A Musical Trip to Italy
Now I've never been to Italy, and honestly, I've never really looked into Italian music. But today I decided to do a little research and find out what kind of stuff the Italians bring to the musical world. And I've gotta say, what I found was honestly pretty cool. It's a bit outside of the style that I usually listen to, but I still really enjoyed it.
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The first song that I listened to is called En Cambio No by Laura Pausini, released in Italy in 2008. The song was very very pretty, I really enjoyed how calm and relaxing the beginning was and was then pleasantly surprised by the emotional rock sound that came about afterward. The piece as a whole was very moving, even if I didn't understand what she was saying.
A musical element that I noticed within this piece was consonance in the melody near the beginning of the song, Pausini's voice blended so smoothly with the chords of the orchestra in the background, and the piano. On top of that, an alteration of dynamics through a sudden crescendo was used to spike the mood of the song when the guitar comes in. The song gets noticeably louder, and Pausini begins to sing louder, this whole transition moves the song from piano to forte enable to make it more emotionally moving.
Laura Pausini has music that goes around the world, she mainly sings for her Italian fans, but also has albums in Spanish and in English. She is most definitely a pop artist, as she says that her music, as of late, is about motivating women to embrace their inner strength and step out and do great things (Diaz 2018). Those that are fans of Pausini like to listen to her powerful, almost tearful vocals and feel connected to her through the emotion that she shares with the listener.
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The second song that I found is called Il Pescatore by Fabrizio de Andre, released in Italy in 1968. This song was really cool because I'm a big Cat Stevens fan, and while these two artists are very different, the sound is very similar. Il Pescatore has a sort of folk/country vibe, the kind of thing I'd love to listen to if I went out fishing on a sunny day. It's cool because I can see how other countries can have music that sounds very similar to some of the music from our country, even from the same time period.
A musical element that I noticed in this piece was the use of polyphonic texture. de Andre was able to blend his mellow vocals with the independent melody of his guitar, and then blend that with the harmonies of a background symphony, and then blend that again with a little whistling melody every once in a while. This was really cool because it put a lot of simple things together to make an overall piece that sounded really good. Speaking of simple things, I found the melody he sang to be very conjunct, or smooth, and easy to play and sing. I liked this a lot because (if I knew the language) it helps you to be able to sing along with it and feel like you are a part of the song.
A really cool thing that I learned about Fabrizio de Andre was that in his time he was quite a critical figure, he openly spoke out against the Catholic church, and the government at the time. So much so that in today's time, when a lot of the changes he wanted to see in the world are occurring, the Italian people are embracing his music and mourning his death more than ever before (Kington 2009). Andre's music inspired people on the political left so much that they have even begun naming schools after him and playing his music at large events.
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Well, I hope you liked the two songs that I selected. As I said before, they are not of the type of music that I typically listen to! But I very much enjoyed looking into them and discovering the background behind the artists that created them.
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Diaz, Jordan. "Laura Pausini Talks Overcoming 'Fear' & Embracing Self-Discovery on New Album 'Hazte Sentir': Exclusive". billboard.com. 8 February 2018. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/latin/8098856/laura-pausini-hazte-sentir-interview.
Kington, Tom. "Italians hail poet singer's rebel legacy". theguardian.com. 17 January 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/jan/18/italy-fabrizio-de-andre.
These are not the types of songs I would usually listen to but I do like the original sound that each song has. You said that the first song was very pretty and I definitely have to agree with you. I feel like En Cambio No is a song I could fall asleep to. As I continued to listen, I would not have expected the sound to grow louder or more intense, seriously caught me by surprise! Your blog post was very interesting to read!
ReplyDeleteIt's not a traditional song, but every time I hear Perfect Symphony by Ed Sheeran with Andrea Bocelli I cry a little. I'm the same in that I don't understand the music very well but can appreciate the sound and feel of it anyway. The Chitarra is a stringed instrument with a very unique sound that is common in Italian music.
ReplyDeleteThese are some pretty diverse songs I'd say, I like the contrst of the two! I was sad you didn't go into much depth about any instruments or what Music means to Italians, but I found that your overview of the two songs you selected was very pleasant. It was also interesting to hear about Fabrizio de Andre and how he had so much influence on the public so long after his death. Nice post!
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