MARAMAO – Matteo Ferrari (PS CLASSICS)
Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Maramao is based on the stylistic features of swing music with typical colours of musical theatre. The choice of instrumentation is based on the characteristic sounds of Italian music of the 1920s and 1930s. The arrangements are written by Riccardo Barba following a narrative line, basically faithful to the ideas of the composers but with various additions that lead to jazz, Anglo-Saxon musical theatre, author music and dance music.
Matteo Ferrari, along with a small band of musicians, brings us a selection of Italian songs composed between the two world wars. As Matteo says: “In a climate of conflict, dictatorship and censorship, many songs were written with the aim of cheering people up, creating a moment of distraction and encouraging people to dream. The name canzonette (“simple songs”) − as they were called – might suggest a connection to Neapolitan melodrama, when in fact they were pieces of great modernity. They exalted the legacy of Italian opera while mixing in overseas jazz and swing, which at that time were heavily permeating Europe. After a meticulous research of the sources, I discovered that this repertoire, at the time, was performed by both singers and actors, and merged various genres of light entertainment, such as operetta, café chantant, revue, variety and avanspettacolo.”
I have to admit a huge love for Italian music but this has opened my eyes to just how eclectic the music has been over the years. You can hear musical theatre coming through on many of the tracks, while others have a jazz feel, comedy numbers or simply heart-wrenching ballads. No matter what the genre, Ferrari brings each and every song to life and actually had me anxiously waiting for the next track and completely disappointed once the album had finished – although I could always put it on repeat (which I did).
There are probably only a couple of tracks that you may recognise: ‘Lili Marlen’ and ‘Mamma’ but, although you may recognise the titles, don’t expect a karaoke version, there’s no Marlene Dietrich lingering around in the former and the latter is one of my all-time favourite Italian songs, always bringing me to tears, and this time is no exception.
Full Tracks are: ‘Ti Parlero D’Amore’, ‘Tu, Musica Divina’, ‘Vivere’, ‘Lontano’, ‘Lili Marlen’, ‘Mamma’, ‘A Zonzo’, ‘Cerco Una Ragazza’, ‘Parlami D’Amore, Mariu’, ‘Tornerai’, ‘Vergiss Mein Nicht’, ‘Mille Lire Al Mese’, ‘Il Pinguino Innamorato’ and ‘Ma L’Amore No’.
You may not think you like Italian music but I am willing to bet that this album will change your mind forever. Brilliant.
Nick Wakeham
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