Marco Santilli clarinet • bass clarinet • choir • compositions
Isabell Weymann flute • alto flute • piccolo
Davide Jäger English horn • oboe
François Rieu French horn
Alessandro Damele bassoon
Azra Ramic contrabass clarinet • choir
Julio Azcano classical guitar • Portuguese guitar
Marina Vasilyeva piano • choir
Fulvio Maras percussion • drums

Special guests: Florian Wetter • narration in ‚Zu Erich‘
Urs Wiesendanger and Thierry Condor • Stadium crowd in ‚Zu Erich‘

Co-production with Swiss Radio SRF2 at Hardstudios Winterthur.

Curéija du drèisc (The Dragon of Lago Retico) Long ago, in the crevices high above the Blenio Valley, there dwelled a fearsome dragon at Lago Retico. From time to time, he would stir up the clear waters of the mountain lake so violently that they turned cloudy and muddy. But sometimes, he raged horribly and unleashed a storm of apocalyptic proportions. The muddy water from the lake would then pour into the mountain stream, causing it to swell mightily, and the force of the cascading water would carry rocks and trees, devastating pastures, and destroying barns and houses. When he once again threatened to destroy the valley, the people of Campo, in their desperation, sought help from the saints. They retrieved the relics of St. Maurizio and St. Agate from their church and held them up against the surging torrent. And, oh miracle! The dragon retreated, not without uttering terrible curses against the saints. He did leave his abode at Lago Retico thereafter. However, he demonstrated his wrath and immense power once more to the valley dwellers. As he thundered down through the Sosto Gorge into the Blenio Valley, he triggered a massive landslide that had devastating effects all the way down to the Magadino Plain.

Cose svizzere notturne segrete (The Hunchbacks of Piumogna) At the Piumogna Waterfall near Faido, it is said that one can hear the dwarves sing. However, they had once forgotten the final verse of their song. In those days, two hunchbacks lived in the area, both tailors named Stör, but with completely different characters. One was grumpy, envious, and quarrelsome, while the other was always cheerful, helpful, and universally loved. The only thing that made him deeply sad was that his hunch prevented him from winning the hand of the girl he had fallen in love with. One dark winter night, as he was making his way home to Dalpe, he found himself unexpectedly caught in a snowstorm. Suddenly, he found himself near the Piumogna in the midst of a frenzied dance of the dwarves. In a trance, he sang and danced along, and thus he revealed to them the forgotten verses. In gratitude, they granted him a wish: the dwarves magically removed his hunch and stuck it onto an oak tree. The jealous colleague wanted to repeat the adventure, but it ended badly for him: with a hunch in the front and another in the back.

Dauer der Ewigkeit (Duration of Eternity) When a little bird comes to the stone called “en ‘Petza” every three hundred years to sharpen its beak, and when the stone is completely worn away and nothing remains, then eternity is over.

Ale.com (The Devil and the Lie) Long ago, a wealthy, greedy man had purchased extensive fields and meadows above Bidogno. He had local farmers cultivate them, and they were required to pay him an annual tribute. He squandered his wealth and lived a life of luxury and excess. Once, when he ran out of money, he demanded the yearly interest payment from a farmer who had already paid it in full. The man claimed that the farmer had not yet paid his tribute, and if this was a lie, then the devil should take him the next time he changed his shirt. However, from that day on, the rich man never changed his clothes until they were stiff with dirt and one day they fell off him in tatters. That’s when the devil took him. The man was never found, but a terrifying black hole appeared in the wall of his magnificent villa, which could never be repaired, and under the bedroom window, a demonic figure with a pitchfork in hand appeared as a reminder of the devil’s visit.

Ave Maria (Maria Snow) The chapel “Madonna della Neve” in Bosco Gurin was built after the devastating avalanche of 1695, in the hope that the Holy Virgin would protect the place in the future. However, decades later, on a dark night before Christmas, when the snow was already several meters deep, the tragedy repeated itself. Although the houses of the settlement were spared, the people believed that the Madonna had protected them, but the chapel had vanished. They tried to excavate it from the snow, but all efforts were in vain. Then, on Christmas night, a faint light was seen above the avalanche, but far from its previous location. The Madonna was still there! The avalanche had carried the shrine to the other side of the stream. They vowed to rebuild it, considering the protection of the Madonna worth the sacrifice.

Viaggio al sabba (three hours to go, three hours there, three hours back) A boy was once in love with a girl whom his parents found suspicious. It was strange that he was never allowed to visit her on Thursdays. His parents advised him to spy on the girl, and he did. And so, on a Thursday evening, he saw her take a pot from under the stove, open it, rub both her hands with the contents, and murmur, “Three hours there, three hours back.” Then she flew out through the chimney. He followed suit and soon found himself far away, in the midst of a witch’s sabbath. Instead of uttering his name as demanded, he exclaimed, “Praised be Jesus Christ!” and in an instant, the whole enchantment disappeared. The boy found himself in a desolate plain surrounded by thorns. With great difficulty, he managed to find his way back home.

Noir (Castle of owls) Long ago, in a castle high above Faido, there lived a lord who tyrannized the population with arbitrary actions and wicked deeds. As a member of a powerful Milanese family, he feared no judges. After his wife supposedly or truly betrayed him with a guest, the castle lord sought cruel revenge. He personally killed the rival with his sword, and his wife vanished without a trace. He continued to receive guests and generously entertain them, but none were ever seen leaving the castle again. One day, an entire company from Lombardy was at the castle. During the feast, some heard a faint, dark lamentation that seemed to come from the underground vaults. “It’s nothing,” reassured the castle lord, “just the owls.” And again, he said, “It’s just the owls.” Suddenly, a multitude of owls swarmed into the hall. The entire group attacked the lord, chased him out of the castle, and pursued him until he fell dead. A Capuchin friar who accompanied the company had managed to free the captives from the castle dungeons, where they had suffered immensely.

Sana follia (The Witch of Biaschina ) In Ticino, like everywhere else, there were also good “witches”: knowledgeable women in herbs who knew how to heal sick animals and people. One such witch lived in Biaschina. However, she had a malicious daughter, a true witch, who used her abilities to cast harmful spells. The people in the area lived in constant fear and tried to avoid any encounter with her. To get rid of her, the bailiff eventually decided to bring her to trial. She was accused of poisoning her husband and committing several acts of arson, but nothing could be proven against her. Finally, a clever man came up with the idea of exploiting one major weakness of the witch—her alcoholism. She eventually drank herself to death, consuming the entire stock of grappa from the local winemakers.

Zu Erich (The Three Patron Saints of Zurich) The saints Felix, Regula, and Exuperantius were on their way north when they were caught in a winter storm in Altanca, in the Quinto district. The local farmers gave them shelter, and when they continued their journey in the spring, they were accompanied as far as the Passo dell’uomo. Before bidding farewell, Saint Felix prayed to God to reward the villagers. Suddenly, a spring appeared in the rock, which is still named after the saint today. Upon reaching Zurich, the three saints proclaimed the Christian message on the banks of the Limmat. However, the heathens beheaded them. But the decapitated bodies did not remain where they fell. They rose up, took their heads under their arms, and lay down side by side only at the next hill for their final rest.

The Way to Lothriel (Eselmir and the Five Magical Gifts) The saga of Pirin is, on the one hand, a vast “network” of stories with magical and fairy-tale settings in the pure high fantasy style. On the other hand, it serves as a kind of initiation path aimed at addressing various philosophically important messages for each individual’s journey. An excellent example is the Theoson Path, which inspired the song “The Way to Lothriel”—the story of a young goldsmith of humble origins who embarks on a long and dangerous journey towards the high mountains of a legendary East, hoping to obtain the mythical lotus flowers as a sign of love for the princess he is in love with. The composition “The Way To Lothriel” was born as the main theme of the video game soundtrack inspired by these novels: “Eselmir and the Five Magical Gifts,” released in 2018 by Stelex Software.

Would you like to support us?

Un grazie particolare a chi ha sostenuto generosamente le nuove composizioni di Sujazzstiva:

Einen ganz besonderen Dank geht an diejenigen, die die neuen Kompositionen von Sujazzstiva grosszügig unterstützt haben:

Jacqueline & Walter Rost-Roche “Sana follia”
Daniela & Amedeo Caflisch-Pons “Ale.com”
Helene Blass “Viaggio al Sabba”
Mariella Orelli “Curéija du drèisc”
Paolo Peduzzi “Cose svizzere notturne segrete”
Dominique Dieth “Zu Erich”
Franco Bassi “Noir”
Sophie venturelli “The way to Lothriel”