I 've just been offered some CDs and I thought you'd like to know about them because music threads keep popping up regularly and more particularly
this one abt Nino Rota .
1) They're called
La Musica della Mafia-Il canto di Malavita and
La Musica delle Mafia-Omertà, Onuri e Sangu . That's to say traditional Mafia music, more precisely music of the 'Ndrangheta, the Calabrian Mafia (hence it is sung or spoken in the Calabrian dialect-which is close to the Sicilian one as far as I know). The thick inner booklets tell the story and the history of those songs + reveal the lyrics (translated into 4 languages).
Here's a short extract :
"(This CD) is the continuation of a musical journey through a chapter of Southern Italian cultural history that is as dark as it is fascinating. [...] Musical melodiousness starkly contrasts with the utter clarity of the inherited song lyrics. If the listener is first shocked by the initial bloodthirstiness, he won't be able to deny the fascinating poetry of the words that have been taken from the code of honour of the old 'Ndrangheta."
The tunes clearly remind you of the GF music and I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Nino Rota knew them !
Some self-explanatory titles : There Is No Forgiveness, Ballad for a Dead Man, Sing For My Destiny, When a Young Man Wants To Become a Criminal, Dialogue between Criminals, Blood Cries For Blood, The Traitors, The Law of Silence, Who Fails Pays, Belonging to the Society, Law of Honour, Farewell 'Ndrangheta.
I highly recommend these CDs to those of you who dream of joining the Mafia, it's the perfect How-To guide ! Or you can simply relax and enjoy the beauty of the music.
Check for yourself on the
website for the full story, some of the lyrics, press articles + 3 downloadable songs.
2) Another CD entitled "O Sole Mio : Italian arias, songs and mandolins" contains a traditional song that reminds me of the GF theme like none other. It's called "Dicintancello vuje" and is sung by Beniamino Gigli (an opera singer). I'd swear Rota knew it, several phrases are really too similar to be only coincidental !
I also discovered that the oboe sequence in Verdi's "Quando le sere al placido" from the opera "Luisa Miller" sounds exactly like the one in GF...
Oh well
, all musicians steal from one another, it's always been that way and will always be, for the joy of music lovers.
