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.
Lo straniero
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Non fidarti di quell'uomo.
nella tenda l'hai accolto.
lui del male ti farà.
E un nemico, uno straniero.
mala sorte porterà,
un pugnale lui nasconde
e alle spalle colpirà.
Rosa del monte... ci tradirà.
Acqua di fonte, ..ti ferirà
col suo amore.
Se verrà, se di notte verrà.
colpiremo a morte il tuo amore.
bruceremo le vesti e il suo cuore.
se verrà lo Straniero.
lei diceva alla sua gente:
è il mio amico, il mio amore.
ha baciato la mia bocca.
lui paura non avrà.
Ha dormito sul mio braccio
e da me lui tornerà.
ha bevuto del mio vino.
lui paura non avrà.
Rosa del monte, ..ci tradirà.
Acqua di fonte, ..ti ferirà
col suo amore.
Poesia popolare araba. Beduini di Libia
A differenza delle altre ragazze arabe,
le ragazze beduine sono molto libere,
anche di accogliere gli uomini nella loro tenda.
La ragazza della canzone si e però innamorata di un ragazzo
appartenente ad un'altra tribù e questo per la sua gente
e un tabù inaccettabile... lo Straniero deve morire.
The song "Lo Straniero" by Angelo Branduardi depicts the story of a girl who falls in love with a stranger, causing her tribe to warn her not to trust him because he will bring trouble and ultimately harm. They view him as a potential enemy who carries a hidden knife and will attack from behind. Her people urge her to turn against him despite the fact that she loves him and sees him as her friend and lover. The girl believes in her heart that the stranger won't cause her harm, but her tribe's fears make them view him as an enemy. The lyrics talk about how the girl's people warn her that the stranger is not to be trusted, but she continues to love him even as her people plot to kill him.
The song portrays the strict tribal customs and norms that constrain women's freedom in the Arab community. The girl in the song is one of the few who has liberty to live her life, but her people still try to control her choices, including her romantic partner. She is willing to fight for her relationship and defend her lover, but her tribe doesn't understand her love and ultimately intends to harm him. The song highlights the dangers of rigid cultural norms that restrict personal choices and damage people's lives.
Line by Line Meaning
La sua gente le diceva:
She was told by her people:
Non fidarti di quell'uomo.
Don't trust that man.
nella tenda l'hai accolto.
You welcomed him into your tent.
lui del male ti farà.
He will harm you.
E un nemico, uno straniero.
He is an enemy, a stranger.
mala sorte porterà,
He will bring bad luck.
un pugnale lui nasconde
He is hiding a dagger.
e alle spalle colpirà.
And he will strike you from behind.
Rosa del monte... ci tradirà.
Rose of the mountain... she will betray us.
Acqua di fonte, ..ti ferirà
Spring water... he will hurt you
col suo amore.
With his love.
Se verrà, se di notte verrà.
If he comes, if he comes at night.
colpiremo a morte il tuo amore.
We will kill your love.
bruceremo le vesti e il suo cuore.
We will burn his clothes and his heart.
se verrà lo Straniero.
If the stranger comes.
lei diceva alla sua gente:
She said to her people:
è il mio amico, il mio amore.
He is my friend, my love.
ha baciato la mia bocca.
He kissed my mouth.
lui paura non avrà.
He will not be afraid.
Ha dormito sul mio braccio
He slept on my arm.
e da me lui tornerà.
And he will come back to me.
ha bevuto del mio vino.
He drank my wine.
lui paura non avrà.
He will not be afraid.
Rosa del monte, ..ci tradirà.
Rose of the mountain... she will betray us.
Acqua di fonte, ..ti ferirà
Spring water... he will hurt you.
col suo amore.
With his love.
Poesia popolare araba. Beduini di Libia
Arabic folk poetry. Bedouins of Libya.
A differenza delle altre ragazze arabe,
Unlike other Arab girls,
le ragazze beduine sono molto libere,
Bedouin girls are very free,
anche di accogliere gli uomini nella loro tenda.
Even to welcome men into their tent.
La ragazza della canzone si e però innamorata di un ragazzo
The girl in the song fell in love with a boy
appartenente ad un'altra tribù e questo per la sua gente
Belonging to another tribe, which to her people
e un tabù inaccettabile... lo Straniero deve morire.
Is an unacceptable taboo... the stranger must die.
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.