Record of the day: Sergio Endrigo, “Noah's Ark”
Sergio Endrigo
Noah's Ark (Cd Warner Music 5050466512123)
The passing of Sergio Endrigo may not have filled the headlines like other illustrious deaths in 2006 but he probably wouldn't have minded it, given the shy and ironically self-centered character of this great song artist.
A decidedly isolated figure compared to his contemporaries such as Paoli and Tenco, a singer with an unmistakable style, passionate about Brazilian culture to the point of being able to consider himself the authentic spiritual twin of Vinicius De Moraes, Endrigo was too intelligent to waste time in controversies when the songwriting wave took him away space in the recording world. He knew well that time is a gentleman and he waited calmly, continuing to sing waiting for his moment to return, which occurred in the last years of his life when he was discovered and honored by many performers of the younger generations.
His discography, however, is still incomplete, the reprints are few and they are often anthologies compiled hastily, without too much care. We therefore welcome this revival of the historic album “L'Arca di Noè”, an unforgettable testimony to the show that Endrigo created at the Piccolo Teatro in Milan in March 1970.
Well supported by Luis Bacalov's arrangements, Endrigo retraces many important stages of his long musical journey, from successes such as “Vecchia balera”, “Teresa”, “Viva Maddalena”, “Io che amo solo te” to lesser-known but splendid pages such as “The ballad of the ex” and “Why don't you sleep, brother”, both products of the fruitful collaboration with the great Sergio Bardotti.
Endrigo's style, so rich in expressive chiaroscuro where melancholy and hope are continuously intertwined, appears to listening as an authentic lesson; so distant from the nonsense of products built today and thrown to a market too often dedicated to listening to the playlists of commercial radios. “La rosa bianca”, “Canzone per te”, “Via Broletto” are songs capable of combining accessibility and refinement, songs with a popular taste but not even for a moment I ran away, always respectful of the intelligence of those who are listening. All histrionics are absent from Endrigo's voice, tending towards an essentiality that is exponentially loaded with meaning with each new song.
Carlo Boccadoro, composer and conductor, was born in Macerata in 1963. He lives and works in Milan. He collaborates with soloists and orchestras in different parts of the world. He is the author of numerous books on musical topics.
This text is taken from “Lunario della musica: A record for every day of the year” published by Einaudi, courtesy of the author and the publisher.