‘A vita è suonno [Life is a dream] is the project name of this original concept album, entirely written in the Neapolitan language, presented by the Italian Cultural Institute. It was conceived and created by Italian and Lebanese musicians, namely Pasquale Porciello (concept, composition and arrangements), Nidal Abou-Samra (piano, soprano saxophone and tenor), Makram Aboul Hosn (double bass), Khaled Yassine (percussion and drums), Jana Semaan (cello).
The language is the popular one that comes directly from Basile, passing through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of Russo, Di Giacomo, Viviani, Scarpetta and Eduardo. There are many references to the great Italian and European literature, with a special attention to the Neapolitan one.
The song model and the melodic idea are borrowed from the Neapolitan music and songs tradition, as well as the many harmonic structures enriched by the Middle Eastern experience and by the meeting of music and musicians from different backgrounds.
The whole project will be completed between 2021 and 2022, with the participation of various artists, such as the Beirut based Iranian painter Negin Fallah and the Lebanese video-maker Lara Nohra, who will make a short making off documentary on the album and the difficulty of making art in a country like Lebanon.
Art is always and now more than ever, necessary and vital. Art lives and makes you live and, as one of the album’s tracks says, “‘a luce fa cchiù luce dint’ ‘ô scuro” [a light lights up more in the dark].
For the trailer, click HERE.