Neapolitan song
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Canzone napoletana (), sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song ( nap, canzona napulitana ), is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily for the male voice singing solo, although well represented by female soloists as well, and expressed in familiar genres such as the love song and serenade. Many of the songs are about the nostalgic longing for Naples as it once was. The genre consists of a large body of composed popular music—such songs as " ’O sole mio"; "
Torna a Surriento "Torna a Surriento" () is a Neapolitan song composed in 1894 by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. The song was copyrighted officially in 1905, and has become one of the mos ...
"; " Funiculì, Funiculà"; " Santa Lucia" and others. The Neapolitan song became a formal institution in the 1830s due to an annual song-writing competition for the Festival of
Piedigrotta Piedigrotta (; nap, Piererotta ; "at the foot of the grotto") is a section of the Chiaia quarter of Naples, Italy, so-called for the presence of the Church of the Madonna of Piedigrotta near the entrance to the Crypta Neapolitana. The area wa ...
, dedicated to the Madonna of Piedigrotta, a well-known church in the
Mergellina Mergellina is a coastal district of the city of Naples, Italy. It is located in the quartiere of Chiaia. It stands at the foot of the Posillipo Hill and faces the Castel dell'Ovo. Some people say the name derives from "mergoglino", a local name for ...
area of Naples. The winner of the first festival was a song entitled "Te voglio bene assaie"; it is traditionally attributed to the prominent opera composer Gaetano Donizetti, although an article published in 1984 by Marcello Sorce Keller shows there is no historical evidence in support of the attribution. The festival ran regularly until 1950, when it was abandoned. A subsequent
Festival of Neapolitan Song The Festival della Canzone Napoletana ("Festival of Neapolitan Song"), commonly known as the Festival di Napoli, is a Neapolitan song contest. The first edition was held in 1952 and the last in 2004. From 1952 to 1970 the show was broadcast on RAI ...
on Italian state radio enjoyed some success in the 1950s but was eventually abandoned as well. The period since 1950 has produced such songs as "
Malafemmena "Malafemmena" (; "Bad Woman") is a song written by the Neapolitan actor Totò (Antonio de Curtis) in 1951. It has become one of the most popular Italian songs, a classic of the Canzone Napoletana genre, and has been recorded by many artists. Back ...
" by
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
, "" by
Renato Carosone Renato Carosone (; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician. He was a prominent figure of the Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called ' ...
, "Indifferentemente" by Mario Trevi and "Carmela" by Sergio Bruni. Although separated by some decades from the earlier classics of this genre, they have now become Neapolitan "classics" in their own right.


History

Many of the Neapolitan songs are world-famous because they were taken abroad by
emigrants Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...
from Naples and southern Italy, roughly between 1880 and 1920. The music also was popularized abroad by performers such as Enrico Caruso, who took to singing the popular music of his native city as encores at the
Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is oper ...
in New York in the early 1900s. Caruso also recorded many of these songs, which subsequently became part of the standard repertoire for operatic tenors, and which were performed and recorded by such notable singers as Beniamino Gigli, Francesco Albanese, Franco Corelli, Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe Di Stefano, and
Tito Schipa Tito Schipa (; born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa; 2 January 1889 in Lecce16 December 1965) was an Italian lyric tenor, considered the greatest tenore di grazia and one of the most popular tenors of the century. Biography Schipa was born as ...
. The Three Tenors also performed popular songs from Naples.
Plácido Domingo José Plácido Domingo Embil (born 21 January 1941) is a Spanish opera singer, conductor, and arts administrator. He has recorded over a hundred complete operas and is well known for his versatility, regularly performing in Italian, French ...
recorded a full CD ''
Italia ti amo Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the Italy (geographical region) ...
'' of traditional and some more modern Neapolitan and Italian songs. Luciano Pavarotti recorded three albums of Neapolitan and Italian songs: ''The Best: Disc 2'', (2005), ''Pavarotti Songbook'', (1991), and '' Romantica'', (2002).
Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
recorded an acclaimed selection of 12 Neapolitan songs on his 1959 album, '' Mario! Lanza At His Best''. Opera/pop crossover tenor,
Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...
recorded his very popular '' Billboard'' Top 25 RCA debut album, ''Romantic Italian Songs'' in 1962, and continued to record Neapolitan songs on most of his albums throughout his career.
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fr ...
recorded an album in 2009 dedicated to the style, entitled '' Incanto''. The most important native Neapolitan performers of Neapolitan songs in the last few decades include Roberto Murolo, Bruno Venturini, Mario Trevi, Mario Abbate, Mario Merola,
Giulietta Sacco Giulietta may refer to: *Giulietta Masina – Italian actress. *Alfa Romeo Giulietta – Alfa Romeo's various anniversary cars. *Giulietta (singer) - Australian pop singer. See also *Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation) *Juliette (disambiguation) *Ju ...
, Franco Ricci, Sergio Bruni,
Renato Carosone Renato Carosone (; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician. He was a prominent figure of the Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called ' ...
, and Mario Maglione. Murolo is known not only as a singer and guitarist, but also as a composer, scholar and collector of the music; his collection of twelve LPs, released in the 1960s, is an annotated compendium of Neapolitan song dating back to the twelfth century. Representatives of different veins, but nevertheless leading the continuing tradition of song in Neapolitan, are the jazz-rock singer-songwriter Pino Daniele and the folkloric group
Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare The Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare (literally "New Company of Folk Song"), also known by the acronym NCCP, is an Italian folk group, founded in Naples in 1969. History The musical project was founded by musicians Eugenio Bennato, Carlo D’A ...
. :it:Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare An important factor in defining what makes a Neapolitan song is the matter of language. All these songs are written and performed in the Neapolitan language. Although the music is sung by many non-Neapolitan singers, it is difficult to sing correctly without knowledge of the Neapolitan dialect, which is crucial in obtaining the correct inflection. The matter of dialect has not prevented a few non-Neapolitans from writing dialect versions of Neapolitan songs. The most famous examples of this are '' ’A vucchella'' by Gabriele D'Annunzio and '' Tu sì 'na cosa grande'' by Domenico Modugno.


List of songs

*
'A vucchella "A vucchella" is a Neapolitan song composed by Paolo Tosti. The poet who wrote the words of this song was the 19th century lyric poet, Gabriele D'Annunzio. He was not from Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπο ...
* Accarezzame * Canzone amalfitana * Caruso * C'è la luna mezz'o mare * Cerasella * Comme facette mammeta * Core 'ngrato * Cu 'mmé * Dicitencello vuje * Era de maggio * Fenesta vascia * Funiculì, Funiculà * Guaglione *' I te vurria vasa' * Indifferentemente * Lacreme napulitane * Lazzarella * Luna caprese *
Luna rossa Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli, originally named Prada Challenge, then Luna Rossa Challenge, is an Italian sailboat racing syndicate first created to compete for the 2000 America's Cup. It won the Louis Vuitton Cup on their first attempt in 2000, but ...
*
Malafemmena "Malafemmena" (; "Bad Woman") is a song written by the Neapolitan actor Totò (Antonio de Curtis) in 1951. It has become one of the most popular Italian songs, a classic of the Canzone Napoletana genre, and has been recorded by many artists. Back ...
* Mamma mia che vo sapé * Mare verde * Marechiare * Marenariello * María, Marí * Munasterio 'e Santa Chiara * Na' sera e' maggio * 'O marenariello * 'O paese d'o Sole * 'O sarracino *
'O sole mio "O sole mio" () is a well-known Neapolitan song written in 1898. Its Neapolitan language lyrics were written by Giovanni Capurro and the music was composed by Eduardo di Capua (1865–1917) and Alfredo Mazzucchi (1878–1972).. The title tran ...
* 'O surdato 'nnammurato * Passione * Pecché? * Reginella * Rose rosse * Santa Lucia * Santa Lucia Luntana * Tiempe belle *
Torna a Surriento "Torna a Surriento" () is a Neapolitan song composed in 1894 by Italian musician Ernesto De Curtis to words by his brother, the poet and painter Giambattista De Curtis. The song was copyrighted officially in 1905, and has become one of the mos ...
* Tu Vuò Fà L'Americano * Voce ′e notte


Noted figures


Recording artists

* Mario Abbate * Francesco Albanese * Renzo Arbore *
Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor and multi-instrumentalist. He was born visually impaired, with congenital glaucoma, and at the age of 12, Bocelli became completely blind, following a brain hemorrhage resulting fr ...
* Sergio Bruni *
Renato Carosone Renato Carosone (; born Renato Carusone; 3 January 1920 – 20 May 2001) was an Italian musician. He was a prominent figure of the Italian music scene in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a modern performer of the so-called ' ...
* Enrico Caruso * Franco Corelli *
Nino D'Angelo Gaetano "Nino" D'Angelo (born 21 June 1957) is an Italian singer, songwriter, actor, television personality, film director, screenwriter and author. He was born to a poor family in San Pietro a Patierno, a suburb of Naples, and dropped out of ...
*
Gigi D'Alessio Luigi "Gigi" D'Alessio (born 24 February 1967) is an Italian popular singer and Neapolitan singer-songwriter. In his career, he has sold over 26 million records. Career D'Alessio was born in Naples. He was well known in Naples in the early 1990 ...
* Gabriele D'Annunzio * Pino Daniele * Mario Del Monaco * Giuseppe Di Stefano * Elvira Donnarumma *
Aurelio Fierro Aurelio Fierro (13 September 1923 – 11 March 2005) was a successful Italian actor and singer who specialized in songs in the Neapolitan dialect. Career He was born in Montella, in the Province of Avellino, Italy. His singing career bega ...
* Gigi Finizio *
Sergio Franchi Sergio Franchi (born Sergio Franci Galli; April 6, 1926 – May 1, 1990) was an Italian-American tenor and actor who enjoyed success in the United States and internationally after gaining notice in Britain in the early 1960s. In 1962, RCA Vict ...
* Natale Galletta * Beniamino Gigli *
Mario Lanza Mario Lanza (, ; born Alfredo Arnold Cocozza ; January 31, 1921 – October 7, 1959) was an American tenor and actor. He was a Hollywood film star popular in the late 1940s and the 1950s. Lanza began studying to be a professional singer at ...
*
Angela Luce Angela Luce (born 3 December 1938) is an Italian film actress and singer of Neapolitan song. She has appeared in 80 films since 1958. She was born in Naples, Italy. Partial filmography * ''La sposa'' (1958) - Margherita * ''Avventura a Capri'' ...
* Mario Maglione * Mia Martini * Joe Masiello * Mario Merola * Gilda Mignonette * Roberto Murolo *
Tullio Pane Tullio Pane (16 June 1930 in Naples – 3 October 2001 in Civitavecchia) was an Italian singer. In 1955 he won the Sanremo Music Festival in partnership with Claudio Villa Claudio Villa (born Claudio Pica; 1 January 1926 – 7 February 1987) w ...
* Maria Paris * Gennaro Pasquariello * Luciano Pavarotti *
Massimo Ranieri Massimo Ranieri (born Giovanni Calone on 3 May 1951) is an Italian singer, actor, television presenter and director. Biography Early life Ranieri was born in Naples ( at Santa Lucia), the fifth of eight children in the family. When he was 10, y ...
* Giacomo Rondinella * Jimmy Roselli *
Giulietta Sacco Giulietta may refer to: *Giulietta Masina – Italian actress. *Alfa Romeo Giulietta – Alfa Romeo's various anniversary cars. *Giulietta (singer) - Australian pop singer. See also *Romeo and Juliet (disambiguation) *Juliette (disambiguation) *Ju ...
*
Lina Sastri Pasqualina "Lina" Sastri is an Italian actress and singer. Life and career Born in Naples, Lina Sastri started acting in amateur dramatics at very young age. She made her professional debut with the theatrical company Teatro Libero, and had her ...
*
Tito Schipa Tito Schipa (; born Raffaele Attilio Amedeo Schipa; 2 January 1889 in Lecce16 December 1965) was an Italian lyric tenor, considered the greatest tenore di grazia and one of the most popular tenors of the century. Biography Schipa was born as ...
*
Totò Antonio Griffo Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno Porfirogenito Gagliardi de Curtis di Bisanzio (15 February 1898 – 15 April 1967), best known by his stage name Totò (), or simply as Antonio de Curtis, and nicknamed ''il Principe della risata ...
* Mario Trevi *
Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 t ...


Composers

* Pasquale Mario Costa * Pino Daniele *
Ernesto De Curtis Ernesto De Curtis (4 October 1875 – 31 December 1937) was an Italian composer.Luigi Denza *
Peppino di Capri Peppino di Capri (born Giuseppe Faiella on 27 July 1939) is an Italian popular music singer, songwriter and pianist, successful in Italy and Europe. His international hits include "St. Tropez Twist", "Daniela", "Torna piccina", "Roberta", "Melanco ...
* Eduardo di Capua * Enzo Gragnaniello * E. A. Mario * Salvatore Mazzocco * Emanuele Nutile * Raffaele Sacco *
Francesco Paolo Tosti Sir Francesco Paolo Tosti KCVO (9 April 1846, Ortona, Abruzzo2 December 1916, Rome) was an Italian composer and music teacher. Life Francesco Paolo Tosti received most of his music education in his native Ortona, Italy, as well as the c ...


See also

* :it:Canzoni della tradizione classica napoletana (1830-1970) *
Tarantella () is a group of various southern Italian folk dances originating in the regions of Calabria, Campania and Puglia. It is characterized by a fast upbeat tempo, usually in time (sometimes or ), accompanied by tambourines. It is among the mo ...
*
Festival di Napoli The Festival della Canzone Napoletana ("Festival of Neapolitan Song"), commonly known as the Festival di Napoli, is a Neapolitan song contest. The first edition was held in 1952 and the last in 2004. From 1952 to 1970 the show was broadcast on RAI ...
(Festival della Canzone Napoletana)


References


Bibliography

*
Marcello Sorce Keller Marcello is a common masculine Italian given name. It is a variant of Marcellus. The Spanish and Portuguese version of the name is Marcelo, differing in having only one "l", while the Greek form is Markellos. Etymology The name originally means ...
, “Continuing Opera with Other Means: Opera, Neapolitan Song, and Popular Music among Italian Immigrants Overseas”, ''Forum Italicum'', Vol. XLIX(2015), No 3, 1- 20.


External links


List of texts of several Neapolitan songsSheet music for 30 Neapolitan Songs
* * {{Naples Italian folk music Italian popular music