Musicians for church music in Syracuse and its province

Noto is the capital of Sicilian baroque: a town rebuilt after the 1693 earthquake, all in limestone that turns honey-coloured at sunset. In 1996 the dome of its Cathedral collapsed; in 2007, after years of work, the church was given back to the town. Marrying here means marrying in a place that knows the value of rebirth. If you are looking for musicians for church music for a wedding in Syracuse and its province, Maestro Ilarion, tenor, brings live sacred music to Noto, Ortigia and every town in the province.

A carpet of flowers to the church

Think of a couple who choose a weekend in May, the weekend of the Infiorata di Noto. For three days Via Nicolaci is covered in pictures made of petals: thousands of flowers arranged by hand by artists, like a colourful carpet climbing between the baroque balconies.

Guests arrive in town in the morning and stroll among the flower works, the scent filling the street. Then they walk down to the main street, and before them is the great stairway of the Cathedral of San Nicolò, its façade gilded by the sun.

They climb. Inside, the rebuilt dome is bright, white, very high. The Maestro has prepared the programme with the parish priest and the organist. When the bride walks in, the tenor's singing rises up to that dome which once collapsed, and is now there again, whole.

During the Ave Maria the bride brings the Madonna a bouquet made of the same flowers as the Infiorata. The groom's mother, who is from Noto and remembers the day of the collapse, dries her eyes. For her this church is not just beautiful: it is a healed wound.

Afterwards, the couple pause at the top of the stairway. Below them, the baroque town and the festival crowd, applauding even without knowing them.

The ceremony musicians

• The tenor: solo pieces and the Ave Maria.
• The parish organist: accompanies the whole Mass.
• The choir, if present: the congregation's chants.
• The parish priest: approves the programme. In the most sought-after churches, such as Noto Cathedral or Ortigia Cathedral, ask about the rules in good time.

Church music in Syracuse and its province, for every occasion

The Maestro sings for weddings, baptisms, anniversaries and other celebrations:

• Syracuse and Ortigia: the Cathedral, Santa Lucia alla Badia, San Filippo Apostolo, the Basilica of Santa Lucia al Sepolcro, the Sanctuary of the Madonna delle Lacrime.
• Noto and the Val di Noto: the Cathedral of San Nicolò, San Domenico, San Francesco all'Immacolata, and also Avola, Rosolini, Canicattini Bagni, Palazzolo Acreide, Buscemi, Cassaro, Ferla.
• South coast: Marzamemi, Pachino, Portopalo di Capo Passero, Calabernardo, Lido di Noto, Fontane Bianche, Cassibile.
• North coast: Ognina, Brucoli, Augusta, Melilli, Priolo Gargallo.
• Inland: Floridia, Solarino, Sortino, Carlentini, Lentini, Francofonte, Buccheri.

See also the page on church wedding musicians in Syracuse and its province and the one on church music in Catania.

After the ceremony

Maestro Ilarion is a tenor and pianist: he can also accompany the reception with elegant live music, in the baroque palazzi of Noto, in masserie or by the sea.

Tell us your date with the request for church music.

Getting married somewhere else? Here are all the places where I sing, from Sicily to Lake Como.