19m40s_22
22nd of December 2023 7:40pm GMT+1
Léo Ferré Sans Mots
DESCRIPTION
“Léo Ferré Sans Mots” brings the timeless works of the legendary French chansonnier, composed and arranged from 1975 to 1992, into the spotlight in a lyrics-less rendition. This approach reveals the pure beauty of their symphonic tones, finely distilled in a chamber music setting. However, there are two notable exceptions in this collection, which we will detail shortly.
Under the baton of Marcello Corti, the Esecutori di Metallo su Carta will guide you through ten tracks. The journey begins, paradoxically, with "Des Mots" and culminates with "Words, words, words…" highlighting that here, words serve merely as a conduit for a more profound message.
As we hinted, this collection includes two significant exceptions. These are two never-before-released pieces from 1992, "Liberté" and "Le Camelot," featuring Léo's voice recreated through AI in "Liberté" and the operatic timbre of mezzo-soprano Francesca Biliotti in "Le Camelot."
Mathieu Ferré, co-producer of this project and Léo's son, reflects that his father was "primarily a composer: his poetry, words, and performances came afterwards. If he could have lived solely on his instrumental music, he might have composed more and written less.”
TRACK LIST
Des mots
Je te donne ces vers
Requiem
C’est fantastique
Quand je fumerai autre chose que des Celtiques
Liberté
L’amour n’a pas d’âge
Automne malade
Le Camelot
Words, words, words…
CREDITS
Esecutori di Metallo su Carta
Miklos Peter Papp, violin
Francesca Montefusco, violin
Alessandro Adorni, viola
Camillo Vittorio Lepido, cello
Zinovii Shkurhan, double bass
Carlotta Raponi, flute
Enrico Gabrielli, clarinet and bass clarinet, alto and tenor saxophone, vocals and choir simulation, piano, celesta, organ and synthesizer
Marcello Corti, trumpet
Lara Eccher, french horn
Nicolò Bombelli, trombone
Ethel Colella, harp
Alessandro Grazian, guitar
Sebastiano De Gennaro, percussion
Damiano Afrifa, piano
Maxine Rizzotto, piano
Francesca Biliotti, Mezzo-soprano solo on “Le Camelot”
Francesco Fusaro, Voice Cloning and AI Implementation on “Liberté”
Valeria Sturba, “Voix célestes” on “Requiem”
Marcello Corti, conductor
Recording by Luca Stignani and Giuseppe Fortugno @ Banana Studio (Milan, MI) on May 24 and 25, 2023.
Doubling by Sebastiano De Gennaro @ Black Bear studio (Lissolo, LC)
All tracks mixed and mastered by Carlo Madaghiele @ Laboratori Testone (Milan)
Illustration and Graphic Design from the original manuscript of “Des Mots”
Produced by Mathieu Ferré and La Mémoire et la Mer + 19’40”