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Gabriella Ghermandi |
I will risk having my blood flow from my body like a sea
I am willing to lose my life rather than yield an inch of my
country’s independence …
… I will fight those who have come cloaking their intentions in the
Gospel, to subjugate our land"
"Atse Tewodros", is the third track of the "Atse Tewodros Project" CD,
dedicated by Gabriella Ghermandi to Emperor Tewodros II "who
modernized Ethiopia while respecting traditions"; one of the most
beloved emperors in Ethiopian history, He was the first emperor who was not of Ethiopian royal descent. He rose to power because of his perseverance and charisma, qualities that charmed the Ethiopian people to the point that they broke with centuries-old tradition and supported his accession to the throne. He was also the emperor who fought against Queen Victoria’s army and defended Ethiopian independence in the century of African colonization.
A mix of tradition and modernity, dressed with Ethiopian pride, the CD
includes also some Shellela (war songs) as a tribute to the Arbegnoch,
the Ethiopian patriots that fought the Italian invasion between 1935
and 1941.
The project, fully independent and self financed, started in 2010 in
Addis Ababa, as a result of a collaboration among Gabriella Ghermandi,
the Ethiopian composer Aklilu Zewdy and Professor Berhanu Gezaw. It
immediately caught the interest of Michele Giuliani, an Italian
pianist and composer who is the leader of the Reunion Platz Jazz Trio.
After a successful foundraising that collected over hundreds of
donations from individuals and associations, Gabriella Ghermandi and
the Reunion Platz Trio flown to Addis and met traditional Ethiopian
musicians of the Ethiocolor Band (official group of 2014 WomaX
edition) and to complete the musical arrangements and record the CD
(in live sessions at Langano Studio, engineered by Abegasu Shiota).
Though not distributed yet, the CD already got positive reviews from
Italian and international press. This is and excerpt from fRoots: "The
music is clear, thoughtful and unforced. The contrast between
Gabriella’s warm, accurate voice and washint (flute) and dry, aching
krar (lyre) and calm, jazzy rhythm section is powerfully evocative.
Worth seek- ing out – and you will have to seek it out, being a
self-published album at present, though a label to take it up must be
likely".
http://www.worldmusic.net
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