Le "Strofe per una prima comunione" di Alessandro Manzoni e Benedetto Neri: poesia, musica e liturgia nella Milano risorgimentale

The “Strofe per una prima comunione”, born from the collaboration between Alessandro Manzoni and Benedetto Neri, emerge as a product of the cultural, religious, and militant ferment of pre-Risorgimento Milan. Situated within the vibrant milieu of the parish of San Fedele, where the provost Don Giulio Ratti exercised his pastoral, educational, charitable, and political activities, the “Strofe” embody a shared reflection on catechesis, liturgy, and the possibility of a conscious participation of children in the Eucharistic mystery, made attainable through sacred song set to texts in vernacular. Benedetto Neri’s compositions engage with the contemporary debate concerning the most appropriate style for sacred composition and were consequently identified in the periodical press as a paradigmatic example of coherent, respectful, and self-aware musical writing. The study further reconstructs the earliest liturgical performances of the “Strofe” by Manzoni and Neri, identifying their placement within the ritual framework of the First Communion Mass, the vocal and instrumental forces employed, their reception by music critics, and the didactic and catechetical effectiveness of a successful formula that remained in use for decades, even through new musical settings.