There is always much work to be done behind-the-scenes to prepare for a show. There are contracts to be negotiated and completed, tax forms to be submitted, endless promotional correspondence; travel and sound checks to be coordinated… Apart from the administrative work, there are hours and hours of rehearsals. I actually enjoy rehearsing, but before I rehearse with the band, I spend endless time rehearsing alone so that the repertoire is ready for the musicians. All of this is done with one goal in mind: to present the best possible concert experience I can for the audience. A lot of this preparation takes place while I am sitting at my desk or rehearsing alone in my music room and often makes it feel as if I am removed from all human contact.
This week, happily, I was pulled back into humanity when I received a letter from a fan of Sicilian Folk Music. A lady saw a video of me singing a Sicilian lullaby and remembered it as the same lullaby her grandmother, grandfather and father used to sing to her. She asked for the text so she could sing it to her own daughter; teach her to sing it, too; and keep the tradition alive. It was a request that not only ‘made my day’, but made my entire week. How sweet when music is part of our daily life! How beautiful when music connects us to our loved ones, both those living and those in the spirit world! How rich we are to have a patrimony of song which lives on generation after generation! How nourishing to be linked to humanity via song!
Here is the video:
"Beddu Carusu" sung at the GoldenFest, Brooklyn, January 2014
È beddu stu carusu la mattina
a ros’e sciuri cogghi
ca ros’e sciuri coghhi nto u jardinu aòò
Cogghi nu mazzu ppi lu to parrinu
ppi chiddu ca ti fici
ppi chiddu ca ti fici cristianu aò
E s’arrusbigghia tri voti lu journu
unu la sira e unu
unu la sira e unu la matina aò
Unu la sira e unu la matina
e l’autru quannu sona
e l’autru quannu sona menzujornu aò
Riposa l’acqua e riposa lu vientu
riposa la sirena
riposa lu carusu ‘nta lu liettu aò