the Italian Parliament. Every year in Florence, it organizes the "Choral Review of Traditional and Popular Songs", which is now in its 42nd edition. Abroad, the Choir has been invited, even on several occasions, to Switzerland, France, Belgium, Ireland and Croatia. The Choir has participated in television programmes at the local (RTV38) and national (TV2000) levels. Since 2015, the Choir has been able to boast prestigious theatrical collaborations: with the Opera Fiorentina of the Maggio Musicale, with the Commedia dell'Arte of the Catholic University of Brescia, with the Compagnia delle Seggiole of Florence. In 2022, the Municipality of Florence awarded the choir the "Gentile Citizenship Award  " for the activity carried out, especially with solidarity concerts.

THE CHOIR HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE MINISTRY OF CULTURAL HERITAGE AS A "CHOIR OF NATIONAL INTEREST"