Song #1 : O sole mio (1916)

A word about my process: I am accessing the music from Spotify Premium, and am creating a playlist for them as I go.  I start by just listening to the song.  Then I read the write-up in the 1001 Songs book - keeping in mind that there are 49 different contributors so they will likely be quite different.  After reading the write-up I listen to the song again. Then I do any follow-up research on it to answer questions I may have.  So, here we goooooo..................!!!.....

painting of Enrico Caruso - no date

Song #1:  O sole mio by Enrico Caruso (1916)
Writer: Giovanni Capurro, Eduardo di Capua
Producer: Uncredited
Label: Victor Talking Machine
Album: n/a

Wow, what a start.  I was considering blogging about all the things I learned from the preface and the intro to the book but wanted to start with a song instead, so I might do those another day.

First listen:
I was very surprised to have such a visceral, physical reaction to the song.  I could feel myself taking bigger, deeper breaths as he sang.  My eyes closed without me thinking about it.  I smiled, especially as the song built.  My archival heart swelled at the tell-tale crackling sound of those early recordings.  There was also something very moving about hearing the applause at the end of the song.  This is not an overly-produced studio single. This is a man singing live, with heart, one take, for actual people.  I liked that.

The write-up:

the actual, literal Mississippi Delta as seen from space!

The first line frustrated and disappointed me I must admit; "Just as Charley Patton and Robert Johnson made their Mississippi Delta universal, Enrico Caruso has lent Naples a status that the more celebrated cities of Rome and Florence can never hope to match".  Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with this sentence, I just had absolutely no idea what it meant - it presumes that one knows who Charley Patton and Robert Johnson are and what Mississippi Delta is (besides a literal delta of the literal Mississippi River).  So I spent more time than I would have liked googling Charley Patton, Robert Johnson and Mississippi Delta.  That said, the rest of the write up was very interesting and informative.  I learned that the song has become the "alternative Italian national anthem" and that Caruso was the "original role model for all male ballad singers".  I also learned that the song was actually written in 1898 and was popular before Caruso ever sang it, but it was his rendition at the Met Opera that made it internationally popular as well. [at this point I also googled the lyrics, which you can find below].

Second listen:

photo of an early recording session!

On the second listen I became a bit more aware of the accompaniment, which is so perfectly subtle.  At times one forgets that it is even there because it is so unobtrusive and really acts to support Caruso's performance.  During the bridge I also realized that I am not very good at identifying the sounds of instruments.  Are those flutes?  A triangle?  Did I hear a cowbell in there?? I will need to listen again to try to figure that part out.  Having read the lyrics, I could imagine the writer flinging open the shutters of the window after the storm and calling out the words.  It made me smile.

Overall:
I really enjoyed listening to this one, and adding it to my new 1001 Songs playlist.  It felt like a 'comfortable' start for me as I was allowed to listen to classical music and (some) opera so it wasn't a stretch for me at all and I was able to appreciate it a lot.  While the first line of the write-up by Garth Cartwright of New Zealand was quite intimidating to me, I found the rest really interesting.  I can't
wait to keep going!!

there are some pretty wacky photos of Caruso's opera days out there! here are some of my faves!

Lyrics:

Che bella cosa na jurnata ’e sole,
n’aria serena doppo na tempesta!
Pe’ ll’aria fresca pare già na festa...
Che bella cosa na jurnata ’e sole.

Chorus:

Ma n’atu sole cchiù bello, oi ne’,
’o sole mio sta nfronte a te!
’o sole, ’o sole mio
sta nfronte a te, sta nfronte a te!

Lùceno ’e llastre d’’a fenesta toia;
’na lavannara canta e se ne vanta
e pe’ tramente torce, spanne e canta,
lùceno ’e llastre d’’a fenesta toia.

Quanno fa notte e ’o sole se ne scenne,
me vene quasi ’na malincunia;
sotto ’a fenesta toia restarria
quanno fa notte e ’o sole se ne scenne.

English translation:

What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!
The air is serene after a storm,
The air is so fresh that it already feels like a celebration.
What a beautiful thing is a sunny day!

Chorus:

But another sun, even more beauteous, oh my sweetheart,
My own sun, shines from your face!
This sun, my own sun,
Shines from your face; It shines from your face!

Your window panes shine;
A laundress is singing and boasting about it;
And while she’s wringing the clothes, hanging them up to dry, and singing,
Your window panes shine.

When night comes and the sun has gone down,
I almost start feeling melancholy;
I’d stay below your window
When night comes and the sun has gone down.

Welcome to the 1001 Songs Project!

If you found your way here today....congratulations!!?....  You are about to embark on quite an adventure with me!!

Context:

My name is Melanie and I was raised in a fundamentalist Christian home, where I was not allowed to listen to "mainstream" music and had very little access to pop culture more widely.  I was allowed to listen to classical music and some contemporary Christian music, but even that was highly controlled. As a result, I have little-to-know understanding of or familiarity with mainstream music and music culture.  I thought Beatles were insects, that Michael Jackson had always been 'white',  and that ZZ Top was a type of hairstyle.  This is true of all pop culture, and I have done a LOT of catching up on movies and tv, but music has seemed too overwhelming to me...maybe because there are so many genres, artists, cultural contexts and eras to think about.  But I want to understand why my dear friend L couldn't get out of bed for days after Prince died.  I want to get the music-related jokes and references.  I want to learn about how different cultures and their joys and struggles gave birth to forms and genres of music.  

Most of all, I want to understand the human connection to music.  

It is something that - sadly - I don't really have.  I'm the one person on the bus, plane, walking down the sidewalk who does not have earbuds in.  There are bands and artists that in my post-1998 world I have come to love feel deeply connected to, but the music that formed the generations before me is a mystery to me.  As musicians who have formed my generation have begun to retire or die, and I watch my friends reminisce and grieve, I feel I have missed a lot.  There is a LOT of catching up to do.  But where would I even begin??

Me and Ryan at our first 'gig' together! 

Enter my dear friend and colleague, Ryan.  We've only known each other just over 2 years but have become great friends.  I love his sense of humour, his kindness, and his great style.

This year for Christmas he gave me a book.  Well, a tome really.  It is called "1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die", edited by Robert Dimery (Universe Publishing, 2010).  This book is nothing to sneeze at, folks.  It is a 960 page glossy, fully colour music extravaganza!!  Each page lists 1 or 2 songs, with a photo of the artist, the album or single cover, the artist name, album name, info on who wrote the song, who produced it, what album it came from, what label it is from, and has a write up of the song's history, significance  and any other quirky details about it - written by one of the book's 49 contributors.  The songs are listed chronologically by release year starting in 1916 and each decade also has a write-up of the representative characteristics of the era for context.

Gonna be spending a lot of time with this beast!

SO...here's the deal.  I am going to listen to every single one, starting on page 1, and blog my journey of musical discovery.  I commit to writing about every single song.  Some posts may be a line, some may be essays....I really have no idea.  But my hopes in this are:

• to learn about music history, generally
• to get exposure to songs and artists that I might not otherwise come to hear on my own
• to begin to understand musical culture and its impact on society and vice-versa
• to begin to develop my own sense of musical taste - I am always rendered mute when someone asks me the dreaded question "what kind of music do you like?" - because I simply have no idea.

So welcome to this journey of discovery!  I am also hoping that in blogging it, you might learn something you might not know, or be led to a piece of music you didn't know you needed to hear!  Are you ready??  Cue the music....!!!

~ M