Here is a new edition of Vaccai meets Trip Hop. I am now up to the 14th release in my Musing Mana song project: Musing Mana 14 – Vaccai Meets Trip Hop (Take 2)
This version has more of a tribal feel and some minor key overtones. I even had to haul out my synthesizer to play the bass line and my Irish penny-whistle for the celestial background sounds. I bet Nicola Vaccai never dreamed his music would be mixed with Trip Hop. That is what the Creative Commons movement is all about though – extending and enhancing creativity through the sharing across generations and societies of our common culture. Isn’t it fascinating that Vaccai’s parents wanted him to become a lawyer, they even sent him to Rome to study law, but just like kids today once he left home he decided he had his own ideas and turned to music. In a way, I think Lawrence Lessig would be proud.
Here is a new edition of Vaccai Meets Trip Hop. This version has more of a tribal feel and some minor key overtones. I even had to haul out my synthesizer to play the bass line and my Irish penny-whistle for the celestial background sounds. I bet Nicola Vaccai never dreamed his music would be mixed with Trip Hop. Neither did I actually….not until I accidentally discovered the Trip Hop beat and saw that I kind of liked it, then after I looked into it I found out that those darn British had created this vibe, appropriated our Hip Hop, made it more musical and created their own thing. Perfect! It has creative commons written all over it.
That is what the Creative Commons movement is all about though – extending and enhancing creativity through the sharing across generations and societies of our common culture. With Vaccai, to me it is equally fascinating that Vaccai’s parents wanted him to become a lawyer, they even sent him to Rome to study law, but just like kids today once he left home he decided he had his own ideas and turned to music. In a way, I think Lawrence Lessig would be proud.
Anyway, in case you missed the first release of Vaccai Meets Trip Hop, which I erroneously titled “hip hop” in the blog post, this song was a result of a quick creative burst one day when I wondered what happens if Vaccai meets trip hop meets a wah-wah meets a Leslie? I put the original song together in one short recording session…..it probably only took me about an hour. I labored over this one a little bit longer, but not too long as I wanted to keep the same level of spontaneity.
Most guitar players know what a wah-wah pedal is and what a leslie is. But, for those not familiar with Vaccai, he is best known for his teaching of bel canto, or beautiful singing technique, popular in 19th century Italian opera. Per the Internet, “Vaccai is now chiefly remembered as a voice teacher. Nicola Vaccai wrote many books one of which is called Metodo pratico de canto (Practical Vocal Method). This book has been transposed for different types of voice (i.e high or low), to teach singing in the Italian legato style. The Metodo pratico was written in 1832 and is still in print, from Edition Peters and Ricordi, and used as a teaching tool. Vaccai notes in his introduction that only the voice of a master demonstrating accurately his exercises can really teach the student the correct techniques of true legato. The book is also an important source of information about the performance of early 19th-century opera.”
Therefore, I give you Vaccai meets Trip Hop Take 2.
Lyrics (Italian)
Lascia il lido, e il mare infido
a solcar torna il nochiero,
e pur sa che menzognero
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò,
altre volte l’inganò.
Lyrics (English)
Far from home and shore and safety
Must the pilot steer his vessel
Tho’ he know the traitorous waters
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before,
Have deceived him oft before.
The Musing Mana 14 – Vaccai Meets Trip Hop (Take 2) by Chris Hartzog, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 United States License.
