Performer: Luciano Pavarotti + chorus
Instrumentation: full western classical orchestra, soloist and chorus
Culture or Origin: Italy
Connection: I recently completed my interview with my Nonni regarding Italian music. When I was with her she pulled out a big stack of CDs that she had collected over the years. One of the collections had 4 CDs in it. It included Folk Songs, Mandolin Music and Music from Italy. This song was on one of the CDs. My Nonni also pulled out a couple of Luciano Pavarotti and Andrea Bocelli CDs. These artists are more mainstream but still sing the Italian songs with a certain finesse After I was reacquainted with Luciano Pavarotti and the Funiculi, Funicula song, I was hit with a childhood memory. I remembered dancing around my living room with family while this song was playing through the CD player during a parties.
I bring up this story because during the interview with my Nonni she talked about how her family would always dance every night. Her brother would play the accordion and her sisters would dance and they would sing together.
I also have other memories of my family singing this song when holding babies. They would bounce the baby on their knee and sing this song to them. They would also sing or chant to the baby in Italian.
How does this connect? One of the first couple readings we had was about helping our students discover and retain their own cultures. Yes, we will teach them Western Classical music and concepts. However, it is just as important to help them connect back to their roots. These memories made me smile and be proud of my heritage. I am glad that there are still music, food, and Italian cultural tradition in my family.
Is this a folk song? If it is, it's cool that it has orchestration and a choir behind the melody. It's funny because it sounds like it could a fun drinking song from some kind of romantic opera. It's funny that italian opera almost lends itself to being turned into this big dramatic fanfare. This reminds me of a folk song Wayne, one of the vocal teachers here, gave to me last semester. The mood was completely different that this piece, but it too was something I could picture in the middle of the second act as the soprano loses faith in her beloved, with a big dramatic orchestra behind it. I guess this just goes to demonstrate s how much of an Italian art Opera really is.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, do you know what that metal instrument is that is heard at the end and between verses? It almost sounds like swords.
Super fun, interesting find. Thanks!
I think as future teachers one of the most important things to remember is to include the culture of all students into the classroom. Celebrating the different cultures will help inform students of their peer's heritage and will allow students to maybe learn more about themselves. Using student's cultures is also a way to ensure students are interested in the topic, because the topic is THEM!. This also opens up the opportunity for many outside of the classroom assignments for students to participate in.
ReplyDeleteWhile opera is sometimes not accesible to grade school students, I think that the fanfarish quality liz mentioned in her comment would be enticing and entertaining for grade school students. This is an awesome piece to introduce both Pavarotti (because everybody should know Pavarotti) and the idea of different repeating forms of music. Nice find!
ReplyDeleteIt is a Neapolitan song composed in the late 19th century for a dedication ceremony. Many, including Strauss, mistook it for a folk song and was charged a heavy royalty fee for using it in once of his works. What a great teaser for your interview, Cat. Can't wait to watch it.
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