ABIDE WITH US (Resta con noi)

Description

for the 130th anniversary of the foundation of the Filarmonica Bormiese

arr. Picarband

It is an arrangement of an English-Anglican melody that I dedicated to Maestro Ermanno Valcepina of the Filarmonica di Bormio (So), an instrumental ensemble that celebrated the 130th anniversary of its foundation. Our friend Ermanno is no longer with us and I felt I had to satisfy his request to transcribe this piece, which he liked so much, for a band. I changed the title to ABIDE with US (Stay with us) to remember him one year after his passing. The song is in the form of a prayer and rises towards the Sky, above the beautiful mountains of the Magnifica Terra, where his friend Ermanno taught music to young people, directed, as well as being an entertainer in Bormio, where he now rests in peace and serenity. In the transcription I drew musical embraces instrumentally, in the flute and clarinets section, to signify that “stay with us” which is more than a memory. The chorale is entrusted to the brass and saxophone sections in a proactive dynamic alternation between the variety of crescendo and diminuendo. Good expressiveness is therefore necessary in each instrumental section, in addition to controlling the balance between melody and harmony, without forgetting the rhythmic progression of the percussion that accompanies the solemn pace of this composition. Particular attention must be paid to the introduction and the final coda which ends pianissimo. The performance turns our thoughts to all the instrumentalists and master conductors who have left the world of the band. It is a significant musical memory to be dedicated to all the people who with amateur passion have given their artistic, educational and musical contribution, accompanying with dedication the demanding activity of our bands. We will certainly find ourselves again, in a fantastic Celestial Band, continuing to make music, with the usual simplicity that will be illuminated by divine beauty.

Carlo Pirola