Ponte Caffaro is a small village at the bottom of the valley near Lake Garda, located on the current
border between Trentino and Lombardy but ancient border between Austria and Italy.It is a fraction of
the Municipality of Bagolino and its inhabitants are originally from the capital down in the valley in
the distant 1600 to reclaim the valley.Since then an independent community has been created that lives
its own cultural and logistic autonomy.
In carnival activities
At the church exit
Old players
MAIN PARTICIPATIONS AND COLLABORATIONS AT EVENTS AND REVIEWS
...and more....
The origins of the Val Caffaro group of players are lost in time, at least as far as we know from the first municipal resolutions of the 1500s. Since then, and always to oral plotting or ad "Ear", the players have accompanied the scandire of the carnival time of our village, until arriving in our day. Despite knowing periods of lack of players, this musical body has handed down the knowledge of the dances that we still perform today.
It should be noted that in the second half of the twentieth century, with the advent of the boom cheap and smooth, yes there is a risk of losing the memory of some songs. The film is a document and the book on carnivals edited for the Lombardy region by Bruno Pianta and Roberto Leydi, published in 1975. In them the researchers report and note the knowledge and execution of fourteen balls in Bagolino and fifteen in Ponte Caffaro. (in Ponte Caffaro was also performed Aibò). At that time in Ponte Caffaro are active as violinists: Marcello "Bariochèt", Giovanni "Chitarì", Andreino "Tòfen", Aldo Campana; - to guitars: Sandrì "dei Molenèr ", Davide and Stefano" dei Pìr ", Gianni" Pansètt ", Manuele Betìna, Stefano "Taolàssi"; On the bass: Relio "Dei Spargàcc" and Giovanni "Pasòtt", Claudio "Molenèr" and Rigo Foglio. Next to these "official" players many others found space, even for the abundance of musicians present on the territory of Ponte Caffaro (sometimes it was possible to recreate a small orchestra within single families - the Molenèr, i Pìr ...).
For unknown reasons, however, it was lost the habit of performing some songs and, in passing of time, they had left the memory of some players. In 1975, pushed by goliardic spirit and dal desire to learn the carnival sounds, some youngsters of Ponte Caffaro they began to learn them music by attending these old players and more precisely: Lorenzo from Marcello "Bariochètt" and Gigi from Andreino "Tofen dei Bagòss" for violins, Rino at the bass learned from his father Relio "Of the spargàcc". In the turn a few years ago and confusing himself with the old players, he became aware of the titles of some songs that were no longer performed, but fortunately the comparison with the old players (some of them they could be traced to locations other than Ponte Caffaro and Bagolino) gave good fruits and in the arc in a decade, it was able to bring back nine more sounds and two monfrins still performed. In the meantime to the little one the initial group had come together with other young players, among them Bernardo Falconi, unique case of a non-Valle player.
Since then, time has played favorably towards the group players who currently uses of about twenty performers, even taking away the possibility of forwarding us more in the recovery of songs for the progressive disappearance of all the old players. Currently in Ponte Caffaro of the old players only mentioned Andreino "Tòfen" is alive and in activity with the shoulders more than fifty of carnivals lived by a player.
For the company, a CD and an audio cassette entitled 'Pas èn Amur' have been published. They have
been made from RAI 3 two features on the carnival with titles: "Carnevale in montagna" and "The dance
of gold". Numerous newspapers that have related our activity; among the many we are pressing report
an Englishman who, in addition to supporting us in Anglo-Saxon land, presents a roundup of
information on the carnival and is contactable at: http://www.mustrad.org.uk/articles/pontecaf.htm
It is still live the
activity of the members of the group of players who, not only as performers, but as researchers and
promoters of recovery activities have recently published part of their work in the field of singing
popular in a musical book entitled "Anderém of the Sea" which, accompanied by an audio CD, reproposes
passages of the "canto da osteria" once so frequented, but for some time forgot.
The operational continuity of the group of players has never found breaks and is with pleasure that
we report, in the period from 2000 to today the continuous production of events, such as
International conference on popular music
and the publication of a new
book on singing in Ponte Caffaro: "Oi che bel felice incontro" and a new music CD: "Tempo Tagliato"
Many years have passed since the first recording of Carnival sonatas; Time has given us new situations, new players, new motivations and new opportunities. It was inevitable to have to rewrite all this musically in a new production. Now there are the means to be able to document evolution and we want to use them to deliver to future generations of the notes with which to confront to move forward. We have come to this supported by the enthusiasm and culture of an ethnomusicologist friend: BRUNO plant. The new CD titled "Sonade and Monfrine " is dedicated to him
Onés
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