Davide Van De Sfroos
Singul De Punta

The deeply rooted tradition of rowing on Lake Lario is the main theme of this CD + Book published with the patronage of the Department of Culture of the Province of Como and the Istituto Comense per il Dialetto e le Tradizioni.

The accompanying book titled "Colpi di Remo," written by Gerardo Monizza, a publisher and writer who mainly deals with historical themes and local culture, is a work that, more than speaking of rowing itself, takes the form of a dedication, almost singing the feats of those who perform the noble art of rowing. 

The CD "Singul de punta" contains the texts of the book, narrated in perfect Como accent by Vito Trombetta, and are imbued with a poetry all their own, typical of the places and people of the Lario, a poetry that perhaps not everyone is able to understand or even perceive. What at first glance seems like popular culture as it exists in Italy hides its unique peculiarities. Certainly, this is the message that is intended to be conveyed.

Undoubtedly, "Singul de Punta" is a work enriched by the collaboration of Davide van De Sfroos, the true bard of Lake Como. Without his contribution, perhaps the charm of all this would not be the same. Because the narrated texts, as poetic and traditional as they are, would be overly long and perhaps even tiresome without the musical interventions of Davide van de Sfroos. The most interesting track on the entire CD is certainly the one that gives the CD its name, "Singul de punta", which is named after a sculling rower, that is one who strokes the water with a single oar (paradoxically here "single", that is the only member of a rowing crew). It is a truly splendid piece, with words that are nothing short of fantastic, forming a very evocative text:

I canten i rémuj e l'unda una canzòn antiga / fadiga... fadiga... fadiga e impégn / e l'acqua che sbressiga sura'l légn / e dal timòn la vuus del tù alé... (The oars and the wave sing an ancient song / fatigue... fatigue... fatigue and commitment / and the water slides under the wood / and from the rudder the voice of tù alé...).

The other two tracks are two classics from Davide van de Sfroos' repertoire re-adapted: "Breva" and "Tivàn", from the namesake album of 1999, in a fantastic arrangement for piano and violin, which speaks of the two winds that breathe over the Lario (the Breva from the South and the Tivano from Valtellina); El Mustru, from the album "E semm Partii..." of 2001, in a slightly more acoustic version, but almost the same as the original, which tells the veiled story of sadness of an old fisherman who believes he has seen a monster similar to the one of Loch Ness emerge from Lake Como. The skill with which Davide manages to describe, through subtle metaphors and apt similes, the most common situations of lake life is extraordinary. Davide's style is unique, reaching straight to the heart of the listener and especially of those who manage to appreciate the values that in some way he communicates through his songs.

"Singul de punta" is an evocative work to the maximum, even if in fact not indispensable, perhaps precisely because it is associated with the "Colpo di Remo" project. Nonetheless, the images are incredibly suggestive, also thanks to the participation of the "Giovani Canottieri della Lario" choir from Como, which here and there can be heard within the disc: words and music that smell of water, earth, sound and strength, of effort and sweat, of movement, like the oars that disturb the placid stillness  of the splendid Lake Como.