So ito a Sperana was written as a memorial to my father-in-law who passed away in 2002 after a long illness. Asperano (in dialect “Sperana” is the area where he had an olive grove that he owned. After his retirement, he would visit and tend his land daily for as long as he had his sight.

Structured in three slow sections the music is slow and contemplative. The opening section quotes a passage from a piano piece Bela Bartok, while central section uses a traditional song from the Monti Lepini, “Tira vento”.