BUT THE
LIGHT,
UP HERE IN
BORGO CASALE,
HOW IS IT
REALLY?
Photos
e
Interview
by CHIARA REDUZZI
with
BEPPE CANTARELLI
November 2008
BORGO CASALE
(Albareto, Parma - Italy)
Question:
Your presence in Italy lately seems more frequent & ‘felt’.
How come BORGO CASALE?
Answer:
I
love Italy, useless to say it’s the most Beautiful Place in the World!
I
know, it seems so obvious & rethoric,
especially
if it is stated by an ‘immigrant-to-Los-Angeles’
by
over a quarter of a century,
but
it’s the simple truth…at least for me.
Even
after our wonderful trip to Provence for my birthday’s weekend
around
the end of last August,
when
you had a chance to take some ‘historical’ shots
at the
Palais des Papes, etc.,
you
might remember my spontaneous feedback on our way back:
“My
dear Donna CHIARA Baby, Provence certainly is great,
very
characteristic, nothing to say about it…
but,
in all honesty, I still prefer my Old Italy.”
And
talking about Provence, when a few years back, I think it was 2005,
my
friend Architect GIOVANNI SIGNANI
along
with another dearest friend and collaborator of mine,
with
whom I often write the texts & recitatives of my concerts,
MONSIGNOR ANGELO BUSI,
invited
me to dinner here in BORGO CASALE,
a
Middle Ages village nearby Borgotaro-Albareto in Parma County
where
MONSIGNOR BUSI is the parish priest
and
where also Architect SIGNANI has been responsible for the entire renovation
preserving
the original & characteristic style of this village,
as I
was saying,
when
I visited BORGO CASALE for the very first time,
I
remember that I immediately ‘felt’ what its founder and owner
MAURIZIO
SANVIDO
did
‘see’ in this magic place
that
in a recent radio interview I did not hesitate to define
“a
small Earthly Paradise on top of the
Taro Valley’s hills”:
a
village made of stones at about 2,000 feet above the sea level,
immersed
in Silence & Nature.
I
remember MAURIZIO’s invitation to come for a visit & kick back in this
“Ancient
Relax Post,”
and
my answer…:
“If
in the next future I ever make it back to Italy
more
often and for longer periods of time,
be
ready & careful, my dear MAURIZIO,
‘cause
you might get tired to see me!!!”
And
now, everytime I’m back to my Old Country,
whenever
it’s possible I practically ‘live’ here in BORGO CASALE
…where
hopefully they’ll never get tired to see me!!!
Question:
…and what were you saying about Provence?…
Answer:
Ooops,
I forgot…I’m definetly losing my memory here…
or
did I just let myself go?…
Yes,
as I was saying ‘about Provence’,
BORGO
CASALE could be very easly located on some sweet hills of it…
but
with a difference: it’s much better!
Besides
what you can see over here with your own eyes,
a
small but very illustrative & symbolic detail should also be enough:
even
an ‘innocuous’ morning croissant
freshly
prepared by our Chef, Master DAMIANO,
it
certainly does not make me regret those famous ‘petit dejeunèrs’ in Avignone…
I
know, I know, you might be a bit skeptical…
and
I can see your face not exactly ‘sold’ on this yet,
but
you see, maybe because of your current status as a typical
‘Milanese-settled-for-years-now-in-the-beautiful-hills-of-posh-Cavignaga-of-Bedonia,’
also
known as the Switzerland of the Taro Valley…(mmmh…),
a
few miles away from here,
every
day of every holy year
you
have a chance to enjoy the Beauty of these hills,
their
Silence
and
the daily Contact with Nature in this area;
perhaps
you could be a little bit ‘spoiled’ by this sweet habit…
without
even putting in the budget the old saying
“the
neighbor’s grass is always greener”
…and
this too, you might give it to me, it is very possible…
On
the other hand, after my whole life lived in Milan,
the
great metropolis in the roaring 70s…and Rome,
then
from the 80s up to today in Los Angeles…
and
if with a little bit of ‘grace & justice,’ you add to all this
that
with older age one tries more & more to avoid Noise & Stress
(…and
this too, if you might give it to me, it does make sense…)
…maybe,
in the end, you can be more in agreement with my point of view…
Question:
Nothing against your opinion about BORGO CASALE,
I’ve heard about it but I’ve never visited
and I couldn’t agree more with
you…it’s right here, as beautiful as it is!
But now
what about your plans?
Every
time you’re back in Old Italy, do you really think you might ‘live’ here?
…assuming MAURIZIO & his Staff won’t get tired of you…
Answer:
As
per Anglo pragmatism by antonomasia,
“Put
your money where your mouth is…,”
which
basically means
“Scratch
about the way you preach.”
After
almost three months that I’m really testing MAURIZIO’s ‘patience’,
especially
his Staff’s who daily ‘takes care of me’ with great love & professionalism
(my
dear & lovely Donna CHIARA Babbby,
allow
me to open a quick parenthesis here:
I’m
talking about our young ‘manager-boss’,
a.k.a. Donna VANESSA,
our
‘chef-culinary-tenor-composer-of-a-worldly-attitude-and-culture’,
a.k.a.
Master DAMIANO,
and
his ‘brilliant-and-always-so-funny’assistant,
a.k.a. Master SIMONE,
our
‘impeccable-very-efficient-and-sure-about-everything-
but-at-the-same-time-extremely-sweet-and-gentle-hostess,’
a.k.a. Donna IONÌCA,
our
‘Maitre-international-bohemienne’,
a.k.a. Master GRAZIANO,
then
also those ‘pious-and-holy-women’
who
always manage to quickly restore order
&
clean up after my usual mess
in
all the Suites where I live,
a.k.a.
Donna LUDMILA & her Staff,
without
even mentioning our ‘esoteric-madonnas-of-the-wellbeing,’
a.k.a. Donna BARBARA &
Donna MILENA,
and
‘best-for-last’ the responsible of all the luxurient vegetation,
flowers
included, that spreads joy just to look at it,
our
‘irreplacable-more-unique-than-rare-and-very-efficient-maybe-even-more-than-the-sun-
just-because-he-is-around-24-hours-a-day-very-Handy-Man’,
a.k.a.
Master JOE),
as I
was saying,
after
several weeks during which I find myself working,
so
many more hours than I usually do,
on
several projects I’m currently involved with,
I’ve
found not only the time but also and ‘especially’ the passion & the energy
to
‘unplug’ & compose a new
“AGNUS
DEI (LAMB OF GOD)”
for
4 a voice polyphonic choir
…sooooo,
what about that?!?!???
I
sure did put my money where my mouth is, didn’t I?!?!???
…and
the score is right here, all written out and finished…
’as
beautiful as it looks’…rrrrright?!?!???
Question:
So, are you saying BORGO CASALE inspires you?
Answer:
After
so many years away from Milan,
I
forgot that pragmatism ain’t necessarily an Anglo prerogative…
but
also a ‘Longobard’ one…
I
can see that you like to get down to to the core of the matter
without
wasting any time dancing around…
so
yes, if we wanna use the big word ‘inspiration’, then be it,
it’s
useless to make a mystery nor to be ashamed of it.
I
love Silence and in our cities it has disappeared for a long time now…
unfortunately
it is disappearing also in small towns like my Busseto here in Italy…
where
traffic and noise have reached unthinkable levels:
to
make you understand,
already
several years ago, when I used to come back from California,
the
Los Angeles super-metropolis
where
at least in a lot of areas one can still live with descrete tranquillity,
I’ve
started noticing with incredulous and, I must admit, concerned amazement,
the
complete absence of quiet & serenity
due
to the passing of thousands of vehicles every hours
through
a small town of a little bit more than just 5,000 people! …
Not
to mention then the atmospheric pollution…
that
in the last few years has considerably worsened & degenerated! …
yes,
I know what you’re thinking about, I'm really ‘getting old’…
but
how come you don’t hear me ‘wining’ and ‘complaining’ about Noises
up
here in BORGO CASALE?
What
is it, it’s me who I’m ‘getting younger’
or
maybe there is an objective truth in my complaining as well?…
Or
maybe both? …
I don’t know, in my compositions
Silence
is a topic that recurs and that I touch quite often…
You
might hesitate to believe it, but it’s the truth:
when
I first composed up here in BORGO CASALE, I felt intimidated
more
or less like when I’ve been asked to compose a new
“MAGNIFICAT”
for
POPE JOHN PAUL II…
Back
then it was all those Greate Composers,
who
have literally Created the History of Music,
who
were like my ‘deterrent-incentive’,
right
here it’s the Silence…that I’m really afraid to ‘interrupt’…
almost
as if I’m ‘breaking’ something…
I
hope though it was at least well worthy the effort
to
‘break’ BORGO CASALE’s Silence
with
this new
“AGNUS
DEI”
of
mine…
Therefore,
to answer your question, yes,
I
Think…Write & Sing…that
IT’S
FROM SILENCE THAT MUSIC IS BORN…
ergo…
Question:
Forgive me now, for this next question might seems trivial,
but I’m pretty much sure that thousands of people
who daily visit your website around the world
have been asking themselves the
same thing:
BORGO CASALE also features in its premises
a State of the Arts ‘Wellbeing
Center’ for Relaxation, with Massages, etc.;
is this one of the reasons and/or the main reason why you’re here?
Answer:
Up
here you have to ask in order to get a TV set in your room,
since
usually there isn’t any…and I do find that extremely right!
MAURIZIO
SANVIDO
I
think is a man with a very clear & practical vision
of a
location as it is and should’ve been an
“Ancient
Relax Post,”
(as
he himself has defined it), like BORGO CASALE.
He
is a man who clearly has the talent united to the experience
in
order to be able to create with stones and everything else
whatever
his own ‘inspiration’ makes him ‘compose’ and ‘orchestrate’…
perhaps
it’s also because of this that I feel like
I do
understand & appreciate fully what he does!
Whatever
one might find here is simply ‘right’
and
I think it could not be otherwise:
a
Wellbeing Center,
as
well as a great Restaurant
(where
I even had a chance to taste some excellent ‘culatello’ from Busseto!…)
along
with all the various Suites themselves,
each
one with her own personality & characteristics that make them all
different,
a
Garden with a Stream in the rocks & the hipnotic running of the Water,
an
exquisite & extremely professional Staff,
everything
crowned by a breathtaking Landscape that sometimes,
especially
when at certain hours of the day the Light takes in a particular angle,
seems
almost painted…as if it’s not real.
You
know how much I love Music,
how
could I not possibly try to ‘break’ BORGO CASALE’s Silence as well…
to
the risk to ‘impose’ my presence
to
MAURIZIO SANVIDO & his Staff?
Question:
So, from what I understand,
when you’re in Italy you now live & work in BORGO CASALE.
Will you be able to terminate and/or create the projects you’re involved
with
and, since we’re talking about ‘projects’ here, can you give us a
‘scoop’?
Answer:
I’ve
started my residence up here at BORGO CASALE
as ‘preparation’
before, and ‘relaxation’ after,
my
very last professional appointments & gigs
(concerts,
masses & seminaries) here in Italy.
Appointments
that in the last few months we had together with
my
Singers Friends of the QUADRIPHONIC VOCAL GROUP STRADIVARIUS
along
with all the talented Musicians
of
the MUSICAL LAB ORCHESTRA STRADIVARIUS,
our
Great Soloists
PAOLA
CARRA,
TOLLAK OLLESTAD,
CASSIUS VERUCCHI,
STEFANO NEVA,
LUCIANO GIRARDENGO,
PATRIZIA MERCIARI,
STEFANO TRABUCCHI,
MARIA CRISTINA “VIOLINA”
BONATI
and
so many others,
and
our marvellous Conductors
who
are bringing our performances
a
passionate & unparalleled Artistic support & value,
I’m
talking about my Friends & Maestros
PATRIZIA TOMBOLATO,
ANGELO RUBINI & STEFANO
GHISONI.
After
our last ‘live’ appointments, that is to say,
the Concert
“WHEN OUR SOUL SINGS OF FREEDOM…
& THE STARS ARE LOOKING DOWN”
last
September 27
at
the Chiaravalle’s Abbey
in Alseno of Piacenza
and
the
“MAGNIFICAT CONCERT”
last
October 4 at the Santa Maria Assunta’s Abbey
in Castione dei Marchesi of
Fidenza,
we
have suspended for several weeks all the activities, including rehearsals,
etc.,
with
the STRADIVARIUS GROUP,
except
for some recording sessions in several different churches,
and
I got back to the final production moments of the two Projects
we are trying to terminate in the next few
months, which is to say:
the
final Mixing, Editing & Dubbing of my Musical-Film-Opera
“SAN BERNARD FROM CORLEONE, SING TO ME OH MY LORD”
a
Musical-Film-Opera that has been in the works for the last 2 years,
since
January 2007 to be correct,
with
the participation & collaboration as far as the recording of the Double-CD,
of FRANCESCO DI GIACOMO,
lead
singer & author of the Italian historical rock group
BANCO DEL MUTUO SOCCORSO
as
well as actor in several films by Italian director FEDERICO FELLINI,
lead singer PAOLA CARRA,
the
all Italian VOCAL GROUP STRADIVARIUS,
the
MILLENNIUM CHOIR from Los Angeles,
and
also MONSIGNOR ANGELO BUSI
who
has collaborated with me to the writing of the Texts of the Book
that
will be printed along with the Double-CD;
and
the final Draft
(it’s
the seventh one
in
almost 10 years of ‘research,’ ‘development’ & ‘re-writing’…
so I
reeeaaaally hope it will be the last one!…)
of
my book
“TECNICA VOCALE CROSSOVER / CROSSOVER VOICE TECHNIQUE,”
a
bilingual text
(with
the English-Italian instantaneous translation),
precisely
dedicated to the Voice Technique,
that
is expected to be worldwide published in the spring-summer 2009.
As I
was saying earlier on,
maybe
it’s because there’s no television here…
maybe
because of the Silence…
maybe
because there’s no pollution (sound nor atmospheric one) …
maybe
because Bedonia ain’t that far away from here…
and
in order to take a few photos with you
we
won’t have to travel 1,500 km. up to Avignone and back (right?!?!???…)
maybe
because MONSIGNOR BUSI is just a few miles away
therefore
the last few re-writing of my Musical-Film-Opera
are
much easier & faster to schedule…
maybe
because BORGO CASALE is really soothing
to a
composer’s mood & inspiration…
the
fact remains that I find myself working 15 hours a day…
and
I’m not even tired! …
oh,
and I forgot…
maybe
also because the Wellbeing Center…off course.
Question:
Therefore when are you planning to return to your loved California?
Answer:
Certainly a good photo shooting in the Southern California Desert
wouldn’t
be such a bad idea,
let’s
take a location ‘at random’…Palms Springs for example,
perhaps
in November…during the famous ‘Indian Summer’…
then
another photo shooting in Santa Barbara
(in
the weekends they say the ‘Light’ is even better up there…),
and
let’s not even mention
a
more than deserved & long time overdue photo shooting
(after
more than a quarter of a century of residence in Los Angeles…)
taken
by an Artist like you, why not?…,
precisely
on the ultra-famous
“Walk
of Fame,”
with
the Stars on Hollywood Boulevard’s sidewalks
(where
they tell me the ‘Light’ is good every day of the week,
24
hours a day…
I
wonder why…)
without
then missing the chance to also take a few shots
in
the witty & coquettish Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills
(over
there the Stars,
the
ones you see all the times hanging around shops & restaurants…
who
are the same ones you watch sometimes in the movies…
they
even seem to sparkle of a ‘Light’ of their own…
therefore
there too, the same as on Hollywood Boulevard,
the
‘Light,’ even though is…’reflected,’
shouldn’t
be bad at all…should it?)
So,
what do you say, Donna CHIARA Super-Duper-Babbbby, are we going?
I’m
not exactly an expert about ‘Light’ as you are…
for
this reason maybe you should come & find out in person…
in
the mean time,
please,
give me an all professional holy & dispassionate feedback…;
mine,
as a musician with respect to BORGO CASALE’s Silence,
I
gave it to you already…,
but
you, as an Artist with such an attentive eye for ‘Light’ & ‘colours’…
come
on, tell me what you really think…
and
this time, for a change,
just
to reverse roles
like
when it was me who grabbed your camera
&
took a few shots of you…,
let
the question be mine…
BUT
THE LIGHT,
UP
HERE IN BORGO CASALE,
HOW
IS IT REALLY?
( Photo Gallery )
