Sintomi di un Contesto

Dear friends, my new project - “Sintomi di un Contesto” – was published today by Advice Music.

It is an announcement that is accompanied by feelings of great joy and deep sorrow. In fact, "Sintomi di un Contesto” [Symptoms of a Context] is a collection of poems that Cesare Cavalleri published in 2019 for Mimesis Edizioni. In July 2020, Cesare asked me to set these poems to music, as I had already done for a few poems of "Il Soggetto è Il mare” [The Subject is the Sea], in the homonymous project by lawyer and poet Alberto Caramella, who I met through Cesare at the Casa della Luce in Florence.

I enthusiastically accepted the proposal because I have always loved poetry, which has always been a stimulus for my music, and because Cesare’s poems are a gift for us all.

Cesare Cavalleri ascended to Heaven a few days ago on December 28, 2022 and left an immense void in me due to our very close friendship.

Together we created "Quadri della Passione”, a CD attached to "Il Libro della Passione” (Publisher: Ares), a stupendous poem about the last days of Jesus' life, from the Anointing of Bethany to the Resurrection, written by the Chilean poet and priest José Miguel Ibàñez Langlois and rhythmically translated by Cesare, in which Cesare's reading of some of the most intense verses from the poem is emotionally underscored by my compositions performed on the piano.

"Sintomi di un Contesto" was a project that we curated together, and for each piece Cesare wanted to start with his recitation of the poem subsequently expressed in song. This, which already enhanced the work, is now a testament to his voice in later years. We have recently been able to appreciate this voice in the readings of beloved poets on the occasion of "Appointments with Poetry" (see YouTube or other social media), which for some time he regularly held on the 13th of each month (his birthday was November 13, 1936).

Of all the poems in the collection, I chose twelve that were best suited, due to their immediacy and content, to be expressed through song. The choice of a male voice was agreed upon with Cesare due to the highly personal and autobiographical nature of the lyrics.

My choice fell on Gabriele Uccelli, who I sincerely thank for his perfect intonation and heartfelt interpretation.

I also want to thank the other musicians Giulio Visibelli, Marco Ricci, and Martino Malacrida for their intense involvement, and my sound technician and editor Alberto Boi for the skilful mixing and mastering work.

I was able, thank God, to deliver the finished Master and drafts of the cover to Cesare.

This work was his last gift and it is now my tribute to my friend and life coach.

Listening to "Congedo", the last poem of the collection that he wanted to be the last on the CD, now takes on a meaning that pierces the heart, but it is a wound that we will not let heal.

Gianmario Liuni
January 20, 2023