In May 2023, I had the pleasure of taking part in Acoustic Night, an international collaborative performance event that takes place every year at the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa. This 23rd edition, led as always by the tandem of Beppe Gambetta and Federica Calvino Prina, had minority languages and cultures as its theme. I was lucky enough to represent Quebec French and share the stage with such talented artists (and great people!) as Matteo Leone, Aysanabee and, of course, Beppe himself.
Here's a video review, with a few notes, of group performances, duets and even the two solo acts I presented to the thousands of Italians present for this unique musical event.
Mis Amour
A traditional Provençal song that I sang with Beppe and that we performed as a quartet. It was touching for me to sing in Provençal, and yet to feel that the lyrics were so similar to our traditional songs in Quebec.
Mommy
When Beppe told me that the theme of the 23rd edition would be minority languages and cultures, I immediately thought of arranging a version of the song 𝙈𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙮 written by Gilles Richer and Marc Gélinas. I personally discovered this moving song thanks to Fred Pellerin. It poetically captures a fear buried deep in the Québécois mind: the fear of losing one's language, and with it, much more of what defines us as a people. Playing this at the Théâtre National de Gênes gave me chills I'll never forget.
Figio
One of Matteo Leone's songs that we performed as a quartet. It's written in Tabarquin, the language of Matteo's homeland: a small community in southern Sardinia.
Reel Béatrice/Reel de Pointe-au-Pic
A good old flatpicking duo with my friend Beppe. We play here two reels from fiddler Joe Bouchard's repertoire. The first, Reel Béatrice, was a natural choice, since it originally comes from an Italian tarantella, Oggi Nevica.
Galant, tu perds ton temps
I simply had to sing this one. Galant, for me, is the most beautiful way of showing our sensitivity to the Italian public. This was my second entirely solo number.
River
One of Aysanabee's pieces that we had the pleasure of arranging together. Perfect for a slow dance...
Le sergent
Here's one of the pieces from my repertoire that the quartet created for the event attacked! The song is Le sergent, one of the three pieces from my debut album Peines perdues which ended up at the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa.
Dove Tia o Vento
Dove Tia o Vento is a touching song Beppe wrote in Genoese, one of Italy's many minority languages. With a verse translated into Tabarquin by Matteo, the two languages being very close. The linguist in me was fascinated!