‘We entered, just in time to see the bride and groom exit the church’: Letters to the Editor February 2022

A TALE OF TWO VILLAGES

Reading The Strad  ’s wedding disaster stories (bit.ly/32Jq39i) reminded me of my younger years as a student in Cremona, when I did wedding gigs to make ends meet. I was lucky to be friends with an organist who was always happy to call me as a violinist for these occasions, and the extra cash was more than welcome.

One day I was called upon to perform a wedding gig in a village outside a town called Scandolara. The problem was there were two Scandolaras: Scandolara Ravara and Scandolara Ripa d’Oglio, and they were not even close to one another. So I made sure I got directions to the right one.

The wedding was scheduled for 11am so half an hour earlier I showed up with the organist. There was no one in sight and the church was closed. Finally, at about 10.50am, the priest came out and started sweeping the entrance. Perturbed by the lack of people, we asked him when the wedding was scheduled and he said: ‘What wedding?’

By then things were clear: despite precise instructions we were at the wrong Scandolara. So we drove through the countryside until we entered the right Scandolara, just in time to see the bride and groom exit the church in the midst of the crowd and rice-throwing. Imagining the silent, music-less ceremony, I turned my Lancia around and we got out of there. Incredibly, we were still paid.

DIMITRI MUSAFIA

Cremona, Italy