Mighela Cesari, Doc Rossi, Phémios Ensemble: A brama ghjirandulona
“T’aghju a brama ghjirandulona, è a cetera andarina.” (Mighela Cesari)
My soul longs to wander, and my cetera to travel.
Born out of the encounter between Corsican singer Mighela Cesari and citternist Doc Rossi on the one hand, and the trio Phémios Ensemble on the other, A brama ghjirandulona is a musical navigation between Corsica and Greece, a love nourished by a dialogue between contemporary texts and ancient melodies, traditional songs and original instrumental compositions.
The powerful, earthy voice of Mighela Cesari - backed by a rare combination of instruments - sings of the harsh daily lives of sedentary shepherds, and the bittersweet nostalgia of travelers carried away on the waves. Songs of the pain of exile, of homesickness, of the destruction of the homeland, as well as the absence of the beloved or the return of a disquieting peste brune, create a Mediterranean blues that hits the gut, returning to the Greek origins of tragedy with stories of ancient curses and revenge. There are also joyful dances, provoking a cathartic trance to exorcise suffering and transform malaise into a Dionysian celebration of Life.
The Corsican language is enlivened by the rhythm of Greek rebetiko driven by the baritone cittern, intertwined with the strings of the kanun, the Corsican cetera, hurdy-gurdy, flutes, percussion, cittern and lavta, all woven into an accompaniment at once subtle, voluble and deeply rooted in the Mediterranean.
“Mighela, with her unique voice, her unmistakable timbre, her free soul, becomes the architect of a bridge linking Constantinople to Aiacciu, Saloniki to Cuzza, Piraeus to Bastia, a bridge that could be called Rebeticorsu. A style is born.
“Let yourself be transported by the rivers of notes, the waves of rhymes, and A brama ghjirandulona will never leave you ….”
Damien Delgrossi, Corte, 12/01/2018
“T’aghju a brama ghjirandulona, è a cetera andarina.” (Mighela Cesari)
My soul longs to wander, and my cetera to travel.
Born out of the encounter between Corsican singer Mighela Cesari and citternist Doc Rossi on the one hand, and the trio Phémios Ensemble on the other, A brama ghjirandulona is a musical navigation between Corsica and Greece, a love nourished by a dialogue between contemporary texts and ancient melodies, traditional songs and original instrumental compositions.
The powerful, earthy voice of Mighela Cesari - backed by a rare combination of instruments - sings of the harsh daily lives of sedentary shepherds, and the bittersweet nostalgia of travelers carried away on the waves. Songs of the pain of exile, of homesickness, of the destruction of the homeland, as well as the absence of the beloved or the return of a disquieting peste brune, create a Mediterranean blues that hits the gut, returning to the Greek origins of tragedy with stories of ancient curses and revenge. There are also joyful dances, provoking a cathartic trance to exorcise suffering and transform malaise into a Dionysian celebration of Life.
The Corsican language is enlivened by the rhythm of Greek rebetiko driven by the baritone cittern, intertwined with the strings of the kanun, the Corsican cetera, hurdy-gurdy, flutes, percussion, cittern and lavta, all woven into an accompaniment at once subtle, voluble and deeply rooted in the Mediterranean.
“Mighela, with her unique voice, her unmistakable timbre, her free soul, becomes the architect of a bridge linking Constantinople to Aiacciu, Saloniki to Cuzza, Piraeus to Bastia, a bridge that could be called Rebeticorsu. A style is born.
“Let yourself be transported by the rivers of notes, the waves of rhymes, and A brama ghjirandulona will never leave you ….”
Damien Delgrossi, Corte, 12/01/2018
“T’aghju a brama ghjirandulona, è a cetera andarina.” (Mighela Cesari)
My soul longs to wander, and my cetera to travel.
Born out of the encounter between Corsican singer Mighela Cesari and citternist Doc Rossi on the one hand, and the trio Phémios Ensemble on the other, A brama ghjirandulona is a musical navigation between Corsica and Greece, a love nourished by a dialogue between contemporary texts and ancient melodies, traditional songs and original instrumental compositions.
The powerful, earthy voice of Mighela Cesari - backed by a rare combination of instruments - sings of the harsh daily lives of sedentary shepherds, and the bittersweet nostalgia of travelers carried away on the waves. Songs of the pain of exile, of homesickness, of the destruction of the homeland, as well as the absence of the beloved or the return of a disquieting peste brune, create a Mediterranean blues that hits the gut, returning to the Greek origins of tragedy with stories of ancient curses and revenge. There are also joyful dances, provoking a cathartic trance to exorcise suffering and transform malaise into a Dionysian celebration of Life.
The Corsican language is enlivened by the rhythm of Greek rebetiko driven by the baritone cittern, intertwined with the strings of the kanun, the Corsican cetera, hurdy-gurdy, flutes, percussion, cittern and lavta, all woven into an accompaniment at once subtle, voluble and deeply rooted in the Mediterranean.
“Mighela, with her unique voice, her unmistakable timbre, her free soul, becomes the architect of a bridge linking Constantinople to Aiacciu, Saloniki to Cuzza, Piraeus to Bastia, a bridge that could be called Rebeticorsu. A style is born.
“Let yourself be transported by the rivers of notes, the waves of rhymes, and A brama ghjirandulona will never leave you ….”
Damien Delgrossi, Corte, 12/01/2018