The chours “Monte Peralba” began in 1967 in San dona’ di Piave, a small town, some twenty five miles north-east of Venice, on the river Piave with a programme of folk songsof the alpine repertoire. To make a batter link with the mountain environment which many members of the chours greatly love, the chours choose its name from the river Piave’ s source, the Peralba mountain.

Its story of a group of people tied up with a common interest to stay together during the rehersal hours- twice a week-the love for the not distant. Dolomite’s chain and all mountains in general and the folk songs written about them. Obviously, being the mother land a venecian territory, the local songs telling about venice and its lagoon, is also a part of the above mentioned interest.

As the chours began to sing, almost every body sang by imitation. Ever since its menbers never lost the genuine zest, when spontaneity and semplicity did replace a good deal of the vocal proficiency. Nevertheless it was capable of producing a good feeling with audience.
To sing and to tell ordinary stories of every day’s life. The chours is identifyed by the above mentioned verbs couple. Soon that becomes a cultural proposal.

At the very begining the strong bond with the native land, with the Piave riversacred to the nation-that passed the town; such a bitter land at least till the early sixties of the past century that impossed to work with a great efford to struggle poorness, and yet capable to nurris a genuine frienship and solidarity, enable people to perform heroic acts (reference is made to the alluviuns of Longarone / Belluno, October 1963 and venice with its district November 1966).

All this was the mainstay of the original repertorie arranged by maestro vincenzo vallese, with the cooperation of the entire group. What characterizes the Monte Peralba chours was and still is the involvment of all its members not only the artistic director to designe the repertorie and the accomplishment of the various initiatives.

After the first home concert, one wanded to sound the answer of the public of important cities such venice and Padua. The response was positive. The festival of crusone-first international contact - gives the opportunity to a comparison with others musical environments. the Aosta valley and others transalpine groups.
The synthesis of the firts ten years of activity is well represented by the earlier recording that is acepted with warmth and enthusiasm by the public. A confirmation that the chours has been able to raise a good dialog with its fans.

The chours 4^th paragraph. The comunicative style as well as the organizing phase are by now well estestablished. The chours allow itself to produce other experences.the first tour in west Germany came about from the need to strenghten the yoke with the emigrants from our region, the Veneto, and at the same time it is the outcome of the first recording.

The group leave load of enthusiasm, ready to face a callenge with itself but is aware that its musical proposition is going to be judged by a competent and a demanding public. Salzburg/Austria, bad reichenall and Gelsenkirchen/Germany, la Calamie/Belgium. the above mentioned cities will soon enter into the “friendly dictionary” of the chours, but at first impact they were rather alarm ing names.

The results are excellents : people do understand the stories that the chours tells, with interest. They require to listen to them again. They feel involved and applaud without hesitation . The warmth of the various audiences is obvious. The tours abroad are going to become one of the more distinctive activity of Monte Peralba chours that can be qualified as “singing messenger” of the city of San Dona’ di Piave and, also, inspiringtestimonial of cultural exchanges ever more intenses and significants.

By concidence the five hundredth of the foundation of the city of San Dona’ (1979) the chours introduced a new series of initiative that thank to them its story could be well distingueshed.
In such an occasion the chorus organize a first meeting of folk songs to whom various groups attended. Ever since the city folk songs exibitions will follow with a certain frequency. Hospitality was extended to foreign groups too, to offer the public a musical culture of other countries. A remarkable organizing engagement. One makes acqistances which common aim is to sing and to tell its own stories with the awarenessthat each one of us has an original story to propose.

It is a pleasure to provide hospitality and it is our commitment to give opportunities for our guests to exspress themselves. Each annual tour gives the chance to explore and discover different aspects of European heritage and culture. The choir have seen and experienced the good and bad of European history such as the visit to dachau concentration camp. The team did not have heart to sing there. Other were the thoughts... memories grow. The family album get richer. The logistic autonomy when on tour is one of the strong point of the organization: the chours must never running out of food as well as of wine, nor of cheerfulness.

During the 1986 tournèe, the chours make a stop over in Strasbourg/France andrm receive a kind of official european recognition. The team is greeted in the seat of the European Parliament to exchange memorial plaques with senator Marcel Rudolff, lordmayor of the city. In September of the same year in the cathedral of San Donà di Piave the french chours “Ensemble Vocale Universitaire de Strasbourg is hosted. A nice opportunity for the entire citizenship.

In 1987 a new tour in Europa is carryed out by the chours.
For an unprofessional group, twenty years is a real long time, especialy considering the numerous uninterupted presences of which the chours can pride itself. The tour to Sakzburg and Bad Reichenall/Austria can be considered as a special prize for those chours members with twenty years of service and... incentive for the others.

A year later the third recording is made out of a compilation of folk songs. The songs selection is made following two requirements: a) technical- artistic, to highlight the expressive qualities achieved by the chours, b) cultural, for having granted voice to various experiences of different provenance, disparate tongues and to promote tolerance and soilidarity among people.

That is, on the other hand, the cencept the chours now brings throughout the Veneto Region, Italy, Europe, introducing a strong bond of relationship and sympaty that is mainteined and renewed itself as years go by.
At this point each tour resembles always more to the return to one's country of old friends. Obviously it's during the concert that the caring reach it's peak. One also lives moments of particular sensation organizing all togheter a charity lottery and various shows.

In France as in Germany, the atmosphere that one can breath around the chours is always agreeable. One can feel the temperature of a warm friendship in all actions the chours does : the singing in a concert and perhaps even more after it when all the people are involved, not only the one timed italian emigrants, but the native too. The common dining after each performance gladdens everybody's heart, giving a kind of fulfilment after every day duties. And again the pleasure to know each other.

A new recording is made, the fourth. It is greet with notable interest. The vocals words have been reproduced in other languages. Apparently the new technical-artistic look do meet with the public aproval. It is an excellent incentive to each chorister to work the more he can do. The twentyfifth anniversary of the setting up of the chours (1992) is celebrated with another tour : Villeneuve in the Aosta Valley, Geneva/ Switzerland, Offenburg, Lahr/Germany. The important anniversary is also enphasized by a photographic showing off to which a lot of people attended to. Friends and passionated supporters of folk song chant.

The continuos study technical-artistic of maestro Berrnardino Zanetti along with the steadfastness of the entire chours management to promote the choral singing actitity, in October 1996 is awarded by the prestigious” Enrico Segattini “cultural and musical club with the appreciation fou the chours activeness in favour of music.

After thirty years the Monte Peralba chours do present it self with the usual freshness, along with a decided reassuring maturity. When people is sharing simples but important values, one can do remarkable things. With such a convincement the chours produce a new recording, giving preference to the more revealing pieces of our Veneto folk culture.

Stories that come from the far past and bring about faraway. Like the Piave river coming down from its source, the Peralba Montain, runs towards to its mouth more and more convinced that without his contribution the sea could not support the dream of whom has other horizons to discover. This is our unpretentious convincement: they say that the discovering of the world is over. With our chant would we like to concur to the finding of the infinite armonies of the human being.