My inspiration

Born in Rome, he began studying classical guitar at the age of 10. Later, he dedicated himself to the lute and ancient plucked instruments under the guidance of Andrea Damiani at the Conservatorio di Musica “Santa Cecilia” in Rome, graduating with top honors in 2018. He further specialized in baroque guitar with Xavier Diaz-Latorre in Barcelona at ESMUC in 2019. In 2023, he graduated with honors in Musicology from the University "La Sapienza" in Rome, presenting the thesis: "Porgetemi la lira: vocal polyphonies of a lutenist. The influence of Gesualdo in Simone Molinaro’s works."

 

As one of the founding members of Ensemble Opera Omnia, he has dozens of concerts in Italy and abroad. Specializing in cultural itineraries, the Ensemble focuses on enhancing the artistic and architectural heritage of Rome. Over the course of 15 years, they have organized events that combine art, music, and dance in prestigious historical venues such as Palazzo Doria Pamphilj, Sant’Agnese in Agone, San Luigi dei Francesi, Villa Farnesina, Museo e Cripta dei Cappuccini, Museo Leonardo Experience, S. Maria dell’Orto, S. Maria del Popolo, Palazzo Patrizi, and Palazzo Falconieri (Accademia d’Ungheria). Lorenzo Sabene has curated solo and ensemble events within this context.

 

As a continuo player on theorbo and baroque guitar, he collaborated with the Stradella Project, presenting "Santa Editta" at major festivals throughout Italy from 2018 to 2019. He participated in the first modern production of "L’Empio Punito" by Alessandro Melani with the Reate Festival Baroque Ensemble directed by Alessandro Quarta. He collaborated as a continuo player with Walter Marzilli in the realization of the drama "San Ignacio de Loyola" by Domenico Zipoli/Martin Schmidt at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music in Rome (first performance in the European Union). He contributed as a continuo player to the World Youth Chamber Orchestra in realizing the concert series “Sacri Suoni”. Additionally, he participated with the Schola Romana Ensemble in the first modern performance of Orazio Benevoli's "Messa a tre cori," part of the celebrations for the 350th anniversary of Francesco Borromini's death.

He took part in the Baroque Festival of Rome in an ensemble with Diego Cantalupi, Vera Alcalay, and soprano Cristina Fanelli.

 

In addition to orchestral activities, he has collaborated with various vocal and instrumental ensembles, playing with Didone Abbandonata for the performance of unpublished pieces by Adrien Le Roy in Italy (2022) and France (2023). In September 2023, he participates in the Floremus festival accompanying the Resonare Vocal Ensemble on theorbo, winner of the Grand Prize of Lake Maggiore 2023. Recently, in November 2023, he collaborated as a lutenist with the vocal group I Madrigalisti Estensi (conducted by Michele Gaddi) and Diego Cantalupi in the complete recording of the unpublished madrigal collection 'I Furti Amorosi' by Girolamo Belli. The pieces were presented for the first time in the modern era with two concerts held at the Musei Civici di Modena. With the Ensemble Roma Opera Omnia, he performed for the musical series "Klassiek in de Kapel" in Belgium on November 18, 2023, with an original arrangement of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina's "Canticum Canticurom" for two voices, traverso, Renaissance guitar, and Renaissance lute.

 

As a soloist (theorbo and baroque guitar) and in ensembles (medieval lute and monochord), he participated in the Spiritualia festival in Rome for the show "Give me the gift of fire", dedicated to the texts and music of Hildegard Von Bingen, reprised live for the historic radio program "La Stanza della Musica" on Rai Radio Tre. Together with actor Giorgio Sales, he performed the show "Ricordate che eravate violini," directed and scripted by Francesco D’Alfonso (2023), playing Renaissance lute, baroque lute, theorbo, baroque guitar, and classical guitar.

 

Alongside his concert activities, he is engaged in intense musicological study and research. He contributed to mapping musical information in the "ArtMus" project under the Italian National Research Programs (PRIN). He curated concert programs for Jordi Savall and the duo Ilya Gringolts/Francesco Corti as part of the concert series organized by the University "La Sapienza" in Rome. He provided a musicological introduction to the concert of the ensemble "I Bassifondi" by Simone Vallerotonda hosted by the "Classica al tramonto" series of the Università "La Sapienza". Currently, he is working on the critical edition of the Sonatas for transverse flute and baroque lute by Sylvius Leopold Weiss and the rediscovery of the repertoire of the Roman guitarist Ferdinando Valdambrini, active in the first half of the 1600s. During the Day of Music 2022, he collaborated with the Museum of Musical Instruments in Rome to create a lecture-concert for the inauguration of the new museum setup. In August 2023, he performs as a soloist at the "Federico Cesi" festival in Trevi, featuring a program centered around music for baroque guitar and music by Johann Sebastian Bach for baroque lute.

 

He is the winner, as the absolute 1st prize in the "ancient instruments" category of the Mario D’Agosto Competition held in Rome in 2022. He has the CD "Ardo d’amore" with Ensemble Opera Omnia and an audiovisual content dedicated to the production of "L’Empio Punito." The upcoming release includes a disc featuring the madrigals of Girolamo Belli.