Aleppo – The Maronite cathedral of Sant’Elia, in the historic Al-Jdayde area, is still without a roof, hit by the many mortar blows that devastated it during the Syrian conflict. Right there on the evening of Tuesday, July 11th, more than a thousand inhabitants crowded the aisles in the open and the square in front of the church to listen to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Mass in Do Minor, performed by 45 musicians and 27 choir members of the Symphonic Orchestra of Damascus along with members of the Naregatsi Choir, animated by local Christian communities. “This initiative” reports to Fides Archbishop Joseph Tobji, at the head of the Archeparchy of Aleppo of the Maronites “is in itself a strong sign of great symbolic impact, and can be seen by all: in a devastated church where everything seemed destroyed, new life re-emerges again. An orchestra of Muslim and Christian musicians performed Mass in the version composed by a great genius of humanity, a work of faith and art. Even the play of lights in the ruined church was very impressive. So many people came and found no place”. To allow everyone present to see the concert, some screens were placed in the square.
The concert was realized with the contribution of the French association L’Oeuvre d’Orient and was directed by Father Yeghiche Elias Janji, a Catholic Armenian priest and musicologist, who even during the war did not cease to perform concerts in various Syrian cities, and who years ago had directed a performance of the same piece for Pope Benedict XVI.
Source: Fides News
