lidia buonfino: anima
cd, 53 minutes,
24-page booklet with Italian lyrics and English translations
order CD deluxe edition
From Italy with love...
'Anima' is the debut album of half-Italian, half-German singer and actress Lidia Buonfino. The majority of the fourteen songs of this collection stems from the treasure trove of celebrated Italian singer/songwriter Fabrizio de André, whose music the artist grew up with. For this album she hasn't only picked some of his most haunting and beautiful songs, but those she can also identify with as a woman. Across the borders of time, poet and singer take us on a journey through the heights and depths of being human. Hence the title: 'Anima' in Italian means soul.
Fabrizio de André (1940-1999) had tremendous poetic force and courage and was compared with the other great Continental songwriters of the last few decades, namely Jacques Brel and George Brassens. Like them, he also had a strong sense for social justice and never tired of speaking out for those who rarely have a voice, always listening to his heart and not obeying conventions.
This CD now presents some of the most touching songs from his peak time in the 60's, in contemporary arrangements (mostly acoustic), sung by Buonfino's alto voice and accompanied by fingerstyle guitar, Gypsy violin, cello, harp, accordion, bass and, on half the tracks, drums.
The opener, a simmering tango called Madame (written by Angelo Branduardi), tells the tale of a young woman who has passionately fallen in love and beseeches a fairground soothsayer (said Madame) to read her palm. The other songs present protagonists who have to deal with their grief, anger or disappointment, but also experience joy and fulfillment.
For those of us who don't understand Italian the CD comes with an extensive booklet that contains all lyrics and the English translations. Or, if you prefer only to listen to this unusual album, just enjoy the 'foreign' music! With its prevelance of 3/4 time signatures and the relaxed weaving of accordion and violin strands it definitely has a southern European feel that will warm your heart and your feet!
the musicians:
lidia buonfino vocals
ian melrose acoustic guitars, low whistle, dobro
karin christoph violin
friedrich paravicini cello, hammond organ
fred hageneder harp, guitar, bouzouki
david hagen double bass
jan zimmermann drums
silke lange accordeon
myriam siegler background vocals
ulf manu classical guitar
andy dunn electric and solo guitar
frank elwart electric guitar
graeme g. owen electric bass
gerrit haasler additional guitars
mark bharucha percussion
lorenz boesche grand piano
oswaldt buss trumpet, euphonium
lasse fankhaenel trumpet
mikhail manevitch trombone
dorothea greve bodhran