Marco Frisina (born 16 December 1954, in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

) is an Italian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

priest and composer. He is director of the Pastoral Worship Center at the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

Biography

After the ''

Liceo classico The ''liceo classico'' or ''ginnasio'' () is the oldest public secondary education in Italy, secondary school type in Italy. Its educational curriculum spans over five years, when students are generally about 14 to 19 years of age. Until 196 ...

'', Frisina graduated in Letters at the

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

and subsequently in composition at the

Conservatorio Santa Cecilia The Conservatorio di Musica Santa Cecilia is a state conservatory in Rome. History The institution has its roots dated back to the Congregazione de' musici di Roma named after Saint Cecilia in 1565 (now Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia). Si ...

. After having joined the Pontifical Major Seminary of Rome in 1978, Frisina studied theology at the

Pontifical Gregorian University Pontifical Gregorian University (; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana), is a private university, private pontifical university in Rome, Italy. The Gregorian originated as a part of the Roman College, founded in 1551 by Ignatius of Loyo ...

and got the license in Holy Scripture at the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies located in Rome. Founded in 1909 by Pope Pius X, it is an institution of the ...

of Rome. In 1982 he was ordained a priest and was assigned to the

Diocese of Rome The Diocese of Rome (; ), also called the Vicariate of Rome, is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church under the direct jurisdiction of the pope, who is Bishop of Rome and hence the supreme pontiff and head of the worldwide Catholic Church. As ...

. A member of the

Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization (Latin: ''Pontificium Consilium de Nova Evangelizatione''), also translated as Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelization, was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia whose crea ...

, he was promoted as the chairman of the Diocesan Commission of Holy Arts for the Diocese of Rome and since 2009

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the church of

Santa Cecilia in Trastevere Santa Cecilia in Trastevere is a 5th-century Churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, in the Trastevere rioni of Rome, rione. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Saint Cecilia (early 3rd century AD) and serves as the conventual church for the adja ...

. He is professor at the

Pontifical University of the Holy Cross Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (, ) is a Roman Catholic university under the Curial Congregation for Catholic Education, now entrusted to the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei, or more commonly called Opus Dei. It was started i ...

and at the

Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music The Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (; ) is an institution of higher education of the Roman Catholic Church specifically dedicated to the study of religious music, church music. It is based in Rome, Italy, located in the former Pontifical Ab ...

. In 1984 he founded the choir of the Diocese of Rome that he directed continuously for over four decades. Formed by 250 elements, the choir got involded in various international events and Holy Masses celebrated by the Pope. Since 1985 he has been the director of the Lateran Pontifical Pious Chapel in the

Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran The Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran (officially the ''Major Papal, Patriarchal and Roman Archbasilica, Metropolitan and Primatial Cathedral of the Most Holy Savior and Saints John the Baptist and the Evangelist in Lateran, Mother and Head of A ...

, a choir which is composed by 32 chantors and 2 organists. In 1991 Frisina started a collaboration with TV series titled ''Le storie della Bibbia'' produced by

Lux Vide Lux Vide S.p.A. is an Italian television production company founded by Ettore Bernabei and . It has produced television series including ''Don Matteo'' (2000–present), ''Medici'' (2016–2019), ''Devils'' (2020–2022), and '' Leonardo'' (2021) ...

, in quality of Biblical consultant and musical composer. For what concerns the musical acitivbity, he involved the Italian composer

Ennio Morricone Ennio Morricone ( , ; 10 November 19286 July 2020) was an Italian composer, Orchestration, orchestrator, conductor, trumpeter, and pianist who wrote music in a wide range of styles. With more than 400 film score, scores for cinema and televisi ...

. In 1993 he was appointed as the personal

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

of the Pope. Four years later,

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

made him a virtuous ordinary academic of the

Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon The Pontifical Academy of Fine Arts and Letters of the Virtuosi al Pantheon is one of the Pontifical Academies under the direction of the Holy See. The complete Italian name of the academy, Pontificia Insigne Accademia di Belle Arti e Letteratura ...

, of which Frisina also became the spiritual assistant. In 2007 he composed the ''

La Divina Commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest works ...

Opera Musical'' (second title ''L'uomo che cerca l'Amore''), the first musical trasponsition of the omonymous work of

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

. It was a two acts drama with

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Gianmario Pagano Gianmario Pagano is an Italian screenwriter, presbyter and teacher. Biography He was ordained priest of the Catholic Church on May 16, 1987. He obtained the Bachelor's degree in Theology and philosophy, the Licentiate degree in Sacred Scriptur ...

and produced by the Musical International Company. In 2011 he composed the official hymn for the beatification of

and was the liturgical focal point of the related celebrations. In September 2014 he organized in

the first national congress of the Italian religious choirs, which in October 2016 was followed by the Jubilee of Choirs. Since 2015, he has been artistic director of the Concert with the Poor and for the Poor held in Paul VI Hall. He was in charge of the music and direction of the show "Dante in Musica", directed by Andrea Ortis, winner in 2020 of the Persephone Award as best Italian musical of the year.

Works, editions and recordings

* Frisina: Passio Caeciliae. Barbara Vignudelli (soprano), David Sebasti (narrator). Nova Amadeus Chamber Orchestra, Coro Musicanova, Flavio Emilio Scogna.

Brilliant Classics Brilliant Classics is a classical music label based in the Dutch town of Leeuwarden. It is renowned for releasing super-budget-priced editions on CD of the complete works of J.S. Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and many other composers. The label also s ...

Filmography

*''

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

'' - TV film (1994) *''

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

'' - TV miniseries (1995) *''

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

'' - TV film (1995) *''

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

'' - TV film (1996) *'' Samson and Delilah'' - TV film (1997) *''Fatima'', directed by

Fabrizio Costa Fabrizio Costa (born May 31, 1957, in Trieste) is an Italian film director. Costa started his career as an assistant director to Pasquale Festa Campanile. In 1981, he made his directorial debut with, ''Venezia Danza Europa 81''. Filmography ...

(1998) *''Tristano e Isotta'', directed by Fabrizio Costa (1998) *''Michele Strogoff'', directed by Fabrizio Costa (1999) *''Christus'', directed by Giulio Cesare Antamoro (1999) *''

Joseph of Nazareth According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orth ...

'', directed by Raffaele Mertes - TV miniseries (1999) *', directed by

Raffaele Mertes Raffaele Mertes (born 1959) is an Italian film director. He began as a cinematographer, with his first work being on the 1982 film ''Un gusto molto particolare''. His first film as director was the made-for-TV biblical film ''Esther (1999 film), ...

(2000) *''Un dono semplice'', directed by M. Zaccaro (2000) *''

Judas Judas Iscariot (; ; died AD) was, according to Christianity's four canonical gospels, one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Judas betrayed Jesus to the Sanhedrin in the Garden of Gethsemane, in exchange for thirty pieces of ...

'', directed by Raffaele Mertes (2000) *''Thomas'', directed by Raffaele Mertes (2001) *'' Saint Anthony: The Miracle Worker of Padua'', directed by Umberto Marino (2001) *'' John XXIII: The Pope of Peace'', directed by

Giorgio Capitani Giorgio Capitani (29 December 1927 – 25 March 2017) was an Italian film director and screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, ...

- TV miniseries (2002) *''Il Bambino di Betlemme'', directed by Umberto Marino (2002) *'' The Apocalypse'', directed by Raffaele Mertes - TV miniseries (2002) *'' Saint John Bosco: Mission to Love'', directed by Lodovico Gasparini - TV miniseries (2004) *''

Saint Rita Rita of Cascia, OSA (born Margherita Ferri Lotti; 1381 – 22 May 1457), was an Italians, Italian widow and Augustinian nuns, Augustinian nun. After Rita's husband died, she joined a small community of nuns, who later became Augustinians, where ...

'', directed by Giorgio Capitani - TV miniseries (2004) *''

Edda "Edda" (; Old Norse ''Edda'', plural ''Eddur'') is an Old Norse term that has been applied by modern scholars to the collective of two Medieval Icelandic literary works: what is now known as the ''Prose Edda'' and an older collection of poems ( ...

'', directed by Giorgio Capitani - TV miniseries (2005) *'' Imperium: Saint Peter'', directed by

Giulio Base Giulio Base (born 6 December 1964) is an Italian film director. He has received two doctorates, one in Literature and Philosophy and another in Theology, and has been a member of Mensa International since 1996. Career Base began his career as ...

- TV miniseries (2005) *''Callas e Onassis'', directed by Giorgio Capitani - TV miniseries (2005) *''

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

'', directed by John K. Harrison - TV miniseries (2005) *''Giovanni Paolo II – Amico di tutta l'umanità'' - animated film (2006) *'' Pope John Paul I: The Smile of God'', directed by Giorgio Capitani - TV miniseries (2006) *'' Imperium: Pompeii'', directed by Giulio Base - TV miniseries (2007) *''

Clare and Francis ''Clare and Francis'' () is a 2007 Italian television film directed by Fabrizio Costa. The film deals with the friendship and the spiritual journey of Francis of Assisi and Clare of Assisi. Plot Cast * Ettore Bassi as Francis of Assisi * ...

'', directed by

- TV miniseries (2007) *'' Paul VI: The Pope in the Tempest'', directed by Fabrizio Costa - TV miniseries (2008) *''Puccini'', directed by Giorgio Capitani - TV miniseries (2009) *'' Saint Philip Neri: I Prefer Heaven'', directed by

Giacomo Campiotti Giacomo Campiotti (Varese, 8 July 1957) is an Italian director and screenwriter. Biography Giacomo Campiotti was born in Varese in 1957 and graduated in Pedagogy at the University of Bologna. He worked for several years in the theater, makin ...

- TV miniseries (2010)

Recordings

*1984 ''Maria'' (sacred oratorio for solo, double choir, and orchestra) *1986 ''Benedici il Signore'' *1987 ''Non temere'' *1988 ''Signore è il Suo nome'' *1989 ''Tu sarai profeta'' *1989 ''Revelación del alma'' (sacred oratorio for three soloists and orchestra) *1989 ''Il cantico della misericordia'' (sacred oratorio for narrator, baritone, mezzo-soprano, choir, and orchestra) *1991 ''Chi ci separerà dall'amore di Cristo?'' *1991 ''Giovanni, il profeta'' (sacred oratorio for solo, narrator, double choir, and orchestra) *1992 ''San Francesco. Il tesoro e la sposa'' (sacred oratorio) *1993 ''San Massimiliano Kolbe. Chiamati a dare la vita'' (sacred oratorio) *1995 ''Tu sei bellezza'' *1995 ''Elia. La parola del fuoco'' (sacred oratorio) *1995 ''San Filippo Neri. Paradiso, paradiso...'' (sacred oratorio) *1996 ''Santa Caterina. Le nozze mistiche'' (sacred oratorio) *1997 ''Cristo nostra salvezza'' *1997 ''Rublev. Signore di ogni bellezza'' (sacred oratorio) *1998 ''Laudate Dominum'' *1998 ''Non di solo pane'' *1998 ''Natale a Roma'' (with P. Moloney) *1999 ''San Pietro. Pescatore di uomini'' (sacred oratorio) *1999 ''Un Natale di fine millennio'' *2000 ''Pane di vita nuova'' *2000 ''Jesus is my life'' *2001 ''Joy to the world'' *2001 ''Bruno Marchesini. Maestro, dove abiti?'' (sacred oratorio) *2002 ''Papa Giovanni XXIII. Con la fiducia nel cuore'' (sacred oratorio) *2003 ''Vergine madre'' *2003 ''Alba romana. Un omaggio a Roma'' *2003 ''Confido in Te'' (sacred oratorio on St. Faustina Kowalska) *2004 ''Cristo è nostra Pasqua'' *2004 ''Trittico romano'' (sacred oratorio) *2005 ''Stillate cieli dall'alto'' *2005 ''Verso la gioia'' *2005 ''Emmaus. Mane nobiscum domine'' (sacred oratorio) *2005 ''Santa Margherita da Cortona. La terza luce'' (sacred oratorio) *2005 ''Jesus Christ you are my life'' (special disc for the Pope's visit to Germany) *2006 ''Charitatis Hostia – Vittima d'Amore'' (sacred oratorio on St. Pius of Pietrelcina and St. Francis of Assisi) *2006 ''Una luce nella notte'' *2007 ''O Luce Radiosa'' *2007 ''The best of Marco Frisina'' *2008 ''Apostolo delle genti'' (sacred oratorio on St. Paul the Apostle) *2008 ''Beato Angelico. Al Signore della bellezza'' (sacred oratorio) *2009 ''Il Cantico dei Cantici'' (sacred oratorio) *2009 ''O Croce nostra speranza'' *2011 ''Aprite le porte a Cristo'' (hymn to St.

) *2011 ''Sacerdote per sempre'' *2012 ''Et incarnatus est'' *2013 ''Passio Caeciliae'' (sacred oratorio in 9 scenes for soprano, narrator, and orchestra) *2013 ''Tu sei il Cristo'' *2014 ''Resurrexit ''(Latin texts for Easter and Solemnites) *2015 ''Dio ha tanto amato il mondo'' *2016 ''Benedici Il Signore / Tu Sarai Profeta'' *2017 ''Non temere / Signore è il suo nome''

References

External links

Marco Frisina official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Frisina, Marco 1954 births Living people Italian male composers Composers from Rome 20th-century Italian Roman Catholic priests Italian male conductors (music) 20th-century Italian conductors (music) 21st-century Italian conductors (music) 20th-century Italian male musicians 21st-century Italian male musicians