Sistine Chapel Choir to perform in Hong Kong, Macao, Taipei

(ANSA) - Vatican City, September 25 - The Sistine Chapel Choir will perform in Macao, Hong Kong, and Taipei, Taiwan, Vatican press sources said on Monday.
    The concert in Hong Kong will be the first time that the choir, led by Monsignor Massimo Palombella, will perform on Chinese territory.
    Although the choir won't perform in mainland China, even a performance in Hong Kong requires Beijing's authorization.
    The concert there is scheduled for September 21, not in a church, but in the concert hall of the city's Cultural Centre.
    In late August Pope Francis visited South Korea, a trip during which he was the first pope in history to be granted permission to fly over China.
    During that visit, the Pope sent two telegrams to Chinese president Xi Jinping, one upon arrival in South Korea and another at his departure, invoking a "divine blessing for peace and well-being of the Chinese nation".
    The concert, called "Reverberating Heavenly Tunes in Greater China", is aimed at promoting cultural exchange through music and was organized through initiatives by the Hong Kong Institute for Promotion of Chinese Culture, the Perosi Choir of the Diocese of Macao, and the Taipei Philharmonic.
    The concert repertory includes pieces by composers such as Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Orlando di Lasso, Gregorio Allegri and Lorenzo Perosi, all of which historically belong to the repertory of music used during papal masses.
    The concert will take place in the Macao Cathedral on September 19, at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre on September 21, and at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, Taiwan, on September 23.
    In addition, the Sistine Chapel Choir will accompany the mass in the Hong Kong Catholic Cathedral on September 21.