Leopardi is one of the core poets of early modernity. Trained in classical literature and rhetoric, Leopardi's poetry fully assimilates classical poetry (Latin, Greek, Italian) but foreshadows the big romantic revolution of expression: sensibility to nature as a reflection of inner landscapes, interest in historical figures to voice contemporary political concerns, introvert and frail melancholy persona, all wrapped up in flawless diction and stunning metric flow.
This song takes up Leopardi's characteristic poetic I, as famously depicted in his famous poem A l' infinito, and rephrases one of the big themes of their work: the role of imagination. In Leopardi's poem, the poet sits at the top of a hill in the family villa in Recanati and gazes at the landscape: lawn, trees, flowers, sun, clouds, open skies, and the line of the horizon as a threshold to the imagination: what lies beyond that line? what other worlds are out there? and are they contained in this one that we know, or just in our head?
The inner world of the imagination exists mainly as an inward projection of the outer world of nature, and its landscape of beauty and order. The verse melody is inspired by the tradition of the European romantic lieder (and in particular, by Schubert's song-cycle Die schöne Müllerin) and its sense of dynamic, jumpy, almost drawn-like melody lines, with its jumps, turns, and garland-like ascending and descending figuration.
Similarly, the song re-imagines Leopardi's consciousness as a teenage or young-adult bedsit artist in a pop context, and this is suggested symbolically by overlaying anachronic images of a daily artist routine with the titles of Leopardi's own poems.
Thus, the lyrics in the 2 verses imagine the poet basking in a natural setting and describe a daily routine of simple actions expressing an inner landscape of feelings. The chorus is a collage of the titles of Leopardi's poems: it is a reading of the poem titles as laid out in the book index, but it is also an index of those hidden possibilities that lie beyond the line of that horizon.
After the chorus, the verse melody is taken up as an instrumental solo, and then the vocals jump to bridge, and chorus again. I like the intricate yet sparse vocal work at the coda. I think it explores that contrast between melancholy emotions, expressed with a light, airy, breezy, cheery melody. Beach Boys backing vocals included. Enjoy!
lyrics
¿Qué se puede hacer en un día de verano?
¿Qué se puede hacer en un día cualquiera?
Pajarillos cantan y las nubes se levantan
Y te dicen, dicen, dicen que a volar
Por el ancho mar, y en la loma encontrarás
¿Qué se puede hacer en un día de invierno?
¿Qué se puede hacer en un día cualquiera?
Sentado en la biblioteca estudio sucias filigranas
Finas, rimas de un tardío amor
Ovidiano, sí, que también pasó por ti
Imagina espacios más allá
De la cima, el horizonte
Y sentir, y cantar
A la primavera
El sueño y los recuerdos
En la boda de su prima Leocadia
A Italia, a Italia, a Italia y a la luna
Al primer amor y a un gorrión solitario
Un pastor errante canta por la noche
En Asia, en Asia, y bajo las estrellas
La ginesta
La ginesta
La ginesta
Imagina espacios más allá
De la cima
El horizonte
Y sentir
Y cantar
Con el viento que susurra entre las hojas
Miro y ya no veo sino mi congoja
Y espacios, espacios, que asustan en el pecho
Siento el canto eterno de las estaciones
Y comparo melodías de esta guisa
Y en este oceano se anega mi sentido así
Es tan dulce desaparecer
Resurrecto en palinodia
Calma tras de la tormenta
En el cuerpo de un atleta
Y la vida solitaria
En aquel viejo sepulcro
Canta el sábado de noche
En la aldea a la ginesta
Carles Gutierrez-Sanfeliu was born in a small coastal village in the Mediterranean and trained in Literature and Music
before moving first to England, then to south east QLD.
With a musical vision in a perpetual state of flux and migration, Sanfeliu's songwriting shows a keen interest in melody, texture, adaptation and improvisation, all expressed with exquisite pop sensibilities....more
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