Andrea Parodi Elena Ledda
Rosa Resolza

"FOR ALL MEN ON EARTH THE SINGERS/ARE WORTHY OF HONOR AND RESPECT, BECAUSE THE MUSE/TAUGHT THEM THE SONGS; SHE LOVES THE SINGERS" Homer, Odyssey, VIII. *****

Andrea Parodi, former Tazenda member, with angular features that held an extraordinary voice, passed away at just 51 years old last October.

With a father from Savona and a Sardinian mother, and a vocal range that could cover the distance from Ligurian lands to the island and the entire Mediterranean. His singing, so natural and always uniquely the same, could impress and give you goosebumps; a prodigy, an unfathomable mystery of talent, gifts from nature, and vocal alchemies; a rhythm and lift for an intensity, a breadth, and a timbre all its own. The strength of the Grecale and Austro winds had settled in his lungs.

Once in Seui (during a sound check), the great Al di Meola, the stratospheric guitarist, listened to him; just mentioning "Friday Night in San Francisco" with Paco de Lucia and John Mclaughlin is enough to understand the significance; he was so struck that he instinctively wanted something musically significant to come from that casual imprint: et voilà "Midsummer Night in Sardinia", a splendid and unmissable live album at the "Red Rocks and Blues" festival. You can find the review of this precious gem, written with heart, by Iside, on DeBaser. Pierangelo Bertoli, Noa, Mauro Pagani, and Fabrizio de Andrè wanted to collaborate with Andrea. Now his posthumous album "Rosa Resolza" with Elena Ledda has been released. A work carved into the bastion of Andrea's vital sap, stubbornly aware of his coming end. This last voice, less polished, wounded by illness and a chemotherapy-ravaged body like an unused bandstand… and yet chills overcome me in front of the expressiveness and the painfully joyful singing of the former Tazenda, approaching the end of his earthly experience. In these eleven tracks, Parodi frescoes the natural elements; the wind, the sun, the sea, while the ungrateful land turns its back on him. The recording of the song "Gracias a la vida" by Violeta Parra, recorded on September 22 at the Roman amphitheater in Cagliari, is astonishing. On October 17, Andrea ended his earthly journey and ceased the miraculous exercise of his vocal cords, almost out of place in this off-key world. Extraordinary vocalizations already resound in his homeland.

A CD of greater value, a vocal testament and a gift for us who remain here, a bit more voiceless. Accompanying Andrea on this last musical journey were: Elena Ledda, Rita Marcotulli, Mauro Palmas, Balentes, Gianluca Corona, Francesco Sotgiu, Andrea Ruggeri, Silvano Lobina, Gigi Marras. On the CD cover, Andrea's dedication: "To Sardinia… gracias a la vida! y a sus companeros". "Gracias a la vida, que me ha dado tanto/ Me dio dos luceros, que cuando los abro/ Perfecto distingo, lo negro del bianco.VP"

"THE VOICE OF MAN IS THE APOLOGIA OF MUSIC" Nietzsche, posthumous fragments.

Whoever wishes can leave a commemorative post, a thought or a memory on the Nuova Sardegna's website.

Goodbye Andrea, voice of close distances! Thank you for everything!!