The concert held by Piero Nissim and his musicians at our new home last night was an unqualified success!
The programme consisted of a cycle of songs based on poems ranging from mediaeval to modern times set to music by Piero Nissim.
Piero Nissim, born in Lucca in 1946, is an Italian musician, esperantist and puppeteer. His father, Giorgio Nissim, received the gold medal for civil valour from the President of the Italian Republic for his commitment in opposing Nazi-fascism. His mother was a Lithuanian Jew. Piero Nissim often participates throughout Italy in public events in memory of the commitment of his father for which he received – together with his two sisters – the silver banner from the Tuscany Region. We got to know Piero because his uncle Elio Nissim worked for ‘Radio Londra’ (Free Italy radio) during World War Two and became friends with my father-in-law. It was, therefore, a privilege to have Piero perform with his musician friends for the inauguration of our new house!
Piero is the subject of various of my posts including :
The programme for the evening had this title:
“MUSICARE I POETI da Dante a Pasolini
Musiche PIERO NISSIM Armonizzazioni FRANCO MEOLI
con la soprano MARIA BRUNO e PIERO NISSIM (voci)
FRANCO MEOLI (pianoforte)”
Nel giardino della casa di Francis e Alexandra Pettitt
Dopo il concerto Buffet condiviso.”
The combination of the two voices with Maestra Maria Bruno, a renowned soprano who teaches at Lucca conservatoire, and Piero who has a voice, equally moving in its own ‘natural’ way, was most effective. The songs ranged from Lorenzo de Medici’s bright ‘Quant’è bella Giovinezza’ to a tortured Michelangelo sonnet to an enigmatic piece by d’Annunzio. They also included more modern poems including one by Pier Paolo Pasolini whose birth centenary we celebrate this year. The singers were sensitively accompanied by Maestro Franco Meoli whose fine keyboard skills are well-known particularly in schools and colleges.
Piero’s opus is a well-crafted song-cycle and. although the composer stated that good poems don’t need to be set to music having their own music when recited, he also felt that they could often be enhanced by the musician’s craft. I do agree with Piero with what he believes. After all we wouldn’t have had such ravishing works as the Housman poems set to music by Butterworth and Vaughan-Williams or the Rimbaud set by Britten. ….to say nothing of such classics composed by Schubert, Faure, Wolf and many other greats!
We do hope we can stage more shows at our place. It was so enjoyable to listen to such excellent music wonderfully performed in good company and with a great ‘rinfresco’ to follow!
