Francesco Deffenu

Life

Francesco Deffenu

Born: 1992, Cagliari, Italy

Biography

Francesco Deffenu (*1992) has been a priest of the Archdiocese of Cagliari (Sardinia, Italy) since 2018, after completing his studies in philosophy and theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. In 2024, he obtained a Bachelor's degree in Gregorian Chant at the Pontifical Institute of Sacred Music (PIMS) under the guidance of Prof. Franz Karl Praßl. He is currently attending the Licentiate course with Prof. Inga Behrendt and the International Course of Medieval Music Performance in Besalú, in collaboration with the University of Lleda (Spain) under the guidance of Dr. Mauricio Molina.
Driven by a profound interest in early music, he has undertaken extensive coursework and seminars, focusing on medieval Christian chant with Angelo Rusconi, Fulvio Rampi, Daniel Saulnier, Juan Carlos Asensio Palacios, Giacomo Baroffio, and Marcel Pérès. His studies further extended to musical palaeography with Marco Gozzi, and the sacred repertoire from the 15th-17th centuries with Elam Rotem and Bartosz Izbicki, and also at the Early Music Department "Città di Brescia" with Livio Ticli and Marcello Mazzetti.
He attended courses in choral conducting, vocal physiology, and pedagogy with Walter Marzilli, and took part in conducting seminars led by Pierpaolo Scattolin. He is currently studying children’s choir conducting under the guidance of Luca Buzzavi. In parallel, he is furthering his studies in composition with Fr. Gabriele A. Russo, O.C., and has also participated in choral composition workshops with Simone Campanini and Giorgio Susana.
As a cantor, he often takes part in important liturgical celebrations at St. Peter’s Basilica and other churches in Rome, collaborating with the Cappella Musicale Costantiniana of the Basilica dei Santi XII Apostoli and, when requested, with the National Liturgical Office of the Italian Episcopal Conference. He has performed extensively in Italy and abroad with various vocal and choral ensembles — including Aurumque Voices, Schola Virorum Romana, Vox Praeclara, Musicæ Sacræ Cantores, GŠ Ansamblis, Vokalensemble Uncinus — and has taken part in several recordings for Radio Vaticana and the Fons Musicae label.
He has also recently taken part as a speaker in international conferences on sacred music, publishing the results of his research in specialised journals.
He is co-organiser of the International Liturgical and Early Music Festival ‘Lucernalis’ in Vilnius and also member of the AISC (Associazione Italiana Santa Cecilia) and the italian section of the A.I.S.C.Gre. (Associazione Internazionale Studi di Canto Gregoriano).

Contacts

E-mail: francescodeffenu92@gmail.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/frandeff/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/frandeff92/

List of choral works

Sacred music

• Cor, arca legem
• In laudem Spineæ Coronæ
• Laus tibi, Christe
• O salutaris hostia
• Salmo Immacolata Concezione della B.V.M. (8 dicembre)
• Venite adoremus

 
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