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.
Sotto Il Tiglio
Angelo Branduardi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
là dov'era il nostro letto,
voi che passate potete vedere
come rompemmo fiori ed erba.
Davanti al bosco cantava l'usignolo
e di fiori lei fece un giaciglio.
Riderà chi passi per di là,
guardate com'è rossa la sua bocca.
noi rompemmo fiori ed erba,
voi che passate potete vedere
dove io posai la testa.
Se saprete che lei era con me
questo non sarà certo mai vergogna,
era lei la donna che volevo
per essere chiamato col mio nome.
Sotto il tiglio là nella landa
la radica si abbraccia al giglio,
voi che passate potete vedere
come son cresciuti insieme.
Lei con me rimase solo un anno,
ma con oro poi intrecciò le chiome
e se ne andò, io amavo uno sparviero,
in alto si levò e volò via.
Sempre va a caccia di nubi
il vento e non può mai fermarsi,
ma la bellezza è ancor più veloce,
troppo lento è per lei il vento.
Così è la nostra vita e il mondo
come vento e nube fugge via.
The song "Sotto il tiglio" by Angelo Branduardi is a nostalgic tale of a past love that took place under a linden tree in the countryside. In the opening lines, the singer invites passersby to observe where he and his lover broke flowers and grass under the linden tree, which was where they slept. The singer reminisces about the beauty of the experience and how they made a bed of flowers like a usignolo (nightingale). He suggests that whoever passes by might see this, and he points out the redness of his lover's mouth, which implies passion.
The song then goes to describe how he laid his head down under the same tree, and if anyone knew that she was with him, he would not be ashamed. He loved this woman so much and wanted to be known by his name because she was the one he chose. He then describes how the roots of the tree embrace the lily in the field, a metaphor for how he and his lover have grown together. Even though she stayed with him for only a year, she left with her hair interwoven with gold. The singer loved a sparrowhawk that fly high and then away.
The final lines suggest that life and the world are fleeting, like the wind and the clouds that run away. The beauty of love is faster than the wind, and we can only try to hold on to it while it lasts. The song's mood is nostalgic, full of longing for a love that has departed, yet the natural world around them is still there, a witness to their love.
Line by Line Meaning
Sotto il tiglio là nella landa,
Under the linden tree, in that open field,
là dov'era il nostro letto,
where our bed was,
voi che passate potete vedere
you who pass by can see
come rompemmo fiori ed erba.
how we broke flowers and grass.
Davanti al bosco cantava l'usignolo
In front of the woods, the nightingale sang,
e di fiori lei fece un giaciglio.
and made a bed of flowers.
Riderà chi passi per di là,
He who passes by will laugh,
guardate com'è rossa la sua bocca.
look how red his mouth is.
Sotto il tiglio là nella landa
Under the linden tree, in that open field
noi rompemmo fiori ed erba,
we broke flowers and grass,
voi che passate potete vedere
you who pass by can see
dove io posai la testa.
where I laid my head.
Se saprete che lei era con me
If you knew she was with me,
questo non sarà certo mai vergogna,
this will certainly not be shameful,
era lei la donna che volevo
she was the woman I wanted
per essere chiamato col mio nome.
to be called by my name.
Sotto il tiglio là nella landa
Under the linden tree, in that open field
la radica si abbraccia al giglio,
the root embraces the lily,
voi che passate potete vedere
you who pass by can see
come son cresciuti insieme.
how they have grown together.
Lei con me rimase solo un anno,
She stayed with me only for a year,
ma con oro poi intrecciò le chiome
but then braided her hair with gold
e se ne andò, io amavo uno sparviero,
and she left, I loved a sparrowhawk
in alto si levò e volò via.
rose high and flew away.
Sempre va a caccia di nubi
The wind is always hunting for clouds
il vento e non può mai fermarsi,
the wind and it can never stop
ma la bellezza è ancor più veloce,
but beauty is even faster,
troppo lento è per lei il vento.
the wind is too slow for her.
Così è la nostra vita e il mondo
Such is our life and the world
come vento e nube fugge via.
fleeting like the wind and clouds.
Contributed by Katherine J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Massimo Arnaboldi
Invincibile e grandioso Branduardi!!!
Luis Moreno
Me encanta!
Marina Sattin
Meravigliosa
Luca Neri
Una delle mie preferite: bellissima!
Sabine Payr
Under der linden
an der heide,
dâ unser zweier bette was,
dâ muget ir vinden
schône beide
gebrochen bluomen unde gras.
Vor dem walde in einem tal,
tandaradei,
schône sanc diu nahtegal.
(Walther von der Vogelweide)
Alessandro Montebuio
Forse è dico forse la più bella del grande brandua