The album of the day: Fabio Vacchi, “Imaginary places”

Fabio Vacchi, “Imaginary places” (Cd Ricordi 358212)

Anyone who has seen films by Ermanno Olmi such as “The Craft of Arms” or “One Hundred Nails” will have noticed that the music for these works was composed by Fabio Vacchi: but the figure of this musician is atypical for the cinematographic world, which is is approached recently by outsiders.

Vacchi has been present on the composition scene for many years; author of operas and much orchestral music which has been present in concert halls for years, his compositions have been performed at La Scala, at the Lyon Opera, at the Maggio Fiorentino, at the Musikverein in Vienna and in many other prestigious theaters by the greatest orchestras of the world, under the direction of illustrious musicians such as Riccardo Muti, Claudio Abbado, Luciano Berio, Zubin Mehta, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Antonio Pappano and many others.

Starting from the experience of the post-war avant-garde (he was a pupil of Giacomo Manzoni), Vacchi has progressively developed a personal language, which does not reject any of the instances of that experience but transforms them into a different poetic dimension, where euphony and experimentation are not at all contradicting each other. His poetics develops along complex and uncompromising tracks but at the same time always takes into great account the needs of communication with the listener, who is not offered an accommodating sound cushion on which to rest, but instead offers a different vision of the world of sound where memories of the past and quotes from popular songs dissolve into myriads of luminous shards, skillfully scattered within the orchestral palette, sometimes remaining poised on the edge of silence (as in the famous “Dai calanchi di Sabbiuno”, dedicated to a group of massacred partisans), other times inflamed with passion in the case of the orchestral piece “Diario dello disdegno”, a bitter symphonic meditation on the tragedy of wars that occur in the world.

The writing is always clear, the author’s message reaches the listener clearly even in the moments of greatest density thanks to a crystalline structural organization of the music, which avoids fumes and special effects to concentrate on a tenacious and tender lyricism at the same time, many sometimes seen as if through a translucent mirror where shapes and colors abandon their natural boundaries to blend into each other.

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.