It is indeed a pleasure to find myself writing the introduction to this record programme, the result of an extended gestation spanning more than a decade of my musical research. The common thread of this project is the search for a personal reflection in the mirror of the anthropomorphic musical instrument par excellence, the human voice. Finding a parallelism between vocal cords and guitar strings, by arranging originally vocal works. This primordial and initiatory sound in the communication between living beings is here understood as a medium that goes under the musical epidermis, towards a more anthropologically horizontal pulsation and resonance. Over the centuries, from the Gregorian chant onwards, we have witnessed a fervent "musically oriented" approach to sound and metrics, in favour of instrumental performance and dance. However, in my experience, the most effective musical expressions have always been characterised by a communicativeness that goes beyond the instrument, revealing an expressive flow that, unmediated, takes us back to the apparent naturalness of the vocal expression. Similarly, from the opposite perspective, it was enlightening for me to listen to Carmelo Bene's recordings and discover that Valerio Binasco studied The Tempest using the metronome, to get in contact with "the musicality of speech". The intention to interbreed with the human voice has been and still is for me an inexhaustible source of inspiration. This research, which can be extended to compositions of all epochs, is presented here in a compact version, through the arrangement of works by two authors belonging to German Romanticism.
1 Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. 4. Ständchen (Serenade) (Arr. G. Copiello for Brahms Guitar) [04:02]
2 Der Wanderer, D. 489 (Arr. G. Copiell O for Brahms Guitar) [04:48]
3 Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. 1. Liebesbotschaft (Arr. G. Copiello for Brahms Guitar) [03:26]
4 Die Schöne Müllerin, Op. 25, D. 795: No. 6. Der Neugierige (Arr. G. Copiello for Brahms Guitar) [04:14] 5. Schwanengesang, D. 957: No. Aufenthalt (Arr. G. Copiello for Brahms Guitar) [04:34]
5 Winterreise, Op. 89, D. 911: No. 24. Der Leiermann (Arr. G. Copiello for Brahms Guitar) [02:46]
6 Lieder Ohne Worte (Songs Without Words), Book 1, Op. 19B: No. 3 in a Major, Op. 19B, No. 3, MWV U... [03:10]
7 No. 30 in a Major, Op. 62, No. 6, MWV U161, "Frühlingslied" (Spring Song) [02:41]
8 No. 27 in E minor, Op. 62, No. 3, MWV U177, "Trauermarsch" [02:51]
11 No. 34 in C Major, Op. 67, No. 4, MWV U182, "Spinnerlied" [02:19]
12 String Quartet No
13 N D minor, D. 810, "Death and the Maiden": II. Andante Con Moto (Arr. G. C... [13:32
It is indeed a pleasure to find myself writing the introduction to this record programme, the result of an extended gestation spanning more than a decade of my musical research. The common thread of this project is the search for a personal reflection in the mirror of the anthropomorphic musical instrument par excellence, the human voice. Finding a parallelism between vocal cords and guitar strings, by arranging originally vocal works. This primordial and initiatory sound in the communication between living beings is here understood as a medium that goes under the musical epidermis, towards a more anthropologically horizontal pulsation and resonance. Over the centuries, from the Gregorian chant onwards, we have witnessed a fervent "musically oriented" approach to sound and metrics, in favour of instrumental performance and dance. However, in my experience, the most effective musical expressions have always been characterised by a communicativeness that goes beyond the instrument, revealing an expressive flow that, unmediated, takes us back to the apparent naturalness of the vocal expression. Similarly, from the opposite perspective, it was enlightening for me to listen to Carmelo Bene's recordings and discover that Valerio Binasco studied The Tempest using the metronome, to get in contact with "the musicality of speech". The intention to interbreed with the human voice has been and still is for me an inexhaustible source of inspiration. This research, which can be extended to compositions of all epochs, is presented here in a compact version, through the arrangement of works by two authors belonging to German Romanticism.
