NINNA NANNA
Lullabies from Baroque Italy

01 Dormi dormi ben mio 5:15
(Francesco Fiamengo [fl.c.1620-37], in: Pastorali concenti al Presepe, Opera Terza, Venice, Vincenti 1637)

02 Oi nenna nenna 4:48
(traditional; field recording made in Mondragone, Caserta, by Andrea Nerone; date and singer unknown)

03 Oh, oh, oh, o picciriddu dormi rivo 4:02
(traditional; field recording made in Geraci Siculo, Palermo, in 1954 by Alan Lomax, with singer Antonina Segi)

04 Trotta trotta cavallo memè 1:40
(traditional; field recording made in Muro Leccese, Lecce, by Pino De Vittorio; date and singer unknown)

05 Pastorale calabrese [instr.] 1:34
(traditional; Rome, Fonoteca A, 1541, 1928; location and players unknown)

06 La Bonasera 4:55
(traditional; field recording made in Cagnano Varano, Gargano, in 1973 by Carmelita and Eugenio Gadaleta;
singer unknown)

07 Ninna di Borgia 2:37
(traditional, in: Raffaele Lombardi Satriani, Canti popolari calabresi, vol. 3, Naples, De Simone, 1932;
and previously in Eugenia Levi, Fiorita di canti tradizionali del popolo italiano, Florence, Bemporad, 1895)

08 Ninna di Radicena 0:44
(traditional, in: Raffaele Lombardi Satriani, Canti popolari calabresi, vol. 3, Naples, De Simone, 1932;
and previously in Eugenia Levi, Fiorita di canti tradizionali del popolo italiano, Florence, Bemporad, 1895)

09 Pastorale [instr.] 3:20
(Emanuele Barbella [1718-1777], in: Pastorale del Sig. Emanuele Barbella, Andante, Bologna,
Museo internazionale e della musica, Ms. Mart. 2.5.)

10 Lucciola lucciola vien a me 4:00
(anonymous: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Rés. Vmc., Ms. 59, cc. 72v-73)

11 Lucciola lucciola vien da me 1:20
(traditional; field recording made in Le Volte Ane, Siena, in 1969 by Franco Pavan, with singer Angiolina Crezzini)

12 Lanterna Mâgica [instr.] 2:29
(traditional, in: Gaspare Ungarelli, Le vecchie danze italiane ancora in uso nella provincia bolognese, Rome, 1894)

13 Fa la nana la mi cuncheta 5:01
(traditional; field recording made in Monghidoro, Bologna, in 1997 by Placida Staro, with singer Maria Grillini)

14 Ninna Nanna 2:25
(traditional; field recording made in Cerignola, Foggia, by Carmelita and Eugenio Gadaleta; date and singer unknown)

15 Aria, che i paesani napoletani sonano con la zampogna [instr.] 0:43
(anonymous, in: München, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Mus. Ms. 4117

16 Venite, ò pastori 6:03
(Giovanni Battista Caputi [fl.c.1640], in: Canzonette spirituali, Opera Seconda, O. Beltrano, Naples, 1640)

17 Piva [instr.] 1:56
(Giovanni Girolamo Kapsperger [c.1580-1651], in: Intavolatura di Chitarone, Libro Quarto, Rome, 1640)

18 Nat’è il Bambino Giesù 3:43
(anonymous, in: Canzonette Spirituali, e Morali, che si cantano nell’Oratorio di Chiavena, eretto sotto la Protettione di S. Filippo Neri, Carlo Francesco Rolla, Milan, 1657)

19 Pastorale [instr.] 3:57
(Giovanni Zamboni [1664-1721]?, in: Rohrau, Graf Harrach’sche Familiensammlung, Lauten-Ms. 2)

20 Dolce gioia della Mamma 5:09
(Matteo Coferati [1638-1703], in: Corona di Sacre Canzoni, o Laude Spirituali di più divoti autori, Florence, Eredi di Francesco Onofri, 1689)

21 Dormi Benigne Jesu 2:36
(Domenico Cimarosa [1749-1801], in: Regensburg, Proskesche Musikabteilung, Bischöfliche Zentralbibliothek, Ms. qu 4° 58 G, Pastorale ossia Ninna Nanna pel Natale di N. S. Gesù Cristo)

22 Tarantella del Presepe [instr.] 2:24
(Cristofaro Caresana [c.1640-1709]: Duo Trentesimoterzo - Tarantella, Opera Seconda, Libro Primo, Naples, 1693; arranged by Franco Pavan)

23 Dormi dormi io già non voglio 3:54
(Giovanni Battista da Gagliano [1594-1651]: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Rés. Vmc., Ms. 59, cc.50v-51v)

24 Canna Austina 3:46
(Roberto De Simone [1933])

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About this album

With Ninna Nanna the haunting tones, dramatic intensity and richly characterized singing of Pino De Vittorio once again grace a recording project led by Franco Pavan. Call it Wiegenlied, berceuse, nana, ninna nanna – or countless other terms from around the world – the lullaby, with the rocking of the child’s cradle, is possessed of a captivating charm, all neatly captured in this new collection with the lulling of De Vittorio’s hypnotic voice.

A potent attraction of Ninna Nanna is that the pieces – from the Baroque era – mainly originate from the Mezzogiorno, the southern part of Italy – including the Apulian area from which hails Pino De Vittorio. Seeking to sidestep the well-known and frequently-played, Franco Pavan, who plays the theorbo and the Southern Italian chitarra battente as well as directing Laboratorio ’600, has delved into the popular culture of these regions for inspiration, additionally adding instrumental pieces such as the Tarantella del Presepe by Cristofaro Caresana or the traditional Pastorale calabrese.

By way of the lullaby texts selected here, Pavan conjures up an atmosphere populated by fireflies, the powerful Greek mythological gods of Sleep and Death, Hypnos and Thanatos, Federico García Lorca lecturing on lullabies and referring to the acute sadness of the cradle song, as well as the Virgin Mary and sundry saints being corralled into underpinning the doctrines of the Catholic Church.