Brendan Foreman wrote this review.
Being stuck in the middle of the Mediterranean as it is, Sicily has been visited, invaded, and colonized by just about every culture that lines that sea, as well as a few who dropped in from neighboring Europe: from the Ancient Greeks and Phoenicians to the Normans during the Middle Ages, and even the Americans during World War II. Its music reflects these many guests and inhabitants of this island — containing elements of Arabic harmony, Flamenco accordion, Norman and Greek melodies, and North African rhythm. To celebrate this heritage, the Sicilian group Taberna Mylaensis recorded this amazing CD; the result is a fascinating mixture of traditional lyrics and arrangements with modern sensibilities and even theatrics.
The instrumentation is almost entirely traditional, leaning heavily on guitars, mandolins, and mandolas played by Luciano Maio and Guiseppe Greco. Other melody instruments are the accordion, played by Tanino Lazzaro; the marranzano (a traditional Sicilian instrument), by Nando la Rosa; and flutes and other wind instruments, played by Gianvarlo Parisi. The group is backed up by the very African percussion work of Massimo Laguaria on various instruments such as the djemba, the darbuka, and tambourine. The only non-traditional instrument is the electric bass, which is played by Greco.
However, one of the most enjoyable instruments here is the rich, baritone voice of Maio, Taberna Mylaensis’ lead vocalist. Deep and resonant, his singing evokes a wealth of emotions, whether he’s singing about wandering refugees in “Terra Bruciata” (Scorched Earth) or the terror and bewilderment of experiencing an earthquake in “Tirrimotu” (Earthquake). His voice can also be quite stirring and uplifting, as in “Lampabbo’…Lampa’!!,” a tuna-fishing work song that works in various religious themes.
Each of the songs here are based on traditional themes and instrumentation, yet Taberna Mylaensis has added a spark of theatricality and modernity (not to mention excellent production values) to them, giving each track a feeling of being a complete piece of art of its own. Much like the mosaic-like cover art, the result is a CD of masterful pieces that together create a beautiful composition.
“Terra Bruciata,” (Scorched Earth), the opening track, over a fiercely syncopated mandolin and accordion melody, describes the plight of refugees from a dying land: “Your sons have left for far-away countries, they have dispersed all over the world / … / Ship, ship that goes up and down, / you carry so many people with you at sea. / They are Kurdish, Albanians, Africans, / and with their eyes are looking for help /…people are always escaping their scorched earth.”
The title track, “L’Anima Du Munnu” (Soul of the World) involves some of the strange time signatures that traditional Mediterranean music is famous for (it sounds like 10/8 to me, but I could easily be wrong). Maio’s voice, as well as the compelling guitar and saxophone parts, come across as joyful and exuberant as they search for “the soul of world” (“I see the soul of the world insides the heart of mankind. / at his birth, during his growth, until death. / Fly, fly, fly,… / The soul of the world is joy.”).
A similar fascination with the way the world works — often at cross-purposes with the humans who live on it — comes across in the two-song track “Unu Avanti E Centu Arreti/U Suli” (One Ahead and Hundred Behind/The Sun), describing the turmoil of a wild sea and the beauty of the sun, respectively. Later, “Tirrimottu” (Earthquake) details the awesome power of an earthquake, a common (albeit terrifying) event in Sicily, which leaves the survivors bewildered yet philosophical (“It happens today, tomorrow and every time, / when the ground trembles and turns. / And so, according to Sicilian history, we say: ‘It seems like the Kingdom of Savoy just walked by.’ / The world is trembling, the earth is shaking and dancing…”).
The most stirring track on this CD is “Lampabbo’…Lampa’!!” Based on a traditional tuna-fishing song (“and with our sleeves rolled back, oh pull, pull…”), this piece works in some very melancholy religious lyrics, describing the last days of Jesus, and ends with a rousing drinking song, which presumably the fishermen are singing while carousing at the end of the day. Most of Taberna Mylaensis joins in on the vocals here, singing over a very plaintive flute and guitar part. The result is a gorgeous mini-opera of hard labor, religion, and relaxing.
Traditional religious themes show up in quite a few other songs here. “Bindittu Sia (cu fici u munnu)” (Blessed are you, who created the world) is an awe-filled — and maybe a little terrified — tribute to God. The magnitude of God’s accomplishment leaves the narrator a little bewildered: “He created me, I am a man, / He created so many things, it confuses me. / He created beautiful women, as they are. / He created the earth, the flower and the animals.
“Allah Muntagna” (To the Mountain) is another fast-paced labor song that uses religion to inspire the men towards work: “Let us go the mountain….Maria will accompany us. / Saint Joseph is an old man….in his hands he carries his child. / Pull, raise, raise, ohe, ohe, / pull the vessel, ohe, ohe, / oh pull, raise, raise, raise, ohe, ohe.” In contrast to “Lampabbo’…Lampa’!!” the mood here is dark and ominous (“Lucifer is tempting us. / Bless us, Holy Mother”), as if the singers were trying to escape something and thus attempting to find the inspiration keep going.
The closing track, “Cu je?” (Who is it?), is a beautiful, ponderous meditation of “Who brings the river coursing down into valley/and over mountains, and at flowing into the sea…Who makes the winter come, / with its coldness and its snow,… Who pushes man to be curious / and to fly over the moon one day. Who pushes man to pray the Saints, / God, Jesus and Madonna.”
This last line makes this mysterious all that much more so. Sung over a spare guitar and accordion part, this song ends with the amazing line: “Who is it? Who is it? / That God who has made the world like that, / without knowing if he has done well or not.”
This is fittingly deep finish of an amazing CD, which in the end seems as much an exploration of how to make sense with modern life as a celebration of traditional Sicilian music, i.e., the ways of the past.
(Compagnia Nuove Indye, 1999)
