Together in the 1990s in the group Calicanto, the historic musicians of Veneto folk revival Corrado Corradi, Rachele Colombo and
Roberto Tombesi meet again after almost 25 years for this new musical project that embraces the boundaries of world music.
Times have changed, the artistic and personal experiences of the individuals are different. From "PASSENGERS" they find themselves,
ideally, on the deck of a ship where each musically recounts their own "journey", alias their existence. This will become the 'musical
notebook of an extraordinary journey'.
The genesis of the project goes back a few years thanks to the strong suggestions provoked by reading old letters written in 1874 by
Corrado's great-grandfather, Marco Piazza. He was written as 'first young actor' by the company directed by the great Italian tragic
actress Adelaide Ristori. Marco writes to his parents and tells of the epic sea voyage, with the steamships of the time, and of the
memorable, triumphant theatrical tour that sees him travel the entire 'round the world' in twenty months; hence the subtle, poetic
metaphor of life that finds the musicians suspended between being now 'survivors', now 'passengers' of our time.
The album, entirely played, arranged and recorded by the trio, consists of 13 unreleased tracks divided into 6 topics: DEPARTURES,
TRAVELLING, THE STEAM, MIGRATIONS, FEASTING, THE RETURN.
The compositions chronologically follow the 'journey' in a kind of soundtrack and speak of departures, crossings, arrivals, the saltscented
breeze, steam ships and the nostalgia they leave behind. Rhythms and melodies intertwine in a delicate balance between past
and present, tradition and new compositions, songs in language and dialect. The stimulating dialogues between the bellows and, in
the singing, the search for and use of the sound of the word are enhanced by harmonies and arrangements that are both sophisticated
and light to listen to. All this is extraordinarily interspersed with the reciting voices of the two great actors Ottavia Piccolo and Titino
Carrara, the only guests on the entire CD, impersonating Adelaide Ristori and Marco Piazza. Their participation in the project is also
linked to the personal stories of both: Ottavia Piccolo loves Venice and lives on the Lido, in 1999 she was awarded the 1st Adelaide
Ristori Prize in Cividale del Friuli where Ristori herself was born. Titino Carrara, like Adelaide, belongs to one of the last Italian itinerant
Art Families, the son of nomadic actors for ten generations.
The final perception, when listening to this new concept album by Corrado Corradi, Rachele Colombo and Roberto Tombesi, once again
highlights the sound of the three musicians, which has always expressed itself in a unique style that is difficult to label: an
uncomfortable and, at the same time, fascinating 'middle ground'.