by Annalisa Belluco – The island of Italian music
Carmine Torchia was born in Catanzaro, grew up in Sersale, and lives in Milan. He writes songs, produces records and shows, and sets poets to music. These few lines serve to frame a multifaceted artist and help us present his new work. In December 2023, he published the book-CD Non c’è più niente – Carmine Torchia per Leo Ferré, played and sung with Daniele Fiaschi and Matteo D’Alessandro (and featuring several guests). A ‘political’ album, born from a collaboration with La mémoire et la mer, which produced it together with Nota, Valter Colle‘s Friulian record label, and Edizioni Peermusic Italy.

A work of translation and musical reworking supported by the family of the French singer-songwriter, who was also a composer, writer, artist committed to freedom, an anarchist with a capital A, who was inspired by the French ‘maudits’ such as Baudelaire, Verlaine, and Rimbaud, but was also fascinated by the Italians Pavese and Testori; authors whom he set to music and brought to the stage in his recitals over the years.
And it is precisely in the context of the recital, alternating with singing, that this tribute takes place, the result of careful and heartfelt study and immersion in the universe of one of the giants of French songwriting. The opening track is the preface Alla scuola della poesia (At the School of Poetry). Torchia (pictured below) seems to channel Ferré’s soul, giving us a vivid and contemporary portrait through the words that built his works. The listening experience is intense and attentive; the meaning of the lyrics creates a variety of images and sensations that break down the walls that open the doors to introjection.Thirteen songs have been selected by Mathieu Ferré, Léo’s son. They have been translated into Italian, some for the first time, such as Il cattivo seme (The Bad Seed), Thank you Satan, No grazie (No, thank you), La Marsigliese (The Marseillaise) and La speranza (Hope). These songs are faithfully interpreted in Carmine Torchia’s original and personal style. Perhaps it is not an album that is easy to approach, especially for those who have never encountered Léo Ferré’s work, which, with its restlessness, has always recounted the strength and melancholy of a rebellious, visionary, outspoken poet who did not mince his words. But after a second listen, you begin to enter his world more easily, and to help you along, the small book that accompanies the CD contains the translated lyrics (in addition to the original ones) plus three essays that aid understanding. The first is ‘Paris-Sersale A/R’ written by Mathieu Ferré, who introduces, explains, and ‘blesses’ Carmine Torchia’s choice, comparing him to Charon, who ferries the listener to discover words, ‘Love and Freedom’. This is followed by Edoardo De Angelis in ‘Senza bavaglio, senza museruola’ (Without a gag, without a muzzle), which allows us to connect more deeply with Léo’s world and thinking, recounting the nuances that characterized his lyrics. Finally, Andrea Satta, in ‘Ferré sul 38° parallelo’ (Ferré on the 38th parallel), reveals how Torchia managed to interpret him through an unconventional poetic reading.

Some argue that ‘translating is a bit like betraying’, yet these lyrics manage to retain their original connotations in the linguistic exchange and are emphasized by a soundscape and elements that create an electrifying atmosphere. This is the case, for example, with the (recited) song La solitudine, accompanied by the sound of electric guitar, which gives it a rock soul. And Non c’è più niente, a surreal text, which in the original version lasts over 15 minutes. Torchia extends it to about 18 minutes, offering an evocative reinterpretation that flows on a loop created by a harmonic-psychedelic riff, leading us to discover (or rediscover) words that seem to have been written today and that invite us to understand that in that ‘there is nothing left’ there is actually everything. A concept that we find in the words of Léo Ferré (pictured here in a stock photo) that also appear on the back cover of the album: “You are born alone, you die alone, between the two there are events, events that I hope you choose, because most of the time these events are imposed on you, so do everything you can to keep these events for yourself.” The CD book, enclosed in an elegant digipack, is available at the link Non c’è più niente – Nota.it