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.
Il Dono Del Cervo
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Che siedi così quieto
La fine del tuo viaggio
Che cosa ci portò?
Le teste maculate di feroci tigri
Per fartene tappeto le loro pelli?
Sulle colline
Io, per cacciare
Da solo me ne andai
E fu così che, col cuore in gola
Un agguato al daino io tendevo
Ed invece venne il cervo
Che, davanti a me, si fermò
E fu così, che col cuore in gola
Un agguato al daino io tendevo
Ed invece venne il cervo
Che, davanti a me, si fermò
"Piango il mio destino
Io presto morirò
Ed in dono allora
A te io offrirò
Queste ampie corna
Mio buon signore
Dalle mie orecchie
Tu potrai bere
Un chiaro specchio
Sarà per te il mio occhio
Con il mio pelo
Pennelli ti farai
Se la mia carne cibo ti sarà
La mia pelle ti riscalderà
E sarà il mio fegato
Che coraggio ti dara
E così sarà, buon signore
Che il corpo del tuo vecchio servo
Sette volte darà frutto
Sette volte fiorirà
Dimmi buon signore
Che siedi così quieto
La fine del tuo viaggio
Che cosa ci portò?
Che cosa ci portò?
The lyrics of Angelo Branduardi's song Il Dono Del Cervo (The Gift of the Deer) tell the story of a hunter who, while out hunting alone in the hills in the fourth or fifth month, unexpectedly encounters a deer. He had been lying in wait for a deer, heart racing with anticipation, but instead the deer comes to him and stops in front of him. The deer tells the hunter that he is sad because he knows he will soon die, and offers his antlers to the hunter as a gift. The deer suggests that the hunter can use his antlers to drink from, his eyes as a mirror, his skin to make paint brushes, his meat to eat, and his liver to give him courage.
The song seems to be a meditation on mortality, and the cycle of life and death in nature. The deer acknowledges his own mortality and seeks to use his body to give something back to the hunter and to the natural world. It suggests a respect for the natural world, and the idea that the animals we hunt or kill can give back to us in unexpected ways.
Overall, the lyrics of Il Dono Del Cervo are an insightful and touching portrayal of the connection between humans and animals, and the complex relationships that exist between humans and the natural world.
Line by Line Meaning
Dimmi, buon signore
Please tell me, kind sir
Che siedi così quieto
Why are you sitting so still
La fine del tuo viaggio
What brought you to the end of your journey
Che cosa ci portò?
What brought you here?
Le teste maculate di feroci tigri
The stained heads of ferocious tigers
Per fartene tappeto le loro pelli?
In order to make a carpet with their skins?
Sulle colline
On the hills
Fra il quarto e il quinto mese
Between the fourth and the fifth month
Io, per cacciare
I, to hunt
Da solo me ne andai
Went alone
E fu così che, col cuore in gola
And so it was, heart in my mouth
Un agguato al daino io tendevo
I lay in wait for a deer
Ed invece venne il cervo
Instead, a stag came
Che, davanti a me, si fermò
And stopped in front of me
E fu così che col cuore in gola
And so it was, heart in my mouth
Un agguato al daino io tendevo
I lay in wait for a deer
Ed invece venne il cervo
Instead, a stag came
Che, davanti a me, si fermò
And stopped in front of me
"Piango il mio destino
"I weep for my destiny
Io presto morirò
I will soon die
Ed in dono allora
And as a gift then
A te io offrirò
I offer to you
Queste ampie corna
These broad antlers
Mio buon signore
To my kind sir
Dalle mie orecchie
From my ears
Tu potrai bere
You can drink
Un chiaro specchio
A clear mirror
Sarà per te il mio occhio
My eye will be for you
Con il mio pelo
With my fur
Pennelli ti farai
You will make brushes
Se la mia carne cibo ti sarà
If my flesh will be your food
La mia pelle ti riscalderà
My skin will warm you
E sarà il mio fegato
And it will be my liver
Che coraggio ti dara
That will give you courage
E così sarà, buon signore
And so it will be, kind sir
Che il corpo del tuo vecchio servo
That the body of your old servant
Sette volte darà frutto
Will bear fruit seven times
Sette volte fiorirà
Will bloom seven times
Che cosa ci portò?
What brought you here?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Angelo Branduardi, Luisa Zappa
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Coerenza 67
Questa canzone è come una favola medioevale che riporta in un tempo magico e fantastico.... Fa sognare💙
Gianluca Valente
Grazie per il bel commento!
Kasper W
I practically don't know any italian, but my dad used to listen to Angelo Branduardi a lot when I sat in the car with him, especially during vacation time. These songs give me such a nice nostalgic feeling, and makes me wanna learn the language:)
Gianluca Valente
Good luc with language learning!
Luca C.
Mi vien da piangere pensando al mondo di semplicità, spiritualità e magia dipinto da Branduardi, in confronto al mondo in cui viviamo oggi.
Tum Filius
Il testo l'ha scritto la moglie a quanto pare
Ketsu Official
Provo lo stesso 💕
Raffaella Mazzeo
Assolutamente d'accordo
efisio casu
Negli anni novanta il mondo e' molto cambiato,c'e' stata una sorta di imbarbarimento!
JO Bracci
è il pensiero Medievale...antico