The Art evolution association presents “Lost horizons” Tribute to Franco Battiato by the Guarnieri ensemble. The event will be held next August 13 at 20.30in the splendid setting of Loggia del Sinatra in front of the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore in Ispica (RG).
This is one of the most beautiful and rich in history of our Sicily, chosen not by chance. In fact, because Franco Battiato shot his first film right here “Lost love”whose leitmotif is his autobiographical story which earned him the conferral of honorary citizenship.
Creator of this highly anticipated event the maestro Giuseppe Guarnieri: «We wanted to pay a moving and sincere tribute to the one who did not like to be called a teacher and to celebrate his life, works, music, art and thought. The “Lost Horizons” project is a journey back in time, a musical and narrative journey that, overcoming gravitational currents, makes Franco Battiato’s unique and unmistakable artistic essence vibrate.Taking a cue from the album of the same name where the autobiographical theme of memory is intertwined with the critique of the Western world.“
The show travels on two fluctuating tracks between the story of the decisive and turning points of her artistic career and the songs, the musical compositions that have marked her and then resulted in spiritual research. It should be emphasized that “Lost horizons” it constitutes the third homage to the late artist. In fact, last year Art evolution presented “Worlds far away”a show-concert that was one of the flagships of the Etna kermesse staged in Zafferana Etnea (CT). And on that occasion Maestro Guarnieri had emphasized that «’Far away worlds’ was the renewed version of ‘Invitation to travel’. A show born in 2016 to pay homage to Franco Battiato living and that for 5 years was taken on tour throughout Sicily.“
Battiato himself was aware of this and had expressed his approval to people close to him: “My music is available to everyone and everyone can reinterpret it.”
A great satisfaction for the Art evolution association that has promoted this new evocative moment of great cultural depth, made up of thoughts, music and words and where the protagonists, in addition to the talented maestro Guarnieri who has curated orchestration and arrangements as a true frontman, will be: actor and musician Alessandro Romano (guitar and voice); teachers Teresa Lombardo (1st violin), Nadia Tidona (2nd violin),
Jascha Parisi (cello) and the actor and storyteller Giovanni Peligrawho with his vibrant and warm voice will mark the moments of this never ending story and will create an emotional contact with the audience making the show interactive. The evocative and penetrating notes of the ensemble will create a magical atmosphere and where the public will be projected on this journey, accompanied almost by the hand to discover the great Battiato.
«We will start from 1983 – explains Giovanni Peligra – year of publication of “Lost Horizons”, poetic and suggestive, one of Battiato’s most intimate albums. The constant theme is the confrontation between a modern society guilty of having removed man from contact with himself.“
On the one hand Milan, an alienating metropolitan reality where Franco had now lived for 18 years and who had been thinking for some time to leave and on the other Sicily, a magical homeland, a destination to be rediscovered and rediscovered. The more loneliness increases in society, the more music becomes indispensable for him.
Then we will move on to the futuristic “Worlds far away” from 1985, a colorful fresco of how the most advanced man, who rises with his intelligence and who challenges nature with the undisputed strength of science, has reached and conquered the stars.
We will go back to 1978, a watershed in the life and career of Franco Battiato in which he ends his musical experimentation and begins to work on what will later be considered a kind of pop trilogy, with his unmistakable style. In the 1970s, his musical expression took place through sophisticated, researched, or in any case not very popular sound materials. Then at a certain point he began to use words that went directly to receptive people by now, to be captured by songs that are often enthralling and catchy, but with an always refined and ironic language.
In 1988 “Physiognomy” it is a decisive shift towards moments of spirituality: for the first time delicate and profound topics such as the search for the sacred are faced without shame, with simplicity and poetry at the same time, the melodies are refined and not easy to listen to.
In short, narrative passages accompanied by a rich musical background where songs like Permanent center of gravity, Cuccuruccucu, The season of love, The cureand many other successes.
Lost horizons, Ispica pays homage to the immortal genius of Battiato