Dominica in Albis 1773
On Whit Sunday in 1773, the local population of the municipality of Latsch in Vinschgau (Southtyrol-Italy) held a procession to the bridge chapel for the first time, as a thank-you for the fact that the village had been largely spared from a flood the previous year.
This procession is considered to be the birth of the Musikkapelle Latsch Wind Orchestra, which has been known as the Bürgerkapelle since the municipality of Latsch was granted market town status in 1906. It should be noted that it was not usual at that time for musicians to be present (according to the chronicle of Hans Pegger: ‘brass band music’), as there was also a parish or choir music that was maintained by the church.
The commissioned work ‘Dominica in Albis 1773’ (‘Whit Sunday 1773’), a gift that the Bürgerkapelle made to itself for its 250th anniversary, begins with a sublime theme that is intended to symbolise the sunrise on Whit Sunday. The middle section depicts the varied history of the band with its ups and downs. Thus, cheerful, fast sections alternate with quieter parts before the opening theme is taken up again at the end and the bells of the bridge chapel ring out as the procession makes its way back.