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.
La lune
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
La lune fit un saut
Pour regarder la terre de moins haut
File la comète,
Le voyage fut beau
La face cachée par l'aile du manteau.
La surprise fut
Que la blanche surface
Errant sur les pierres
Les pieds elle s'ouvrit
Et en cachant ses pleurs elle s'enfuit.
Marcher seul au monde
Pieds nus et sans un mot
C'est se clouer au cour le rire des sots.
La surprise n'est plus
Que la blanche surface
Ne soit pas neige.
The song "La lune" by Angelo Branduardi is a beautiful and emotional piece that explores the journey of the moon as it takes a leap to look at the earth from a different perspective. The first stanza of the song describes the moon's journey to earth, where it travels on a comet with a hidden face concealed by its cloak. As the moon reaches the planet, it is surprised to find that the white surface it had seen from a distance is not snow but a landscape of stones. The second stanza then goes on to talk about the experience of walking alone in this desolate and barren world, where the moon hides its tears and is moved by the stupidity of those who laugh at it.
The song is a poetic reflection on the human condition, where the moon, a symbol of beauty and the unknown, becomes a metaphor for the individual's journey in life. It highlights the pain and loneliness of walking alone in a world that is often consumed by the shallow laughter of fools, where individuals are forced to hide their emotions behind a wall of silence. The lyrics are powerful and thought-provoking, and the music adds an ethereal quality to the song that makes it all the more captivating.
Line by Line Meaning
Un jour et sans valises
One day without any luggage
La lune fit un saut
The moon took a leap
Pour regarder la terre de moins haut
To see the earth from a lower perspective
File la comète,
The comet flies by
Le voyage fut beau
The journey was beautiful
La face cachée par l'aile du manteau.
The hidden face covered by the cloak wing
La surprise fut
The surprise was
Que la blanche surface
That the white surface
N'était pas neige.
Was not snow.
Errant sur les pierres
Wandering on the stones
Les pieds elle s'ouvrit
Her feet opened up
Et en cachant ses pleurs elle s'enfuit.
And while hiding her tears she fled.
Marcher seul au monde
Walking alone in the world
Pieds nus et sans un mot
Barefoot and without a word
C'est se clouer au cour le rire des sots.
It's nailing the laughter of fools in one's heart.
La surprise n'est plus
The surprise is no longer
Que la blanche surface
That the white surface
Ne soit pas neige.
Is not snow.
Contributed by Sebastian A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.