A volte le parole non sono sufficienti ad esprimere ciò che sentiamo di fronte ad un evento che ci ha cambiato la vita, come la perdita di una persona cara. Non certo quelle di vicinanza o circostanza espresse da parenti o amici, ma neppure quelle che pronunciamo a noi stessi per lenire il dolore o accarezzare la dolcezza di un ricordo. Allora supplisce la musica con la sua forza emotiva travolgente e la sua capacità di far emergere sulla pelle i sentimenti.
“Daydreaming“, (Challenge records) sesto album della sassofonista campana Carla Marciano è il diario di un periodo tragico, segnato dalla perdita di entrambi i genitori e da un grave incidente personale, ed insieme una testimonianza di ripresa e volontà di un ritorno sui binari della vita. La dedica del titolo è per il padre Giovanni, figura imprescindibile nella vita di Carla ed ispiratore dell’intero percorso artistico della musicista, in un rapporto che si intuisce di amore e complicità nel segno della musica. Ma insieme viene ricordata anche la figura accogliente, tenace e generosa della madre e del rapporto unico con il marito Giovanni. Due figure che come in sogno compaiono nel racconto dei momenti subito successivi all’incidente occorso due mesi dopo. “Mentre venivo trasportata in ospedale dall’ambulanza, pensai fosse arrivata la mia ora, pensai che stavo raggiungendo i miei genitori. Ma poi li vidi lì davanti a me che dicevano ; “no Carletta. non è ancora il tuo momento”. Credo siano stati Loro a strapparmi alla morte e a fare si che rimanessero assolutamente illese le braccia e le mani per potere suonare ancora”.
La musica di “Daydreaming” registrata con il fedele quartetto completato da Alessandro La Corte al pianoforte, Aldo Vigorito al basso e Gaetano Fasano alla batteria, riflette l’ampia gamma di emozioni attraversate dalla protagonista negli eventi di questo periodo, seguito da un lungo stop delle attività musicali; spesso si avverte, palpabile, l’urgenza di comunicare il proprio sentire con una espressività quasi bruciante, senza risparmio o alcun ricorso a strumenti “del mestiere”. Musica allo stato puro, creata ed interpretata quasi con una funzione terapeutica, per riprendere il proprio cammino.
E’ così fin dall’iniziale “Daydreaming“, con il tema che si dipana lentamente dalle note prolungate dell’alto fino ad assumere la consistenza di un racconto onirico, narrato in una doppia veste: quella iniziale nella quale il trasporto emotivo è accentuato dalla presenza degli archi dell’Orchestra del Teatro Giuseppe Verdi di Salerno, ed una più levigata “church version” finale che lascia spazio anche ad un dialogo improvvisato fra i musicisti.
Ma la forza espressiva del sax alto e del sopranino di Carla Marciano è protagonista di tutto l’album, dosando impeto espressivo e carezze liriche con un pieno controllo delle diverse dinamiche. Fra i brani più travolgenti, segnaliamo l’impatto modale di “Flying“, nella quale il sax vola altissimo seguito da importanti parti soliste del contrabbasso e del pianoforte, ed il pathos di “Flowers from the sky“, con il basso dell’ospite Dario Deidda ed il piano elettrico di La Corte in evidenza..
Alle ballads “Giovanni” (Your sweet smile), un dialogo intimo e commovente fra sax ed archi, e “Johnny is walking“, impeccabile esercizio di stile old fashioned, Marciano riserva quel tocco immaginifico che già avevamo conosciuto nel precedente lavoro dedicato al compositore di colonne sonore Bernard Herrmann “Psychosis” (Challenge rec. 2018), mentre “We stay at home” è una articolata digressione sulla canzone dl Charles Trenet “Che reste – t il de nos amours“, sviluppata, dopo l’intro solista iniziale, in forma autonoma.
“Hypnagogic state” è, infine, une piccola suite divisa in tre parti (Sleep/Wake/Sleep): si parte da un meditativo duetto sax/contrabbasso da cui si svela gradualmente il tema che attraversa l’intero brano, con la convulsa sezione centrale incentrata sul robusto drive della ritmica e del piano elettrico ed il ritorno alla dimensione onirica del finale.
“Daydreaming” è un disco intimo e personale capace di aprirsi per condurre alla condivisione delle premesse che ne hanno segnato la nascita.
Ed ascoltarlo è come accostarsi, con il dovuto pudore e la più sentita vicinanza, ad un amico segnato da una perdita per regalare un abbraccio.
Sometimes words are not enough to express what we feel in the face of an event that has changed our lives, such as the loss of a loved one. Certainly not the words of sympathy or circumstance expressed by relatives or friends, but not even those we say to ourselves to ease the pain or caress the sweetness of a memory. Then music comes to our aid with its overwhelming emotional power and its ability to bring feelings to the surface.
“Daydreaming“, (Challenge records) the sixth album by Campanian saxophonist Carla Marciano is the diary of a tragic period, marked by the loss of both parents and a serious personal accident, and at the same time a testament to recovery and the determination to get back on the tracks of life. The title is dedicated to her father Giovanni, an indispensable figure in Carla’s life and the inspiration behind the musician’s entire artistic journey, in a relationship that one senses was one of love and complicity under the sign of music. But the welcoming, tenacious and generous figure of her mother is also remembered, as is her unique relationship with her husband Giovanni. Two figures who, as if in a dream, appear in the account of the moments immediately following the accident that occurred two months later. “As I was being taken to the hospital by ambulance, I thought my time had come, I thought I was joining my parents. But then I saw them there in front of me saying ; “no Carletta. it’s not your time yet”. I believe it was They who pulled me back from death and made sure that my arms and hands remained absolutely unharmed so that I could play again”.
The music of “Daydreaming” recorded with the faithful quartet completed by Alessandro La Corte on piano, Aldo Vigorito on bass and Gaetano Fasano on drums, reflects the wide range of emotions experienced by the protagonist during the events of this period, followed by a long hiatus from musical activities; often one can feel, palpably, the urgency to communicate what she is feeling with an almost burning expressiveness, without restraint or any recourse to “trade” devices. Music in its purest form, created and performed almost with a therapeutic function, to resume her journey.
It is so from the opening “Daydreaming“, with the theme slowly unfolding from the sustained notes of the alto until it takes on the consistency of a dreamlike tale, narrated in a double guise: the initial one in which the emotional intensity is heightened by the presence of the strings of the Orchestra of the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi of Salerno, and a smoother final “church version” that also leaves room for an improvised dialogue among the musicians.
Sometimes words are not enough to express what we feel in the face of an event that has changed our lives, such as the loss of a loved one. Certainly not the words of sympathy or circumstance expressed by relatives or friends, but neither those we say to ourselves to ease the pain or caress the sweetness of a memory. Then music comes to the rescue with its overwhelming emotional power and its ability to bring feelings to the surface.
“Daydreaming“, (Challenge records) the sixth album by Campanian saxophonist Carla Marciano is the diary of a tragic period, marked by the loss of both parents and a serious personal accident, and at the same time a testament to recovery and the determination to get back on the tracks of life. The title is dedicated to her father Giovanni, an indispensable figure in Carla’s life and the inspiration behind the musician’s entire artistic journey, in a relationship that one senses was marked by love and complicity through music. But the welcoming, tenacious and generous figure of her mother is also remembered, as is her unique relationship with her husband Giovanni. Two figures who, as in a dream, appear in the account of the moments immediately following the accident that occurred two months later. “While I was being taken to the hospital by ambulance, I thought my time had come, I thought I was joining my parents. But then I saw them there in front of me saying ; “no Carletta. it’s not your time yet”. I believe it was They who pulled me back from death and made sure that my arms and hands remained absolutely unharmed so that I could play again”.
The music of “Daydreaming” recorded with the faithful quartet completed by Alessandro La Corte on piano, Aldo Vigorito on bass and Gaetano Fasano on drums, reflects the wide range of emotions experienced by the protagonist during the events of this period, followed by a long hiatus from musical activities; often one can feel, palpably, the urgency to communicate what she is feeling with an almost burning expressiveness, without restraint or any recourse to “trade” devices. Music in its purest form, created and performed almost with a therapeutic function, to resume her journey.
It is so from the opening “Daydreaming“, with the theme slowly unfolding from the sustained notes of the alto until it takes on the consistency of a dreamlike tale, narrated in a double guise: the initial one in which the emotional intensity is heightened by the presence of the strings of the Orchestra of the Teatro Giuseppe Verdi of Salerno, and a smoother final “church version” that also leaves room for an improvised dialogue among the musicians.
But the expressive power of Carla Marciano’s alto and sopranino saxophones is the protagonist throughout the album, balancing expressive impetus and lyrical caresses with full control of the different dynamics. Among the most overwhelming tracks, we should mention the modal impact of “Flying“, in which the sax soars very high, followed by important solo passages from the double bass and piano, and the pathos of “Flowers from the sky“, with guest Dario Deidda’s bass and La Corte’s electric piano in the spotlight..
For the ballads “Giovanni” (Your sweet smile), an intimate and moving dialogue between sax and strings, and “Johnny is walking“, an impeccable exercise in old fashioned style, Marciano reserves that imaginative touch we had already encountered in her previous work dedicated to film score composer Bernard Herrmann “Psychosis” (Challenge rec. 2018), while “We stay at home” is an elaborate digression on Charles Trenet’s song “Che reste – t il de nos amours“, developed, after the initial solo intro, in an autonomous form.
“Hypnagogic state” is, finally, a small suite divided into three parts (Sleep/Wake/Sleep): it begins with a meditative sax/double bass duet from which the theme that runs through the entire piece gradually emerges, with the convulsive central section centered on the robust drive of the rhythm section and electric piano and the return to the dreamlike dimension of the finale.
“Daydreaming” is an intimate and personal record capable of opening up to lead to a sharing of the premises that marked its birth.
And listening to it is like approaching, with due reserve and the deepest sense of closeness, a friend marked by a loss in order to offer an embrace.