Zanotti and Cremonini at Sanremo “Let’s give a ‘Voice’ to the star, Lara Fabian”

“Let’s give a ‘Voice’ to the star, Lara Fabian”

To Sanremo all the way from Bologna

the authors

Fio Zanotti wrote the music, Cristiano Cremonini wrote the lyrics, “she chose us among another hundred”

by Cesare Sughi

 

“I wrote the score in a night. I was supported by the tenor singer Cristiano Cremonini, we’ve been good friends and often performed together. So, it took me a night and I thought it’d be nice if he wrote the lyrics, which Cristiano never did before. He asked me what kind of lyrics I wanted, and I aimed high, I suggested to him something like “L’emozione non ha voce”, one of Celentano’s happiest songs, which I had made the arrangement of. That’s how our work began.”

Fiorenze ‘Fio’ Zanotti, born in Bologna, 1949, musician, composer, arranger, with an experience in Gjudas’ progressive rock with Jimmy Villotti, collaborates with Zucchero, Vasco Rossi, Pooh, Ricchi e Poveri (Se mi innamoro, won Sanremo in 1985) and many television programmes. He talks about his new creation with a mixture of affection and stubborness. He does care about it. He won’t be the only one from Bologna in this Festival di Sanremo, from the 10^th of February: Cremonini was born in Bologna, too, 1974.

When did you finish your song?

“We were ready in November, Cristiano and I repeatedly changed what we didn’t like. The ultimate title was chosen, “Voce” (Voice). He wasn’t a songwriter before, but this experience will be the beginning of a long partnership.”

 

How did you get the worldwide star, Lara Fabian, to sing the song?

“I was in Sanremo to receive an award and I met Pasquale Mammaro, the famous singers’ manager. He asked me if I had any song for Lara, so I had him listen to it, he loved it and we sent it to her, despite she had about 100 other songs she could choose. A week later, we got her ‘yes’.”

Tell us about “Voce”

“’Voice is for who doesn’t have a voice, to make a sense of this time…I sing the silence shouting around me’ (original lyrics: “Voce per chi voce non ha/ per dare un senso a questo tempo…io canto tutto il silenzio che sta gridando intorno a me”). I quoted some of the lyrics, not yet published, to make you understand its intelligence, its existential profoundness. A quality song. An Italian song going worldwide.”

How will it be performed?

There will be me, naturally, in the orchestra of the festival. I was thinking about Whitney Houston and La vie en rose. But we needed Lara’s agreement, made difficult by the distance, since the Italo-Belgian star, living in Canada, tours everywhere in the world. We came to a good compromise in the end.

Any regret?

“Not exactly, there were no arguments, although, according to the rules, the song can’t be longer than 3 minutes and 40 seconds. So we lost the final, extreme emotion, that we won’t hear. Although the satisfaction from working with Cristiano is still great.”

What do you think of Sanremo, after so many participations?

Television needs to go hand in hand with music, it musn’t crush music, making it just a side of the show-business. Even Lucio Dalla, nowadays, couldn’t go to the festival.”

What’s the situation in Bologna like?

Musically speaking, it’s one of the most important centres, rock mixed with dance halls, positive energies you can breathe. I’ll always remember the words of one of my teachers, Ettore Ballotta: “Remember, practice makes perfect. A bit.” That’s to say: everyone is the way they are.

Transation by Matteo Posa

Here you could find Lara Fabian’s profile on SanRemo Festival’s official website:

http://www.sanremo.rai.it/dl/portali/site/articolo/ContentItem-3a7338b6-ca40-49d6-9cf2-5abc49fb07e0.html