The Casa delle Musiche Puglia Sounds, the regional program for the development of the regional musical system, inaugurated its articulated event yesterday evening at the Kursaal Santalucia theater in Bari, the true beating heart of the many planned activities, with the national premiere of the show "Way to Blue/ The Songs of Nick Drake" (from the title of Drake's album released posthumously in 1994), which will be followed by a repeat tonight.

After meeting the audience on Friday 8/10 with the legendary Joe Boyd, record producer of Pink Floyd, Fairport Convention, Rem and discoverer of Nick Drake himself, the show supported by Puglia Sounds in collaboration with The Barbican Center of London and Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome, represents a tribute to the English singer-songwriter who died prematurely at the age of 26, with only three records to his credit, capable of expressing the deepest feelings of each of us with his notes and verses. .

Unfortunately, as often happens, it was only after his death in 1975 that the "cursed poet" achieved the deserved popularity, soon becoming a point of reference for the entire contemporary musical world. His music, circular, delicate and hypnotic in perfect symbiosis between experimentalism but not for this without songwriting content, has thus been able to outline a path of artistic evolution that has led him to transform himself into the cult figure we still know today.

The project was conceived and directed by Joe Boyd, who saw four of the most representative voices of the English musical scene take turns on the stage, expanded in its depth on the initiative of Puglia Sounds, such as Vashti Bunyan, Green Gartside (Scritti Politti), Robyn Hitchcook, Teddy Thompson and the Italians Violante Placido and Roberto Angelini. To accompany them, directed by musical director Kate St John, highly respected musicians: Danny Thompson (double bass), Neill MacColl (guitar), Leo Abrahams (guitar / effects), Zoe Rahman (piano), Martyn Barker (drums) Oli Langford ( first violin) and six strings from the Collegium Musicum of Bari (Carmine Scarpati, Antonio Papapietro, Daniela Carabellese, Paolo Messa, Francesca Carabellese, Giuseppe Carabellese).

The concert is structured in two well-defined parts, in which after a brief instrumental introduction of guitar and strings, the various folk singers take turns on stage to interpret Drake's touching songs. First song in the lineup "Fruit tree" masterfully interpreted by Green Gartside, "Parasite" sung by singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock, "Made to love magic" by Violante Placido, and again "From the morning", "Place to be", "Which will "(Vashti Bunyan), " Three hours"(Roberto Angelini), "Time has told me" , "One of these things first", "Nothern sky" and " Poor boy" (Teddy Thompson) .

Joe Boyd alternates on stage with the various artists, presenting and declaiming the poignant words of Drake's lyrics, which address themes such as love lost and never found again, loneliness, the hope of living a better life and of reaching longed-for serenity. The audience appears enthusiastic about the touching interpretations of the singers and the precise instrumental interweaving of the various musicians, well supported by the harmonic carpet of the strings. " The second half" begins like this: "Way to blue" (Teddy Thompson), " I remember" (Vashti Bunyan), " Free ride" (Robyn Hitchcock and Green Gartside), "Clothes of sand" (Green Gartside), "At the chime of a city clock" (Violante Placido), "Hanging on a star", "Day is done", "River man" (Teddy Thompson), "Cello song" and finally "Pink moon" (Teddy Thompson ).

Loudly, the audience in standing ovation calls the various artists on stage for two encores, but the appointment is for tonight at 9 pm, for a show capable of narrating through the songs of Nick Drake, an expression of a malaise that brought him to death very young, the restlessness of the soul that is hidden deep inside each of us.

Claudia Mastrorilli