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.
Le dodici lune
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of Angelo Branduardi's "Le dodici lune" describe the twelve moons of the year and their associated natural elements and cycles. The song begins with the "luna del ghiaccio" or the moon of ice, which is followed by the "luna dei fantasmi" or the moon of ghosts. The next moon mentioned is the "luna calda del sole che ritorna," which translates to the warm moon of the returning sun. The song then moves on to the "luna dei fiori" or the moon of flowers, the "luna dei germogli" or the moon of sprouts, and the "luna gialla del grano che matura" or the yellow moon of ripening grain.
The following verses continue to describe the different moons of the year, including the "luna del riso" or the moon of rice, the "luna del raccolto" or the moon of the harvest, the "luna bianca del volo degli uccelli" or the white moon of birds in flight, and the "luna grande" or the big moon, among others. The song ends with the line "così, notte dopo notte le dodici lune" or "thus, night after night, the twelve moons." This repetition of the twelve moons serves to emphasize the cyclical nature of time and the changing seasons.
Line by Line Meaning
La luna del ghiaccio la luna dei fantasmi la luna calda del sole che ritorna
The moon of ice, the moon of ghosts, the warm moon of the returning sun.
La luna dei fiori la luna dei germogli ia luna gialla del grano che matura.
The moon of flowers, the moon of sprouts, the yellow moon of ripening wheat.
La luna del riso la luna del raccolto la luna bianca del volo degli uccelli.
The moon of rice, the moon of harvest, the white moon of birds flying.
La luna grande la luna delle foglie la piccola luna del sole che muore.
The big moon, the moon of leaves, the small moon of the dying sun.
E la pioggia goccia consuma la roccia; cos�, notte dopo notte le dodici lune.
And the rain, drop by drop, erodes the rock; thus, night after night the twelve moons.
Contributed by Savannah S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Giuseppe Acerbi
Deliziosa! Non l'avevo mai sentita, conoscevo unicamente per averla orecchiata e cantata a mio modo la singola 'Luna'. Anche il video è parecchio avvincente.
Luigi Fazioli
"Domenica e Lunedì" è il mio album preferito tra quelli di Angelo!
Cristina Mirci
E BILLISSIMA !!!!! BRAVISSIMO CANTANTE SI VEDE CHE METTI L'EMOZIONE IN QUELLO CHE CANTI
SnakeBite
E' meravigliosa! *-*
Giulia
il disco della mia infanzia :')
paolo bianco
Bella
Maria Mistrikova-Vasileva
beautiful - beautiful - so beautiful...!
M.Daniela Lunghi
poetico come sempre .
Maria Mistrikova-Vasileva
...so beautiful...!
roberto pinna
bellissimaaaa