Fisiognomica - Face Reading

Leggo dentro i tuoi occhi Da quante volte vivi Dal taglío della bocca Se sei disposto all'odio o all'indulgenza Nel tratto del tuo naso Se sei orgoglioso fiero oppure vile I drammi del tuo cuore Li leggo nelle mani Nelle loro falangi Dispendio o tirchieria Da come ridi e siedi So come fai l'amore Quando ti arrabbi Se propendi all'astio o all'onestà Per cose che non sai e non intendi Se sei presuntuoso od umile Negli archi delle unghie Se sei un puro un avido o un meschino Ma se ti senti male Rivolgiti al Signore Credimi siamo niente Dei miseri ruscelli senza Fonte Vedo quando cammini Se sei borioso fragile o indifeso Da come parli e ascolti Il grado di coscienza Nei muscoli del collo e nelle orecchie: Il tipo di tensioni e di chiusure Dal sesso e dal bacino Se sei più uomo o donna Vivere venti o quarant'anni in più è uguale Difficile è capire ciò che è giusto E che l'Eterno non ha avuto inizio Perché la nostra mente è temporale E il corpo vive giustamente Solo questa vita Ma se ti senti male Rivolgiti al Signore Credimi siamo niente Dei miseri ruscelli senza Fonte Fisiognomica © 1988 Franco Battiato "Fisiognomica" gives the advice to "turn back to the Lord." Battiato said that "man believes himself to be at the center of the universe. Instead, he is zero, nothing. And he renders himself ridiculous thinking to decide, to dominate. Man becomes an extraordinary being only if he accepts himself as a nonentity, a minuscule cog in the natural system."

I read within your eyes how many times you have lived, by the cut of your mouth if you are disposed to hatred or indulgence. In the features of your nose if you are proud, fierce or vile. The stories of your heart I read in your hands, in their phalanges, extravagance or stinginess. By how you laugh and sit I know how you make love. When you get mad, if you are inclined to malice or to honesty. For things you don’t know and don’t intend, if you are presumptuous or humble. In the arc of your fingernails, if you are pure, greedy or petty. But if you don’t feel well, turn back to the Lord. Believe me we are nothing, some paltry streams without a Source. I see when you walk if you are pompous, delicate or helpless. By how you talk and listen, the degree of consciousness. In the muscles of the neck and the ears: the type of tensions and of closures. By the sex and by the pelvis, if you are more man or woman. Living twenty or forty years more is all the same – what’s difficult is understanding what is right and that the Eternal didn’t have a beginning, because our mind is temporal and the body lives, rightly so, only this life. But if you don’t feel well, turn back to the Lord. Believe me we are nothing, some paltry streams without a Source. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera, Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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E ti vengo a cercare - And I Come Searching for You

E ti vengo a cercare Anche solo per vederti o parlare Perché ho bisogno della tua presenza Per capire meglio la mia essenza Questo sentimento popolare Nasce da meccaniche divine Un rapimento mistico e sensuale Mi imprigiona a te Dovrei cambiare l'oggetto dei miei desideri Non accontentarmi di piccole gioie quotidiane Fare come un eremita Che rinuncia a sé E ti vengo a cercare Con la scusa di doverti parlare Perché mi piace ciò che pensi e che dici Perché in te vedo le mie radici Questo secolo oramai alla fine Saturo di parassiti senza dignità Mi spinge solo ad essere migliore Con più volontà Emanciparmi dall'incubo delle passioni Cercare l'Uno al di sopra del Bene e del Male Essere un'immagine divina Di questa realtà E ti vengo a cercare Perché sto bene con te Perché ho bisogno della tua presenza E ti vengo a cercare © 1988 Franco Battiato "E ti vengo a cercare" hovers, at first ambiguously, between a worldly falling in love and an otherworldly yearning for spiritual transcendence. The song ends with a fragment of Bach's St. Matthew Passion and makes clear where Battiato is coming from, if there was any doubt after the second verse.

And I come searching for you, even just to see you or to talk, because I need your presence to better understand my essence. This popular feeling is born from divine mechanics. A ravishment mystical and sensual imprisons me to you. I should change the object of my desires, not content myself with small everyday pleasures, make like a hermit who renounces himself. And I come searching for you with the excuse of having to talk to you because I like what you think and what you say, because in you I see my roots. This century now at the end, saturated with parasites, without dignity, it only pushes me to be better with more willpower to emancipate me from the nightmare of passions, to search for the One beyond for better or worse, to be a divine image of this reality. And I come searching for you because I feel good with you, because I need your presence. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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Veni l'autunnu - Autumn Comes

Stammu un pocu all'umbra Cca c'è troppu suli... Veni l'autunnu Scura cchiù prestu L'albiri peddunu i fogghi E accumincia a scola Da mari già si sentunu i riuturi E a mari già si sentunu i riuturi Mo patri m'insignau lu muraturi Pi nan sapiri leggiri e scriviri è inutili ca 'ntrizzi E fai cannola Lu santu è di mammuru E nan sura Sparunu i bummi Supra a Nunziata 'n cielu fochi di culuri 'n terra aria bruciata E tutti appressu o santu 'nda vanedda Sicilia bedda mia Sicilia bedda Chi stranu e cumplicatu sintimentu Gnonnu ti l'aia diri Li mo peni Cu sapi si si in gradu di capiri No sacciu comu mai Ti vogghiu beni Messmuka issmi khalifa Adrussu 'allurata al 'arabiata Likulli schain uactin ua azan. Likulli schain uactin ua azan. Likulli helm muthabir amal Likulli helm muthabir amal Veni l'autunnu © 1988 Franco Battiato "Veni l'autunnu" is Battiato's love song for Sicily, in a mix of Sicilian dialect and Arabic. According to Battiato, "the lyrics are made almost entirely of traditional citations, many phrases are proverbs, it's like a festival of popular sayings."

We are staying a bit in the shade, here there’s too much sun . . . Autumn comes, it gets dark earlier. The trees lose their leaves and school starts up. From the sea one already hears the surf and at the sea one already hears the surf. My father taught me the mason’s craft not knowing how to read or write. It’s useless to braid and make curls, the saint is of marble and doesn’t sweat. They shoot fireworks above Nunziata, in the sky colored pyrotechnics and on land scorched air, and everyone behind the saint in the back street – my beautiful Sicily, beautiful Sicily. How strange and complicated feelings. One day I have to tell you about my sorrow. Who knows if you are able to understand. I don’t know why I love you. What’s your name? My name is Khalifa. I study the Arabic language. For everything there is a time and a pain. For everything there is a time and a pain. Every persistent dream has hope. Every persistent dream has hope. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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Secondo imbrunire - Second Dusk

Quei muri bassi di pietra lavica Arrivano al mare e da qui Ci passava ogni tanto Un bagnante in estate Sciara delle Ginestre esposte al sole Passo ancora il mio tempo A osservare i tramonti E vederli cambiare In Secondo Imbrunire E il cuore Quando si fa sera Muore d'amore Non ci vuole credere Che è meglio Stare soli Cortili e pozzi antichi Tra i melograni Chiese in stile normanno E una vecchia caserma Dei carabinieri Passano gli anni E il tempo delle ragioni Se ne sta andando Per scoprire che non sono Ancora maturo Nel Secondo Imbrunire E il cuore Quando si fa sera Muore d'amore Non si vuol convincere Che è bello Vivere da soli Secondo imbrunire © 1988 Franco Battiato "Secondo imbrunire" is a song of reflection, as Battiato said, about "the classic contrast between the calling to a solitary life and the desire to unite with other people and form a nucleus."

Those low walls of lava rock arrive at the sea, and from here there used to pass every so often a bather in summertime. Lava field of the Ginestre exposed to the sun, I still pass my time to observe the sunsets and see them change into Second Dusk. And the heart, when it is evening, dies of love. It doesn’t want to believe that it’s better to be by ourselves. Courtyards and ancient wells between the pomegranates, churches in the Norman style, and an old barracks of the carabinieri. The years pass and the time of reasoning is disappearing to discover that I am not yet mature in the Second Dusk. And the heart, when it is evening, dies of love. It doesn’t want to believe that it’s beautiful to live by ourselves. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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Nomadi - Nomads

Nomadi che cercano gli angoli della tranquillità Nelle nebbie del nord e nei tumulti delle civiltà Tra i chiari scuri e la monotonia Dei giorni che passano Camminatore che vai Cercando la pace al crepuscolo La troverai, la troverai Alla fine della strada Lungo il transito dell'apparente dualità La pioggia di settembre Risveglia i vuoti della mia stanza Ed i lamenti della solitudine Si prolungano Come uno straniero non sento legami di sentimento E me ne andrò Dalle città Nell'attesa del risveglio I viandanti vanno in cerca di ospitalità Nei villaggi assolati E nei bassifondi dell'immensità E si addormentano sopra i guanciali della terra Forestiero che cerchi la dimensione insondabile La troverai, fuori città Alla fine della strada Nomadi © 1985 Juri Camisasca "Nomadi" was written by Battiato's good friend and fellow spiritual seeker Juri Camisasca. In addition to being a songwriter, Camisasca was also a Benedictine monk, then lived as an eremite on the slopes of Mt. Etna. He participated as a singer and narrator in Battiato's opera Genesi. The song is a testimony to taking on an inner search with the goal of reaching an "unfathomable dimension" and a spiritual awakening.

Nomads who look for corners of tranquility in the Northern fogs and in the tumults of societies, between the lights, darks, and monotony of the days that pass. Walker who goes searching for peace at twilight, you’ll find it, you’ll find it at the end of the road. Along the transit of the seeming duality, the rain of September reawakens the emptinesses of my room, and complaints of solitude drag on. Like a foreigner I don’t feel ties of sentiment, and I will leave the city in the expectation of an awakening. The wayfarers go in search of hospitality in the sun-drenched villages and in the slums of the immensity, and they fall asleep on the earth’s pillows. Outsider who searches for the unfathomable dimension, you’ll find it, outside the city at the end of the road. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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Zai saman

Zai zai zai saman Ialla nuzur al ahel Schufi addii Keber el weld Schufi el nas mahneia 'a zara' E di domenica tutto si fa quieto Usciamo insieme come una volta A fare visita ai parenti "guarda com'è diventato grande!" Ho visto gente curva sopra i campi Mietere il grano Famiglie intere unirsi I giorni di vendemmia Per la raccolta delle olive Zai zai zai saman Ialla nuzur al ahel Schufi addii Keber el weld Schufi el nas mahneia 'a zara' E una domenica ti incontrai per caso E mi scoppiò un indescrivibile Piacere di conoscerti Guarda cos'è il Destino! Vuoto di senso crolla l'Occidente Soffocherà per ingordigia E assurda sete di potere E dall'Oriente orde di fanatici Zai saman © 1988 Franco Battiato

Like we used to, we go visit the family. Look how big the boy is, look at the people, how they gather the flowers. And on Sunday everything gets quiet. We go out together like before to visit the relatives – “Look how big he’s become!” I saw people bent over the fields sowing the grain, entire families coming together, the days of harvest for collecting the olives. Like we used to, we go visit the family. Look how big the boy is, look at the people, how they gather the flowers. And one Sunday I encountered you by chance and out of me burst forth an indescribable “Nice to meet you.” Look what is Destiny! Empty of sense, the West crumbles. It will suffocate from greed and absurd thirst for power, and from the East hordes of fanatics. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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Il mito dell'amore - The Myth of Love

Il mito dell'amore vive Si nutre di fantasia Quando t'innamori è tutto bello Anche come ti ossessionano i pensieri Nell'attrazione bisogno di unità Echi di mantra nel suono del suo nome Un giorno da ragazzi Camminavamo sul lungomare Mi disse "Sanno già di noi Vieni a casa ti presento ai miei" Mi tocchi il cuore e la libertà Ma solo l'idea mi fa sentire prigioniero Nei valori tradizionali Il senso di una via Primordiali movimenti interni a un'emozione Amore mio Resisterai a un altro addio Il mito dell'amore muore Senza tante cortesie Ti accorgi che è finita Da come cadi nell'insofferenza Ciò che ti unisce Ti dividerà Nei miei ricordi La Quarta Sinfonia di Brahms Il mito dell'amore © 1988 Franco Battiato "Il mito dell'amore" plots the arc of love from its idealized first stages through to its inevitable end. And after it's all over, you put on some Brahms, whom Battiato described as "the poet of nature, of melancholy, and of solitude."

The myth of love lives, it’s fed by fantasy. When you fall in love, everything’s beautiful even as thoughts obsess you. In attraction I need unity. Echoes of mantra in the sound of your name. One day as kids we walked along the seaside. You said to me “They already know about us. Come to my house, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” You touch my heart and my freedom, but just the idea makes me feel a prisoner. In traditional values, the sense of a way, primordial movements inside of an emotion. My love, you’ll endure another farewell. The myth of love dies without many courtesies. You notice that it’s finished by the way you fall into impatience. That which unites you will divide you. In my memories, the Fourth Symphony of Brahms. English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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L'Oceano del Silenzio - The Ocean of Silence

Un Oceano di Silenzio scorre lento Senza centro né principio Cosa avrei visto del mondo Senza questa luce che illumina I miei pensieri neri (Der Schmerz, der Stillstand des Lebens Lassen die Zeit zu lang erscheinen) Quanta pace trova l'anima dentro Scorre lento il tempo di altre leggi Di un'altra dimensione E scendo dentro un Oceano di Silenzio Sempre in calma (Und mir scheint fast Dass eine dunkle Erinnerung mir sagt Ich hatte in fernen Zeiten Dort oben oder in Wasser gelebt) L'Oceano del Silenzio © 1988 Franco Battiato "L'Oceano del Silenzio" is like a meditative hymn. Battiato said, "The more that music is silence, the closer it comes to God." He most certainly imbued this quiet song with a meditative spirit. The German lyrics are taken from Fleur Jaeggy's Wasserstatuen.

An Ocean of Silence runs slow, without center or principle. What would I have seen of the world without this light that illumines my black thoughts? (The pain, the standstill of life let time seem too long.) How much peace does the spirit find within? It runs slow, the time of other laws of another dimension, and I descend inside an Ocean of Silence always in calm. (And it almost seems to me that a dark memory tells me I had in distant times there above, or in water lived.) English translation © 2020 Dennis Criteser Fisiognomica was released in 1988. After 1985's Mondi Lontanissimi, Battiato changed course once again and dedicated himself to working on an opera based on Genesis, a project he'd already begun in 1983. The opera was nearly all-consuming for the next two years and was finally mounted in 1987. Battiato then committed to writing another opera based on the myth of Gilgamesh. However, some non-classical songs were beginning to reappear in his writing, and he decided to produce another "pop" album (the word "pop" must always be in quotes when applied to Battiato), though one that unites pop, operatic, classical, and contemplative music. One that also places spirituality at the core, with lyrics and music that are serious, refined, intimate and more personally direct than Battiato was previously willing to be in his former years of word play, irony, hard-to-understand esoteric references, and fragmentism.

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