Museo delle Bande musicali di Sicilia "Maestro Bruno Castronuovo"

Museum of the musical bands of Sicily "Maestro Bruno Castronuovo" Introduction: Bands of Sicily

Sicily of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, is a colorful island, still partially unspoiled, rich in traditions, customs, dialects, fragrances, flavors, works of art and melodies, partly created by the Sicilians and partly inherited by the various dominations that have alternated from time to time throughout its history, mixed together to form a unique and extraordinary amalgam. It is in this variegated context that different musicalities are born and, especially in this historical period, as in the rest of Italy, musical bands multiply. Whether they were civic or religious, they arose from the profound need of the local population to mark the highlights of community life: weddings, patron celebrations, liturgical celebrations, and even funerals. Being part of a band, as well as a source of pride, was for many the only opportunity to learn how to play an instrument, to have a little work if the band in question was salaried and, why not, to shoot a bit 'for neighboring countries, in times when very few had the opportunity to do so. The bands of Italy, inevitable and fundamentally immutable in every town, have played through the decades, marking the most important historical stages of the twentieth century: they have now marched for the Monarchy now for the Republic; they allowed the people to dance carefree, forgetting poverty and misery for a few hours; when history imposed it, they became a paramilitary musical body replacing the opera arias with marches and hymns to the Duce; they celebrated the end of two world wars and reached, almost completely immune, until the 21st century. The history of the Ramacca band is interesting and full of anecdotes. His musical events have enjoyed a special blessing, due to several factors: the presence of great masters, a dense production of musical cards perfectly preserved in this museum (in many cases two world conflicts were enough to make disappear each original score), ancient musical instruments cleverly found and now exhibited in these rooms. Our town has had the privilege of being equipped, since ancient times, with a musical school of its own with a banded body attached, a symptom that the desire to learn to play, to celebrate and keep alive the traditions and love for their community they are never lacking. At that time, having a school of music was as important as having a school of education: it was a meeting place, a circle, a point of reference, it was what better fathers could hope for their children, it was a symbol, in short ... a flagship for the country! 1st Room Angelino Castronuovo An undisputed protagonist of this museum is a young ramacchese, an exceptional soloist of whom we wanted to keep the memories to honor his memory: Angelino Castronuovo. He immediately managed to stand out among everyone and to talk about himself even after several decades. First enfant prodige, then an excellent connoisseur of music, he played his first chords in the Ramacca band. Then, in a continuous crescendo of successes, he landed and stayed for a long time on the main Italian musical scenarios, where, during countless parades and public occasions, he played the soprano trumpet and flugelhorn in an impeccable way, marveling the spectators for his extraordinary talent. Fascinated by the skill of the Abruzzese bands, he managed to be hired as the first soloist by the famous band director Nicola Centofanti who, as an expert musical expert, immediately perceived the particular qualities of the young man. With a perfect execution of Un bel dì we will see - taken from Puccini's Madama Butterfly - made before her future father-in-law, she even managed to win the hand of her beloved companion and with her returned to Sicily to visit the most famous squares during the short interval between the two great wars. His famous performances reached the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. It will be the band of that city to host it for several years, making use of his mastery and mastery of wind instruments, engaging him in the Corps of the Militia. This formation, like many others throughout Italy, melts sadly because of the call to arms, at the dawn of World War II, in that huge forced silence that envelops the world and takes away the music until 1945. Angelino Castronuovo lost his life in a bombardment, while he was on duty during the second great conflict in Sapri. And at the age of 27, in 1943, the flugelhorn of a ramacchese who had written a piece of Sicilian and Italian band history fell silent.

Blandine von Bülow Going on along our path, we meet the famous Wagner family. We focus our attention on the figure of an elegant young lady, who has marked the historical events of Ramacca and is known throughout Europe for being the stepdaughter of the illustrious Master of the Nibelungo tetralogy. We are talking about Blandine von Bülow, born from a previous story had by the wife of the great Richard, Cosima, and accepted like a daughter. Blandine fell in love with Prince Biagio Gravina di Ramacca, a fallen nobleman who, despite some problems, managed to marry her and keep her with him in Ramacca. Wagner, in fact, accepted their wedding and Blandine was taken to the altar by her grandfather Franz Liszt. From Sicily, together with her husband, she will maintain the correspondence with Germany, despite the continuous movements between Ramacca, Bayreuth, Florence and Rome, until the death of Biagio, the year in which the family moved permanently to Catania. In Ramacca, paradoxically, Blandine's notoriety raised a fuss of gossip and gossip, perhaps due to a too free behavior in a country that was then highly conservative, so that the voice of an alleged illegitimate son spread, but all that did nothing but enrich of facts. On the other hand, Blandine was the promoter of a fervent literary salon, for a long time the center and fulcrum of territorial cultural promotion. Thanks to his numerous national and international contacts - such as the one with the writer and journalist Matilde Serao of Naples - he managed to bring together around him great exponents of art, literature and music of the time. Famous guests: Wagner and Strauss Richard Wagner The first source of Ramacca's coming to the famous musician is cited by the writer Giuseppe Tornello in 1961. He arrived in the Sicilian village with his wife, Cosima, both guests of stepdaughter Blandine von Bülow, on the occasion of the birth of his nephew. Wagner also sought inspiration for his latest drama, the Parsifal, in these pleasant places and later he finished it in Palermo.

The composition of his Hymn of Reapers is attributed to this ramacchese stay, inspired by the wonderful surrounding countryside.

Richard Strauss Another famous composer who stayed in Ramacca was Richard Strauss, author of many ballets, poems, symphonies, operas and chamber music. During his stay in Sicily he was guest of the Counts Biagio Gravina and Blandine von Bülow, to whom he was bound by a deep friendship because of her natural father, Baron Hans von Bülow, also a great musician like his grandfather Franz Liszt. This was a great event for Ramacca and Strauss, stimulated by the serenity of the ramacchese vacation and the hills studded with ripe wheat, on 7 June 1893 he completed the drafting of the second act of the "Guntram". Letters of his own fist addressed to his mother describe the magnificent view of Mount Etna that Ramacca loved to admire and walks in the company of the count on a lovely cart through his possessions.

Wind Instruments: Brass beginning of the 20th century The musical instruments that we can observe in this room date back to the early twentieth century and belonged to the masters and members of the band that have succeeded over the years. Among the wind instruments, mostly brass, absolute protagonists are the trumpets, a symbol of collective joy. Also stand out the baritone Flicorni, the contrabasses Flicorni in SIb, the two Horns and the Baritoni Sax. As you can see, on the video are projected images that tell the story of the bands of Sicily, which are presented at the same time cultural events, rituals, folklore and liturgical functions and accompanied by music that have thrilled and excited our land.

2nd Room

Maestro ANDREA CASTRONUOVO

He learned the first musical notions in 1937 from his father Cosimo. In 1939 he joined the Ramacca Music Band and performed solo with the baritone flugelhorn. His passion for music led him to focus also on other instruments, such as the trumpet, obtaining great mastery over time. At the beginning of the '70s he was arranger and band composer. Thanks to his talent and his multifaceted versatility, in 1978 he became Director of the "V. Bellini "by Grammichele. It is precisely in these years that he composed several works, including "Silvana".

The woods The clarinets on display belong to the period between the thirties and the seventies. Instruments with a sweet, mellow and gritty sound, in the band they play the very important role of "Canto". The elements used within the band body usually vary from 5 to 12. Given the importance of this instrument, in the symphonic concerts it is customary for the healthy teacher and to thank the first clarinetist at the end of the performance.

The percussion

The tubular bells, powerful presence in the most famous operas that require the use of bells - the background of the jealousy of Santa della Cavalleria Rusticana and the fury of Tosca - played at party or as a warning of an imminent danger, able to remember on stage, with just over two meters in height, the solemnity of a cathedral or the magnificence of a historical event.   No less important are the timpani, which date back to the early twentieth century. As you can see, their structure is made of cast iron, the stems are made of copper, covered with natural sheepskin. Richard Strauss, in the introduction of his symphonic poem Thus spoke Zarathustra, with the use of these instruments exalted the epic character of the work. The troccola is a characteristic instrument of Southern Italy, used in Neapolitan rhapsodies and during the liturgical celebrations of the Holy Week. In the past, it served as a signal to indicate the beginning of liturgical functions during Lent, starting from the solemn celebration of the Passion of Christ, after which it was no longer possible to ring the bells, a sign of joy, until the Great Vigil of Resurrection .

The uniforms

The presence of uniforms in this room wants to evoke the history of Ramacca's band body. Each of them refers to a given historical period of our town.

The white uniform dates back to the thirties, when the bands were used mainly to express the exultation of the city during the celebrations of the patron, liturgical occasions and street parties. With the advent of fascism, customs and customs are adapted to the style of the regime, severe and framed. The band adapts itself to the will of the local podestà, which requires a more military configuration. So the symphonic marches are approached the military marches (or replaced by them), in order to enhance the historical manifestations of the period and the black uniform takes on the appearance of a military parade uniform. In the fifties, although the military semblance is still present, we begin to glimpse new details, obvious signs of the beginning of a new historical path. In fact, the uniform, so-called "colonial" for its sand color, abandons colors and friezes that evoke fascism. The blue and white uniform of the late seventies completely abandons any military reference and the band body assumes an associationist connotation. In the eighties, on the occasion of the inauguration of the new municipal premises of the school of music, the band body is equipped with a new red uniform, enriched with friezes and golden tabs, giving it a more artistic and showy appearance.

The parties and the serenades The mandolin, the banjo, the tambourine, the guitar, the accordion, the clarinet, the violin: even if they are not among the instruments conventionally used by the bands, their presence in this museum is fundamental. They, in fact, tell a historical period in which groups of musicians of the band body joined together to cheer with "danceable" parties or dances, as well as to dedicate love serenades, also receiving some compensation. In the twenty years of fascism, these artistic performances were forbidden due to the prohibition of gathering that did not allow more people to come together. Numerous anecdotes are told to date by those who have lived that period.

3rd Room

A vast and original repertoire of autograph papers and memories belonging to the masters who have made the history of the ramacchese Band Corps is jealously guarded in this room. There are numerous awards and honors received from the national institutions, thanks to the composite works. The dress of the conductor Cosimo Castronuovo, projects us into the magical atmosphere of the great concerts that in the thirties represented the most relevant moments for the ramacchese community.

Maestro COSIMO CASTRONUOVO Graduated in Naples in composition, conductor and concert performer of the musical body of Ferrandina in Puglia. He arrived in Ramacca in 1932 and immediately had great success, so much so that the local Podestà convinced him to stay to revive with his great professionalism the Civic Band. With him the Band Body went through one of the greatest moments of glory: made up of 80 elements, it was among the first bands in Sicily to stand out for its breadth and professionalism. Cosimo then had the opportunity to indulge in a vast repertoire and to have a very lively musical staff. At the symphonies and the already existing works he added new scores written in his own hand, among them "Aurora", the symphonic poem "The Virgin of the Forest", "The Christian Canzoniere", the poem of sacred music dedicated to His Holiness Pope Pius XII (located at the Vatican City Music Library), the symphonic poem written by King Gustav of Sweden, and the Symphonic poem dedicated to the President of the Republic Giovanni Gronchi. Moreover, with Cosimo Castronuovo, the band's musical repertoire was enriched by the great compositions of Puccini and Verdi, whose arrangements were transcribed specifically by the maestro and his first-born Angelino.

Maestro BRUNO CASTRONUOVO The maestro Bruno Castronuovo continued the work of his father Cosimo, making sure that Ramacca remained one of the few towns in Sicily to still have a thriving school of music and an excellent band body. Among his major compositions: "Christ at the Column", "Greetings to Ramacca", "Sirens" and "Playing Arpeggiando". Talking about the Maestro Bruno Castronuovo - for the fellow citizens "u 'Maestru Brunu" - means telling a half century of the history of "ramacchese music". Born in Carinola in the province of Caserta in 1927 and led to Sicily by his father Cosimo in the early '30s, he grew up in a musical environment in which he immediately entered with excellent results: he soon became a master and band director, as a young father's vicar . In 1955 he was a master and director of the Aidone Band Body (EN), where he succeeded in creating an important school of music and an exceptional musical band. In 1960 he moved to Ramacca to replace his father, giving continuity to the musical training of many young talents. The passionate teaching of the Master Bruno, in Ramacca flourishes numerous groups of pop music, rock and pop, in the wake of the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The young people of the village discovered in the teacher the multifaceted artist and the reference for all that was musical expression. A great orchestra conductor - there are hundreds of stage evenings that saw him protagonist in the interpretation of great works such as: Aida, Nabucco, Angels in Paradise, La Vedova Allegra, Il Trovatore, La Vergine della Foresta, La Traviata; in addition to the magnificent interpretations of the Grande Canzoniere Cristiano, The Canzoniere Napoletano, The Modern Canzoniere - Master of music and life, so he reminds his fellow citizens, a vigorous figure of musician appreciated for his moral and human qualities, remains among us as an unforgettable Maestro .

Aisle We are approaching the conclusion of this itinerary that has wanted to tell one of the many fascinating aspects that, like the tesserae of a mosaic, make up our beautiful Sicily.

On the left side of the corridor we will find some scores of great operas, fragments of the musical repertoire that our masters have skilfully transcribed. On the right side, instead, highlighted by shades of color, we can see the photographs that portray our Band Music over the decades. Retracing this journey through time, through the tools, images, photography, colors and music, we wanted to leave in your eyes and in your hearts a memory of the glorious past of this Band Body, sure that each of you, at least for a moment, he will be seen again as a child, happy and joyful in a procession for a liturgical feast or for a concert, and he will relive those strong emotions that only the music of a band can transmit.