Le Nuvole

by Fabrizio de Andre

Overview

De Andre originally intended to continue his investigation of Mediterranean folk music, so successfully explored in 1984's groundbreaking Creuza de Mae. However, he felt that such a task would distance him from committing to record his opinion on the political upheaval going on in Europe and in Italy at the time of the fall of the Berlin wall. Since he was equally keen on both counts, he conceived a new project, loosely inspired on Aristophanes' play The Clouds. De Andre divided Le Nuvole into two mini-suites, one per each side. The first one, sung in Italian, deals with the desolate state of current affairs in Italy, where moral decadence and political corruption had managed to contaminate all ideologies, rendered now effectively meaningless. The second side, sung in Genoese, Sardinian, and Neapolitan dialect, consists of a series of folk tales, in the vein of Creuza de Mae. If De Andre had considerably slowed down his output since the early '80s, he compensated with a rise of his already notorious fastidious perfectionism. Le Nuvole involved a cast of dozens of musicians, as well as three arrangers, Mauro Pagani, Piero Milesi, and Sergio Conforti. Pagani, the musical brain behind Creuza de Mae also was also credited as co-composer, and Massimo Bubola and Ivano Fossati collaborated on the texts of three songs. Le Nuvole took four years to complete, but it was worth the wait: it is probably the most superbly arranged album of the entire De Andre discography. Musically, it spreads from Viennese waltzes and Neapolitan songs from the 18th century to orchestral pieces and folk songs played on ethnic instruments. While every track in Le Nuvole is ostensibly great, and the diversity of styles showcases De Andre's impressive versatility, the record's hybrid nature makes it sound like two different albums instead of a single cohesive masterpiece. The first side brilliantly updates De Andre's topical songwriter credentials, adding a few more classics to the catalog in the process such as "Don Raffae'" and "La Domenica Delle Salme." This last song is a perfect political counterpoint to De Andre's autobiographical classic "Amico Fragile," built around a similar tremolo pattern. It is also equally harrowingly sarcastic in tone, a seven-and-a-half minute clenched-teeth fresco of contemporary society plagued by organized violence, racial intolerance, immoral opportunism, and social and political indifference. The second side is less immediately impressive (or disturbing), but it is full of beautiful, reflective passages as well as superb vocal performances and arrangements. Indeed, as his simply gorgeous rendition of "La Nova Gelosia" (an ancient Neapolitan song rediscovered by Roberto Murolo) can attest, De Andre has seldom sung better than on this record. ~ Mariano Prunes

Product Details

Release Date:	09/20/2024
Label:	Rca Victor Europe
UPC:	0196588676321
Rank:	213837

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Fabrizio de Andre   Primary Artist,Vocals
Paolo Costa   Basso Continuo
Piero Milesi   Orchestra,Orchestra Director
Demo Morselli   Tuba,Trumpet,Trombone,Basso Continuo
Amedeo Bianchi   Trumpet
Mauro Pagani   Kazoo,Violin,Vocals,Bouzouki,Mandolin,Bamboo Flute
Luciano Marconcini   Trumpet
Anna Maria Galligani   Viola
Nadia Pellicciari   Soprano
Elena Confortini   Violin
Flavio Premoli   Fisarmonica
Esteban Candelario Cabezas   Percussion
Franco Formenti   Viola
Maria Cristina Vasi   Violin
Umberto Marcandalli   Trumpet
Enrico Martinelli   Cello
Giuseppe Lopopolo   Tenor (Vocal)
Sebastiano Borelle   Viola
Bortolo Laffranchi   Baritonos
Giovanni Antonini   Flute
Roberto Bonati   Contrabassoon
Nicola Zuccala   Clarinet
Walter Calloni   Drums
Mario Arcari   Trumpet
Martino Lovisolo   Violin
Emanuela Sfondrini   Violin
Debora Tedeschi   Violin
Marria Gabriella Giaquinta   Corno D
Jorge Alberto Guerrero   Cello
Stefano Barneschi   Violin
Enrico Onofri   Violin
Renato Rivolta   Ottavino
Giacomo Trevisani   Violin
Diane Rama   Soprano
Alessandro Cairoli   Baritonos
Lucio Folilela   Basso Continuo
Giuseppe Barbareschi   Contrabassoon
Francesco Pomarico   Oboe
Michele Brescia   Flute
Giuseppe Donno   Tenor (Vocal)
Livia Baldi   Violin
Gianfranco Scafidi   Corno D
Maria Mereu   Vocals
Alessio Nava   Trombone
Cristina Cassiani Ingoni   Viola
Luisa Vinci   Trombone
Carlo Proverbio   Baritonos
Carlo DeMartini   Violin
Silvio Righini   Cello
Michele Ascolese   Chitarrone
Federico Sanesi   Darbouka
Sergio Conforti   Piano,Tastiere,Harmonium
Franco Pettinari   Ghironda
Lucia Vivien Pick   Soprano
Beatrice Cosma Pomarico   Cello
Sergio Orlandi   Trumpet
Lalla Pisano   Vocals
Adelia Colombo   Corno D
David Searcy   Timpani,Triangle
Brigid Sinead Nava   Violin
Angelo Pusceddu   Percussion
Adriano Ancarani   Cello
Caterina Dell'Agnello   Cello
Carlo Goj   Viola

Technical Credits

Ivano Fossati   Composer
Piero Milesi   Arranger
Fabrizio de Andre   Arranger,Producer
Mauro Pagani   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Nadia Pellicciari   Coro
Jean Marc Tigani   Recording Technician
Giuseppe Lopopolo   Coro
Bortolo Laffranchi   Coro
Alberto Bonardi   Studio Assistant
Fabio Berruti   Photo Restoration,Graphic Restoration
Diane Rama   Coro
Alessandro Cairoli   Coro
Lucio Folilela   Coro
Giuseppe Donno   Coro
Carlo Proverbio   Coro
Massimo Bubola   Composer
Sergio Conforti   Arranger
Lucia Vivien Pick   Coro