Branduardi was born in Cuggiono, a small town in the province of Milan, but early moved with the family to Genoa. He was educated as a classical violinist in the local school of music. At the age of 18 he composed the music for the Confessioni di un malandrino (Hooligan's Confession) by Sergei Yesenin, still one of his finest songs.
He is married to Luisa Zappa, who wrote the lyrics for many of his songs. Luisa and Angelo have two daughters, Sarah and Maddalena, both musicians.
Angelo's first album was never released, and resulted from a co-operation with Maurizio Fabrizio, composer and gifted performer. The first released album, Angelo Branduardi '74 was arranged with Paul Buckmaster.
La Luna ("The Moon"), including "Hooligan's Confessions" and the fine, delicate song giving the LP its name, is a prelude to the success of the following works. Alla Fiera dell'Est (English edition: Highdown Fair, 1976) was Angelo's first vastly popular album, followed by La Pulce d'Acqua ("The Water Flea", 1978) and Cogli la Prima Mela (English edition, Life is the Only Teacher, 1979). In those albums Branduardi exploits themes and patterns from ancient music, mostly Renaissance and early Baroque. The very song Alla Fiera dell'Est ("At the Eastern Fair") is still popular among Italians of every age, who test themselves to send in memory all the fable-like, repetition-based lyrics.
Lyrics have a broad spectrum of inspiration: a Danse macabre, the theme of Satan's mistress, Chinese, Native American and Druidic tradition, the apocryphal Gospels. Concertation owes much to the talents of Maurizio Fabrizio, and exploits unusual instruments for pop music: dulcimer, Pan flute, lute, clarinet, among others - mixed with more standard guitar-bass-and-drums.
Subsequent albums are mark by an increasing desire towards experimentation and differentiation. Branduardi (1981) has a more intimate tone, Cercando l'oro ("Searching for Gold", 1983), has very sophisticated and delicate arrangements (starts with a String Quartet), Branduardi canta Yeats (1985) is a tribute to William Butler Yeats. Pane e rose ("Bread and Roses", 1988) is a still inspired, but increasingly dark picture of life and death. Though similar in style to the early ones, 1980s Branduardi's songs seemed to have lost the strong, rythmical energy that backed masterpieces like "Ballo in Fa Diesis Minore" or "Cogli la prima mela". Il Ladro (1991) marks a very delicate point of Branduardi's life, edging on depression, echoed in a dark, almost cemeterial, style of singing.
The album Si puó fare 1993 brings back Branduardi to normality, but the artist is now struggling to evade the minstrel character which is now too strict for him. In 1994 he publishes Domenica e Lunedì ("Sunday and Monday"), dedicated to Franco Fortini.
In 1996, during the celebrations for the restoration of the Duomo of Spilimbergo after the catastrophic 1976 earthquake, he records the extraordinary album Futuro Antico, in which he poses as an early Baroque musician, reusing, mixing, wording pre-existing material along with his own. This experience, together with musicians and musicologists, will continue with Futuro Antico II and Futuro Antico III.
In 1998 Branduardi teams with Italian stand-up comedian and writer Giorgio Faletti for Il Dito e la Luna ("The Finger and the Moon").
He reworks earlier musical themes with writings of and about St. Francis to produce L'Infinitamente Piccolo; he writes a musical on the same topic (Francesco).
In 2003 a new album, Altro ed Altrove ("Other and Elsewhere"), in a time period marked by a rise of racism and intolerance, brings together (mainly) love stories from several cultures.
Discography
* 1974 Angelo Branduardi
* 1975 la luna(France: Confession d'un malandrin, 1981)
* 1976 Alla fiera dell'est (France: A la foire de l'est - UK: Highdown Fair, 1978)
* 1977 La pulce d'acqua (UK: Fables and fantasies, 1980)
* 1979 Cogli la prima mela (France: Le demoiselle)
* 1980 Gulliver,la luna e altri disegni
* 1980 Concerto
* 1981 Branduardi '81
* 1983 Cercando l'oro (France: Tout l'or du monde)
* 1983 State buoni se potete (Soundtrack for the movie with the same name)
* 1986 Branduardi canta Yeats
* 1988 Pane e rose (France: Du pain et des roses)
* 1990 Il ladro
* 1992 Musiche da film
* 1992 Si può fare France: Ça se fait)
* 1994 Domenica e lunedì (France: La menace, 1995)
* 1996 Camminando camminando (Live collection)
* 1996 Futuro antico I
* 1998 Il dito e la luna (Lyrics by Giorgio Faletti)
* 1998 Studio Collection (Collection)
* 1999 Futuro antico II
* 2000 L'infinitamente piccolo
* 2002 Futuro antico III
* 2003 Altro ed altrove
* 2005 The Platinum collection (Collection)
==LINKS==
*http://www.angelobranduardi.it/
*[http://www.branduardi.info Branduardi.info
*[http://guide.supereva.com/angelo_branduardi/ Guida di Angelo Branduardi
*[http://www.angelo-branduardi.com ABcom - Il sito internazionale di Angelo Branduardi
*[http://www.europamici.com EuropAMICI di Angelo Branduardi
*[http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/branduardi-ans/ Branduardi-ans -Mailing List Ufficiale- Gruppo di discussione su Angelo Branduardi e la sua musica.
I santi
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
stanno arrivando, stanno arrivando.
e camminando e camminando
stanno cantando, stanno cantando.
e camminando e camminando
stanno gridando, stanno gridando
ora le stelle stanno cadendo
e camminando e camminando
a piedi nudi ballano i Santi
trombe e tamburi ballano i Santi
a braccia alzate ballano i Santi
marciando lenti ballano i Santi
The lyrics of "I santi" by Angelo Branduardi speak about a procession of saints that are arriving and dancing barefoot. The first few lines emphasize the movement of the saints, walking and singing as they arrive. The repetition of "e camminando e camminando" and "stanno arrivando, stanno arrivando" creates a sense of urgency and eagerness in the procession. The saints are also described as shouting or yelling, adding to the level of excitement and intensity.
The next lines paint a picture of the impact that the arrival of the saints has on the surroundings. The stars are falling, the walls are trembling, and the saints are still dancing. The contrast between the chaos surrounding them and their calm, rhythmic dance creates a sense of ethereality and divinity. The saints continue to dance, accompanied by trumpets and drums, with their arms raised and marching slowly. The final lines of the song leave the listeners with the image of the saints continuing to dance and march, seemingly endless in their procession.
Overall, "I santi" explores the idea of the divine breaking into the everyday world, with the arrival of the saints causing a disruption in the natural order of things. The lyrics emphasize the joy and celebration that comes with the arrival of the saints, while also conveying a sense of awe and reverence towards them.
Line by Line Meaning
e camminando e camminando
As they walk and walk
stanno arrivando, stanno arrivando.
They are arriving, they are arriving.
stanno cantando, stanno cantando.
They are singing, they are singing.
stanno gridando, stanno gridando
They are shouting, they are shouting
ora le stelle stanno cadendo
Now the stars are falling
le nostre mura stanno tremando
Our walls are trembling
a piedi nudi ballano i Santi
The Saints dance barefoot
trombe e tamburi ballano i Santi
The Saints dance with trumpets and drums
a braccia alzate ballano i Santi
The Saints dance with their arms raised
marciando lenti ballano i Santi
The Saints dance slowly while marching
Contributed by Penelope V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Fernando Scanu
Angelo Branduardi, un cantante (è assolutamente riduttivo definirlo così, non dimentichiamo che è uno studioso di musica, di letteratura religiosa, di recupero di testi antichi.....quanti altri possono vantare simili caratteristiche) assolutamente unico e straordinario. Non ci si stanca mai di scoprirlo e di ascoltarlo
Ecco Eco
Non scriveva lui i suoi testi
Jacopo De Benedictis
I cantautori italiani non hanno nulla da invidiare ai loro celebri colleghi anglosassoni, come Bob Dylan, Neil Young o Cat Stevens, in termini di qualità. Sono forse meno famosi di loro perché non cantano in inglese, ma in quanto al valore dei testi e delle musiche non sono inferiori a nessuno: Branduardi ma anche Battisti, De André, Guccini, Dalla, Vasco, Rino Gaetano, De Gregori, Venditti, solo per citarne alcuni, ci hanno regalato una somma di materiale di qualità superiore ad ogni altro paese che io conosca, in termini di puro cantautorato. Forse sarò un po' ignorante sui cantautori stranieri, ma di sicuro quelli italiani hanno prodotto un repertorio difficilmente eguagliabile
JO Bracci
Thank you
Silvana Gili
Meravigliosa! !!!mediterranea!!!bella!!!felice! !!!la santita'....in musica!!!!
Vasile Lacatus
es maravillosa la canción.
un abra-zote fuerte Branduardi.....de España.
Fabienne Cavrois
Extraordinaire ! Les médias français occultent un génie de la musique..Seul Jacques Chancel nous l'a fait découvrir (Le Grand Echiquier). Où trouve-t-on les CD en gondole ? Merci à Internet en tout cas
Edgardo Giangrande
una perla tra le magie di Angelo
fabrizio
meravigliosa! grandissimo Branduardi
Mario Maneri Music
una delle sue più belle!