Concert show of St. Anthony by the G. Verdi Band Complex

Discover

The G. Verdi band complex of Castel Viscardo, on the occasion of the celebrations of the patron saint Sant’Antonio in August, usually holds a concert in Piazza IV Novembre. With a varied theme and every new year, the concert is fully part of the program of patron saint celebrations, a fixed and unmissable appointment together with the performance on the occasion of the religious procession and the Ciambellata, a typical snack with which the town celebrates the saint together.
This year the concert of Sant’Antonio will take place, as always, in Piazza IV Novembre and will see the musicians perform a repertoire that will range from music of the past to more modern music. The listening to the songs will be accompanied by some themed projections and artists from outside the band will intervene who will enrich the musical show with solos, songs and dances.
There is no document certifying the precise date of birth of the Complex; it is only known that some music lovers decided in 1886 to form a band and to name it after Giuseppe Verdi, acclaimed in those years all over the world. The gang at the time consisted of about thirty people: there were young people, several adults and some elderly people. Everyone worked in the countryside and in the warm months most of them went to work in the handmade terracotta kilns of the village.
The ensemble had many percussion and wind instruments (except flutes). All had a uniform: a silver cap above the visor, a jacket of the same color with a white collar and gray trousers with white bands.
The season began in spring and ended in autumn; The concerts, called “services”, took place mainly on the occasion of the village festivals. The band of Castel Viscardo, the only one in the whole district, began to be in demand even in the neighboring towns.
Today the band, after almost 140 years, is still made up of about thirty people, mostly young people, and is directed by Maestro Riccardo Bigini who takes care of the artistic direction and the preparation of the concerts. Great emphasis is given to carrying on and handing down the band tradition. Over the years flutes have been inserted but the imprint of the band has always been the same since 1886. Always present in the religious and civil events of Castel Viscardo and the surrounding villages, the group musically accompanies processions and village festivals and solemn civil events. The repertoire to date combines both pieces that belong to the classical and popular tradition and modern pieces.