Prato

Five musical images for symphonic wind band

At first glance, the city of Wangen and the market town of Ebensee don't have much in common. But if you take a closer look behind the scenes, you immediately notice that both cities have had a partnership with the Italian city of Prato (Tuscany) for exactly 35 years. And precisely on this 35th anniversary of the partnership, “PRATO - Ponte per la pace / Bridge for Peace”, a compact work in five pictures for symphonic wind orchestra, was created.

1. Fanfare of Friendship A festive opening fanfare heralds the 35th anniversary celebrations and forms, so to speak, the prelude to the first main part of the composition.

2. Medieval Dance Mentioned in documents as early as the 10th century, Prato developed into an important textile empire and was already called the “raghouse of Europe” in the Middle Ages. For this reason, Neuböck based the medieval dance on a melody by the composer Francesco Landini (14th century) from neighboring Florence: “Ecco la primavera”. The composer gives the interpreting orchestra the opportunity to play this dance in part - similar to the original, with recorders, bassoon and hand drum - and thus enter into a constant dialogue with the orchestra.

3. Prayer to the Fallen The middle part is a “Prayer to the Fallen”, which is based on the extremely historically burdened past of Prato and Ebensee. Many prisoners from the Prato region had to lose their lives in the “Cement” concentration camp subcamp in Ebensee during the chaos of World War II. The prayer mutates from a mournful remembrance of these events into a heartfelt chorale that musically depicts how through remembrance and forgiveness, hate can miraculously turn into love. And so this leads to the finale.

4. Song of Joy At the reconciliatory conclusion, you can dance to a tarantella. This Italian dance, full of joy of life, is based on Prato's secret hymn "Voglio cantare a te... Cittá di Prato" by Rudolpho Baccini. In the incomparable style of the folk music of this region, constantly alternating between major and minor, the work sparkles with joy and exuberant temperament. The chorale turns into a hymn to freedom and so the partnership is extensively celebrated.

5. Friends Forever The opening fanfare is bracketed by a short postlude, which contains a quote from this fanfare from the beginning and concludes the work on a festive note.