STEFANO SCIASCIA INTERVISTA (2) 1)Allora Maestro Sciascia, prima di cominciare a parlare del suo ultimo lavoro discografico, l’ ennesima fatica con Lux ex Tenebris, vuol dire hai nostri lettori come ci si sente ad essere uno dei più prolifici compositori ed esecutori in terra contrabbassistica che l’ Italia abbia mai potuto vantare? Ci si sente bene , creare e' una necessita' per il musicista .

Ho sempre cercato di promuovere l'Arte nella sua piu' intima essenza e col passare del tempo mi rendo conto che questo lavoro sta lasciando il segno. I ragazzi possono guardare a qualcosa di diverso dalle solite mitragliate inutili di note che impoveriscono l'animo umano e annichiliscono chi ha una sensibilita' musicale . Da ragazzo nessuno dei miei Maestri mi ha aiutato per trovare un lavoro , hanno fatto molto bene . Il compito del Maestro e' insegnare non creare delle caste ,delle lobbies a cui si accede solo abbassando la testa e dimostrando di aver imparato a copiare il compitino. I cloni sono destinati a scomparire senza aver lasciato traccia insieme ai loro Maestri , l'Opera d'Arte invece rende l'uomo immortale . E' inutile cercare di fermare il flusso di energia che scaturisce dalla mente che crea , fermare queste idee su un supporto da tramandare ai posteri e' molto importante . 2)Lei ha sempre ritenuto l’ Arte musicale come la somma di tutte le altre arti liberali: ma è più facile o difficile far trapelare il gusto dell’ Arte attraverso la voce del suo splendido Ruggieri, contrabbasso che lo segue sin dai suoi esordi?

Facile , Facile , ricordo una frase di Fabio Concato "Suoni cosi' bene che mi scappa da ridere ". Siamo tutti coinvolti nel processo creativo che scaturisce dal moto degli Astri , quando la nostra velocita' coincide con quella dell'Universo tutto diventa semplice e cosi' nasce la creazione , l'Opera d'Arte. Un esempio semplice , ci sono giornate in cui tutto gira per il verso giusto, si dice cosi' no? Con la Musica e' la stessa cosa ,il respiro e' fondamentale ne abbiamo gia' parlato . Consiglio a tutti un libro che dal titolo sembra non possa centrare nulla con la Musica : "Lo Zen e il tiro con l'arco " poche pagine grandi verita' , unita' assoluta di mente e corpo attraveso il respiro inconsapevole. http://www.ibs.it/code/9788845901775/herrigel-eugen/zen-tiro-con.html Anche un'altro.. "Ascoltare l'Universo .Dal Big Bang a Mozart"

ENGLISH VERSION

1)   So, Maestro Sciascia, before we start talking about your new record, Lux Ex Tenebris, will you tell our readers how it feels to be one of the most prolific composers and performers of double bass music in Italy?

It feels good. Musicians have the necessity to create.

I have always tried to promote Art in its intimate essence and, with the passing of time, I realize that this work is leaving its mark.

Young people can look at something different from the usual, machine-gun-like shots of useless notes that weaken the human soul and annihilate whoever possesses any musical sensibility.

When I was a student none of my teachers helped me find a job, and they did good.

A teacher’s job is to teach and not to create castes or lobbies to which one can gain access only by bowing his head and showing he has learned how to do his homework properly.

Clones are destined to disappear together with their teachers, without leaving any trace.

Trying to stop the flow of energy that springs from the creative mind is useless; it is very important to fix these ideas on a media, in order to pass them to the following generations.

2)   You have always considered the musical Art as the sum of all other liberal arts. Is it hard to let the taste for Art show through the voice of your beautiful Ruggeri, the double bass you have played since your beginnings?

It’s very easy. It makes me think of a line from a Fabio Concato song “You play so well it makes me laugh”

We are all involved in the creative process that springs from the movement of the spheres. When our speed coincides with that of the Universe, everything becomes simple and this is how our creation, the work of Art, is born.

Just to give an example, there are days when everything goes our way, that’s the phrase, right?

With Music it’s the same. Breathing is fundamental, we’ve already talked about that.

There is a book I can suggest to everyone, it looks as if its title has nothing to do with music: Zen in the art Archery. A few pages of great truth; absolute unity of mind and body through unconscious breathing.

And another book is Ecouter L’Univers: Du Big Bang a Mozart a La Decouverte De L’Univers Ou Tout Est Son.

3) Double bass culture owes you a lot, and yet there is a quite large group of people who seem not to recognise your undeniable achievements. Is it the same old story of the misunderstood genius or is it about man’s evil?

I feel compassion for all living beings.

Mahatma Gandhi once said

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall- think of it, always.”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHBmmVzGZJs

I play for everyone and I love Music, it has the power of healing man’s soul.

4) From Japan to the US: we spoke about this in a previous interview. You remind one of Dargonetti who had to be “exiled” to Great Britain to receive praise and glory.

With the only difference that it doesn’t look as if Sciascia, the Musician, would like to leave Italy in search of success and recognition.

Culturally what binds you to Italy?

The fragrance of pizza and the colour of the sea.

Culturally…

The romantic spirit of the Italians, which in the past led to the Unity of our country through one of the historical periods I love the most: the Italian Risorgimento.

Verdi, Bottesini, … It’s the Italian Opera, much envied abroad, the Opera that today we have to defend from the attacks of some not-so-enlightened minds.  Yet there are common values that still rouse some people’s souls and I’m proud of that.

I would also like to live far from Italy.  As far as culture is concerned we really are at the lowest levels these days. It’s a shame!

5) Out of curiosity: what did the standing ovation you received in the States mean for you? Was it caused by an outstanding instrumental performance or was it a manifestation of the love that people with an open mind show for you?

It was a surprise, really unexpected. I love the US for the freedom that fills the air and for that sense of equality that makes you feel good there.

I love the US because there all honest and sincere people have the actual chance of fulfilling their dreams.

Music universities are a must-see, on my first visit I couldn’t believe my own eyes!

6) As far as musical recordings are concerned you have nothing left to prove. You’ve confronted with all major double-bass pieces. What’s the difference between interpreting Bottesini’s Carnevale di Venezia or Dragonetti’s authentic Concerto n.3 D. 400 and Mantra 22:22 or your new Lux ex Tenebris?

I’d say it is the difference between being a performer and a composer.

In Mantra 22:22 and in Lux Ex Tenebris I wrote the Music and then I played it, in the other records I played music that had been written by someone else.

If you want to paint a dragon well, first you have to become a dragon. If you want to play Dragonetti well, you have to become…

When the Music “plays”, one can perceive that something great is happening. It is important to remember that all signs on a musical score have been written by the composer in order to remember and to allow future generations to remember his/her Music.

When these signs are read after a great performance, every musical colour, every legato, every indication about the phrasing acquires an absolute sense of rightness.

To make it clearer: Bottesini uses this sign “>” on a note not as an accent, but as a vocal appoggiatura.

What really matters in music cannot be written. Let us start form this concept, or rather, let us interpret the signs only after we have played, not before.

7) In your flawless performances you breathe with Music.

Is this your signature of vitality?

It’s the vitality of Music, living through the performer who acts as a medium. Life is breathing. We give back life to simple bits of paper, scores left to us as memorandums for new, revived performances, just like the composer wanted.

When I listen to the different takes of a recording, I chose those where I feel breathing and music go together. Those are the right ones.

8) Lux Ex Tenebris: many will think of a hostile, gloomy CD, but instead it is, in my opinion, a masterpiece synthesized in 51 minutes.

The first title I had chosen was Prayer, then The Temple, finally Lux Ex Tenebris.

It is also the title of the cover picture, which represents the fall of an Angel, hit by the light of God, towards the netherworld.

It is a beautiful black and white picture by Madrilenian photographer Luis Francisco Lopez.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/thelakeoftears/page4/

This record is an ideal follow-up of Mantra 22:22, a journey that starts from the Om, the Cosmic Sound, the Origin of all Sounds, the look toward the East.

Prayer is the main theme in Lux Ex Tenebris, in every language and religious belief.

Stabat Mater dolorosa iusta crucem lacrimosa, this is how the second part of this work begins.

It is an initiation journey through which we can live again the legendary deeds of the Templar knights at the battle of Bannockburn, the destruction of Salomon’s temple, the struggle against a dark evil presence that tries to imprison Light.

9) In the end Lux (Light) prevails over Darkness in the mind of men. A few brushes of a major chord are enough to do the trick. Where did you get this vision that was then made into a record?

If Light didn’t win over Darkness, we wouldn’t be here talking to each other. Even in the gloomiest darkness, the flame of a single candle can light the way.

When times are hard even a single word of Love can give hope.

The image I see is that of a ray of Light that pierces through a stained glass window and draws its path in a dark space.

The voices of the Angels of the only major chord in Lux Ex Tenebris.

10) Light from Darkness: it is a soundtrack, a talking and resonating book. Do you agree on this?

I certainly do.

Lux ex Tenebris will be the soundtrack of a school-show in Udine and probably of a ballet in Turin.

I’m waiting for the call of a director now, maybe Ron Howard!

It is descriptive music, it is a book that anyone can invent by transforming sounds into emotions and words.

Everyone who follows the vibration of his/her own inner self can seize the moment in which it resonates with the universe.

11) Was the union of sampled sounds and traditional instruments a choice of your maturity, or a scientific experiment?

In what direction does Lux Ex Tenebris point to? Do you think there are musical limits left to pass?

Lux Ex Tenebris Begins with the recording of a group of monks who sing “Om” and then there is the “Om” of a real Buddhist monk.

I stumbled by chance across a site that I recommend with great pleasure:

www.freesound.org .

It is a library of Sounds created by a multitude of musicians from all over the world. I would like to thank them again for their beautiful samples.

The wind, the sea, the rain, the storm, bells of every size, processions, litanies, angels and demons.

Everything was recorded live or filtred with synthesizers.

I created Music by weaving real sounds with electronic sounds, working with about twenty musicians that I never actually met.

They got the CD, and the greatest joy was to know that they loved the work, the athmospheres, they shared the sharing!

Nahama’s voice, Davide Deiv Baro’s bagpipes, Roberto Barbieri’s graphic concept, pietro Spanghero’s translations, Laura Menegozzo’s poem Light, made this project an exciting experience.

12) The International Society of Bassist (ISB) loved this record to the point that they decided to sell it on their mega store.

How does it feel to be there, among the greatest double-bassists of the world?

From 2001 to 2009 I had the chance to play at the ISB conventions in five different American universities and I had the chance to meet all the best double bass players of the world. I’m friends with many of them.

The fact that our records are sold in the same store is normal.

What really made an impression on me was to find my name next to that of Serge Koussevitzky in the 1998 King Records Japan compilation The King of Bass II.

Fate had it that at the last convention, at Penn State University, I played the very instrument that had belonged to Gary Karr and Koussevitzky.

13) Lux Ex Tenebris sprung from Sciascia’s Fantasy. What should we expect for the future from a mind such as yours, always looking for new challenges?

During our last interview we spoke about Lux Ex Tenebris, and I kept my promise!

I have worked a lot on Bach, but maybe first I’d like to record a Concerto, one that double bassists generally don’t love much. It has two cadenzas …

And also, these days I’m playing another not-so-well-known beautiful concert by Dragonetti; all it takes is to find an orchestra and it’s done!

There will be another record after Lux Ex Tenebris, to conclude the trilogy, but nobody knows when.

14) All your students love you. What’s your secret?

If it’s a secret it cannot be told!

Thank you Maestro Sciascia for your time.

Dear Maestro Vito, without you many voices would remain unheard. I want to thank you for what you’re doing. It is a great job that you offer for free to an audience that is ever growing.

For this you deserve praise.

Ad Maiora

Stefano Sciascia 

Article by Vito Liuzzi

Translated by dr. Beppe Andreoni

“Mantra 22:22” doesn’t mark a definitive passage of Stefano Sciascia to a new conception of perceiving the sonorous phenomenon of double bass, in more abstract and descriptive way. Simply, it’s a real need of the compositor, which results to be more “visual”, and meantime, shows a philosophy, a world, in a wise and excellent way. A different approach to common hearing, absolutely innovative and strong, in its primordial essence: it’s the Indian way of thinking.  

From here, the ability to reproduce, through the cavernous and sometimes threatening sound of a Double bass, the depth of Indian philosophy, its natural tendency to a fixity of a time that never roll. Sometime pedantic, but that bring the man back to his real nature, to his old roots, to the power of his thought. It’s a tool to think, or a way to think at the tool ? It’s no easy to give a final answer, neither an answer worthy of further considerations. Maybe the answer is included only in the heart of this artist, that create (in this case the verb “to create” isn’t used in improper way) a real metaphor of a earliest time, fixed, immutable, but that everyone would like to live, in a life that often rolls in the opposite direction of time.

The feeling is that the Stefano Sciascia’s double bass has been transformed in a real “mantra instrument”. This whistling, this deep search of a absolutely atypical timbre for this instrument (now no more relegated to second leading role), this large vibrato, that become a wave that sweeps away everything, this careful and sage use of a technological sagacity that suit so well to beloved mastodon, render this work unquestionably innovative, that sometimes remind to a softly and suffused atmospheres, that the occidental people could admire, but that don’t correspond anymore to our phrenetic and deafening rhythms. The feeling is that you are not to listen to a double bass, but a totally different “instrument”, atypical, unusual, as ancient as the Indian culture. It’s possible that even a expert can not fully perceive the double bass timbre which become coloured, and extremely variegated, thanks to the hands of the “Maestro”. This conceptual characteristic, out of common places of traditional interpretation, demonstrates the extraordinary sound of Mantra 22:22. The successful of conceiving the time, the meditation, the mental liberation of daily anguish, in a unique and coherent musical speech.

It’s the music that become thought, or the thought that become music. Personally, I’ve always appreciate the Stefano Sciascia’s virtuoso technique, Never without a purpose; His phrasing with a thousand of colours that follow one another, like an idea of naturalistic paint description; his personal way to interpret the big of the past. Under an totally different situation from the usual one.

However, in this situation, his breathlessness panting, the wish to create a magic atmosphere (together with a proposal of old instruments using the bow in particular positions, and extremely calibrated glissando), the careful using of a vibrato that delay to appear, but then opens and closes as he likes, make this musical thought not more modal, no more linked with the temperament of mathematic logic of numbers, but clearly non-modal or maybe pluri-modal. Some years ago, someone could change this sonorous conception like a philosophic thought linked to new-age world, authentic and genuine.    

Considering this a new-age music is not a big mistake, if you think to the real essence of this kind of music that, due to more demanding but less prestigious market, lost its deeper essence: the holistic conception of the world. When the men, the spirit, the nature and the gods become all in one, a vital flow with no division. I have to tell him Bravo!! Even thought would seem a little word. Above all is extremely clever because has succeeded proposing a new “sonorous subject”, almost like a platonic demiurge that mould it as he likes. I think that Sciascia succeeded, with a simple and modest double bass, to re-create a sonorous world completely different, heir to way of thinking of Indians, of the Tantra and “de relato” of the Mantra. This obstinate pedal, very long, this soft phrasing, this devastating singing, these small but intense participations, almost like a canon. This sonorous spin that remind the fixity of a time that floats among past, present and future with a single reference point, renders this work extremely original. Placing the artist to a dimensional and sonorous levels of great value. A double bass, a bassist that talk like a philosopher, a new western Siddharta. For the first time, a classical double bass work with a cause-effect continuity can be listened where the numerical division is only symbolic. After this Sciascia’s “invention, even the word “classic” seems not to correspond totally to this composition, or better, is not suited in such a way to render justice to a new instrumental timbre which has been created with wisdom, shrewdness and visual intelligence, avoiding that the technological element overhangs the natural instrument expressiveness. An extremely charming and far-sighted sonorous theatre, but also brave, and, under a certain visual, even surprising.

“Mantra 22:22”: the fixity of a time that flows in a constant way, but that squeaks with a western world conception, where it has assumed a uniform accelerated speed, without respect of nature rhythms. A totally new, brilliant and innovative dimension, under a pure experimentation profile. Without to forget the aspect linked to the CD material realization, where recording quality, stereophonic effects, channels level and reverberation depth, are optimal, with the constant idea that the final result has to be well calibrated, never overflowing. 

Vito Liuzzi

1) Maestro Sciascia, how did your passion for the double bass begin? Was it merely by chance, as it often occurs, or is there any anecdote that might be of interest for our readers?

My passion for the double bass came long after my enrolment at the conservatory.

There were two free places: one for bassoon and the other for double bass. I had big hands; therefore everyone agreed I should become a double-bassist. So it was by chance. I still remember my first years as a student and those sounds that were anything but nice. I wondered if that was really the sound of the double bass… And there were no frets!

The first idea that led me to the passion for Music was “If only I could play as I sing”. It happened shortly before I got my diploma, but the big leap came after that.

 2) Let’s talk about your interpretative technique, the leitmotiv of our interview. Your international fame probably came after your performances as a soloist at the annual meetings held by the International Society of Bassist.

Many listeners greatly appreciated your technical and interpretative qualities, which are quite far from traditionalist musical standards. How did you get the idea of making the double bass sing?

I said earlier that the idea came from the need of expressing the Music that dwells in the Heart. When we sing everything is easy, playing becomes natural. I just modified the technique that I had learnt; I had to play exactly as if I were singing.

About the Phrasing: a sentence is made by words and every word has its inflection. I had to learn to play with every inflection of the human voice.

The bow is our voice: there I built my vocal technique. The vibrato shapes the Sound of the air that vibrates.

The starting point is the air that vibrates, before and after the silence.

Two years spent practicing madly and desperately brought me on the right path. Then, many years later, I fulfilled my dream. It is beautiful be able to express exactly what I feel; it was, and still is, my mission.

In this fast and often loud world, the culture of silence and of communication between men has to be kept alive; it is our only hope if we want to remain human.

I was first invited at the ISB convention in Indianapolis in 2001, year of the memorable Gary Karr’s farewell concert.

Then I played in Richmond, VA, in 2003, in 2005 in Kalamazoo-Michigan and in 2007 in Oklahoma City. The conventions are held at the Music Universities.

Before that I had recorded four CDs as a soloist for Rivo Alto records. Then the Japanese label King Records included my music in the compilation “The King of Bass II” together with S.Koussevitzky.

The invitation to my first ISB convention followed shortly after.

 3) Your activity of adapting music pieces for the double bass makes you one of Italy’s most prolific transcribers. You follow certain precise thematic criteria, yet you showed great versatility by recording a large number of records. There is something new almost every year.

Where do you get the musical ideas that eventually translate into your soloist works?

Bottesini was my first love. The record was conceived in 1993, when I recorded a demo tape with pianist David Giovanni Leonardi (with whom I have recorded practically every record so far). I began to look for a recording label, with my nice cassette, ah the good old days…

I found two labels, but they both wanted 10 million liras (about 5000 euros) for the production of the CD. I thought that was the only solution, but then I stumbled across a catalogue of the record label Rivo Alto, from Treviso. I met Robert de Pieri who decided to include Bottesini in a series of records dedicated to Italian composers.

So far we have released six CDs together.

My ideas spring from a single musical piece that sneaks into my mind and I can’t help playing. Then an infinite list of pieces follows and eventually I have to choose which pieces I want to record. Before releasing Songs of the World I played about 300 pieces from all the cultures of the world, but only 20 of them ended up on the record.

Some recordings, such as “Quella Fiamma” were born from the idea of playing with the double bass some Italian soprano melodies of the 18th century. I transcribed all the piano parts as well. The record is in one key only: E minor; it sounded good. Every record has its story. The most incredible is that of “The Kingdom of Ibbi Obbi”. The creation of the fairy tale originated from the music that created the images… What an exciting experience!

Laura Menegozzo made sixteen oil paintings to illustrate the story. Annalisa Consolo narrated the story and the whole team of our production company worked excellently.

 4) Let’s talk about the famous Dragonetti Concerto that you were the first to record worldwide. When and why did you decide to visit the British Museum to look for the original scores? Why do you think they made us believe for years that the A minor concert was written by Dragonetti and not by Nanny? 

I’d start from the last part of the question. We are often led to believe untrue things and this is done in order to hide the Truth that Music brings There can be various reasons to do that: money, the desire for fame and power. Time is a gentleman and it’ll always let the light of Truth shine.

The manuscript of Dragonetti’s Concerto is part of a series of concerts and other pieces, which are kept at the British Museum in London.

I examined the manuscript near Venice, where there was a musician who had brought from London the microfilms of all Dragonetti’s manuscripts and who had published them. 

Then I recorded this concert exactly as it is written. I think it is a beautiful piece; while playing it, it has the power of bringing one back in time.

Before choosing this concert I read all of Dragonetti’s concerts; I liked this one a lot… Moreover it began with G D B and Nanny’s concert begins with G B D it was easy to see who had copied form whom.

5) Let’s take a step back! Bottesini and Sciascia. In your CD Adagio, melanconico e appassionato you totally subverted some interpretative canons that nevertheless have been appreciated at an international level.

Your phrasing is always expansive and wide and only an excellent pianist can understand and be in harmony with your musical thought. How did you come to this idea of interpreting the “Paganini of the double bass”?

I’d say that it’s those who have not realized that Bottesini was a man of the Opera who have actually subverted his Music. The Maestro played, conducted and composed Operas; he lived in the theatres and the meaning of his Music can be clearly seen by looking at the titles of pieces like : " Fantasia su la Lucia di Lammermoor " by G.Donizetti "Fantasia sulla Beatrice di Tenda " by V.Bellini and many more.

The tempo is very important. The third beat of a 3 /4, for example, will always be different and it will follow the melody, which will sound at the right tempo. It will not be the right tempo because I say so, but because the difference between one interpretation and the other is so obvious… Breathing becomes unconscious and the Music itself is playing.

 When we listen to an Opera, to an aria, what do we have to imitate in order to play Bottesini’s music the way he performed it? It is not difficult! It’s the singer, soprano or tenor. All Bottesini’s themes are splendid imitations of the sounds of the human voice. And we should also read the newspapers of the 19th century where we can find the narration of Bottesini’s deeds and of his concerts: his sound is described as extraordinarily sweet and his bowing is said to be wide and endless.

It’s plain to see that Bottesini’s virtuosity was conceived for an audience who knew the Opera and who, in a time when there were no TV or cinema, went to the theatre to listen to their favourite arias. 

Bottesini skillfully inserts themes from the most popular Italian operas of his time in his double bass fantasies. It’s the themes that people used to whistle in the streets. Then he plays the soprano part with harmonics and makes the tenor sing on a lower octave, the bravura variations do the rest.

The Maestro even played during the intermissions of the operas: that is how he became famous! So famous that the audience went to the theatre to listen to him perform during the intermissions, rather than pay attention to the Opera. 

We cannot think of his performances as mere instrumental pieces; he made his instrument talk and sing and the people loved him for that.

 6) Maestro, one more technical question for young students. You hold the bow exactly like Bottesini did (even though there are many other performers who follow the so called French bow hold). Isaia Billè revolutionized this technique simply by placing the hand further back on the stick and placing the thumb on the upper portion of the “U” part of the frog (“Italian bow hold”). Is it your opinion, since you are also teacher, that a young student should follow one technique instead of the other? Or do you reckon that, all in all, it doesn’t make that big a difference as far as the technical aspects of a musical piece are concerned?

 Isaia Billè and Italo Caimmi have tried to decode in their methods a certain kind of school that still exists in Italy today.

Italo Caimmi’s renditions of Bottesini’s music and in particular of his Metodo per Contrabbasso represent a succesful attempt to erase the school and the thought of Giovanni Bottesini.

It should be remembered that all the first pages of the Metodo, those containing pictures and information on how Bottesini used to play the double bass have been removed and do not appear in Caimmi’s Ricordi edition.

However Bille and Caimmi’s techniques are now surpassed and there is a newer technique that makes it possible to play today’s repertoire, which has expanded considerably.

If we consider that the double bass was for years the only bowed instrument on which J.S.Bach’s solo instrumental music was not played, we will have a clear idea of the musical taste that has ruled for years among double bassists.

One had to play forte and on time, always. Phrasing? Never heard about it! The beauty and the colours of the Sound were utterly unknown. The old school created generations of frustrated double bassists who could not feel the joy of expressing their sensibility. These prejudices have hurt many in the past and they still do. Hundreds of musicians are pushed in the shadow by the arrogance of those who thought their school was the best.

What we should do, instead, is communicate our Music, open the Hearts of those who listen. The world is a better place only if we spark a new light in every person. Art is the true goal that the real Musician wants to reach.  

This is the most important message for young students.

As for the bow hold: the bow is our voice. With the Bottesini bow hold the transmission of the Sound is immediate and it allows one to play with every colour, from ppp to FFF, on every section of the hair.

A young student should realize that the double bass is not an instrument of its own, different from al the others. We can listen to a violin or to a singer and then we can surely make equally beautiful sounds. The limit comes from the old technique that is still taught. Technique should be a means to free the Music that is inside everyone, and not a limit or a torture. Personally I never do technique exercises, because I think they’re useless.

7) Your instrument. Great dynamic possibilities, an incredibly warm tone and a vibrato that emerges in all its breadth. Could you tell us something about the qualities of this double bass? Does it have any weakness? Would you ever part from it?

Never would I part form it; also because I have no other instrument.

I chose it for its Sound, the beauty of its tone, its unique voice. However it’s us who create the Sound. The Sound is personal; even if we change the instrument it remains the same. Of course an ancient instrument brings within itself a wide range of musical colours and harmonics.

It is an Italian instrument of the 18th century, presumably a Ruggeri.

8) Maestro is it still possible, in the third millennium, to talk about ”philological interpretation”?

Today’s trend, all over the world, seems to be that of making the classical double bass appear as an instrument similar to the cello, a sort of “double-cello”. Increasingly fast tempos and quasi-double-bass tones; as if it were a mirror of the frenzied reality in which we live. Do you think that the “Authentic Voice of the Double Bass” is now lost? Tell us what you think about it.

I think the voice of the double bass is maybe the most beautiful among bowed instruments. The extension is incredibly broad. I don’t think we can speak of a lost voice; rather we could speak of a never-found sound.

Tempo is not a personal choice. The unconscious breath gives us the measure of the tempo; the silence at the end of the piece tells us if the tempo is the right one. This is very important.

Silence is as important as Music. Pauses and breaths let us see the door that the sound opens to take us to the world of Art. The Tempo is the ruler of these spaces. When the Music is playing everything is right and perfect.

Just like the Earth moves together with the Universe, we have to find the speed that puts us in Harmony with it. Music is a part of this.

 9) What does “interpreting” a musical piece mean for you?

Being transpierced by Music and communicate as if we were a radio, to be a sort of medium between the Music and the listener. That is how Art is born, from the unconscious breath. The entrance door can be opened with just one key: the Sound. The colour of the Sound can open horizons that the mind will ride until it meets absolute peace. Breathing becomes regular, the air changes, the distance between the player and the listener vanishes. The smallest part of the Sound, the one we call ppp or pppp, the secret lies there, between the last perceivable sound and the Silence.

10) One last question. You have recorded a lot and you never refuse to give live recitals. What do you really have in store for the near future?

I will take part in the next ISB convention at Penn State University U.S.A., where I will perform live Mantra 22.22, and I will teach some master classes abroad.

I’m working on two studio projects. One is the music of J.S.Bach and the other is just at the beginning and it actually deals with the interaction between the human voice and the instrument, I’m really getting involved in it.

11) Maestro, tell us the truth! Do you feel more appreciated here in Italy or abroad?

I’ve told the truth during the whole interview!

I love to give Music to all those who want to listen, anywhere they might be. I play. The people leave my concerts with their eyes full of light. I thank the Music and I hope it will always come to visit me.

 Thank you for this interview, Maestro Sciascia.

Thank you for conducting this interview in such a professional way and for touching the cornerstones of Music.

by VITO LIUZZI

English translation  PIETRO SPANGHERO

http://www.geocities.com/stefanosciasciafanclub/

STEFANO SCIASCIA -International FanClub

STEFANO SCIASCIA LINK

http://www.stefanosciascia.it

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-WfFYfSxT8

For the hole video go to Maestro's site.

http://www.stefanosciascia.it

Enjoy.

LUX EX TENEBRIS

di Vito D. LIUZZI

         La produzione discografica del contrabbassista Stefano Sciascia ha cominciato ad assumere proporzione e rilevanza di livello mondiale ed il suo ultimo lavoro in compact disc "Lux ex tenebris" rappresenta l' innata evoluzione stilistica ed interpretativa dell' ormai celebrato e rinomato musicista italiano sotto profili totalmente nuovi ed innovativi, non solo dal punto di vista dell' esecuzione formale ma soprattutto nel campo dell' associazione di componenti classicistiche ad altre meramente tecnologiche. E' passato un bel pò di tempo da quando Sciascia si mise in risalto a livello internazionale per il famosissimo "Mantra 22:22", che ancora oggi costituisce uno dei punti di forza del suo lirismo interiore oltre che uno sgancio totale da lavori precedenti di grande rilevanza e che lo hanno condotto ad eseguire ed incidere in prima assoluta mondiale l' unico ed autentico concerto di Domenico Dragonetti in LaM n.3 (o meglio in Sol maggiore D.400), tanto per fare un esempio, per due secoli rimasto nell' oblìo e nella indifferenza più totale. Sciascia è anche famoso per le sue trovate geniali nell' interpretazione filologica dei brani per contrabbasso di Giovanni Bottesini (il c.d. "Paganini del contrabbasso"), ove la critica  gli ha attribuito consensi ed elogi unanimi e non fuorvianti (fra l' altro le partecipazioni storiche agli incontri annuali tenuti dalla International Society of Bassist  o I.S.B. lo hanno consacrato come uno fra i migliori contrabbassisti classici dell' era moderna) tali da potergli permettere di addentrarsi in una nuova ricerca interioristica sempre più profonda è che ha avuto come sbocco ultimo proprio la nascita di "Lux ex Tenebris". Un lavoro lungo e complesso, come si potrà notare, che ha spinto il compositore, esecutore ed interprete a confrontarsi con diversi livelli di difficoltà: da quelli più virtuosistici sotto il profilo tecnico a quelli più intimistici dal punto di vista esecutivo. "Lux ex tenebris", pertanto, costituisce la voglia di Stefano Sciascia nel voler riprodurre la sua innata fantasia e creatività ai più alti livelli compositivi che meglio si adattano e si confanno alla storia del contrabbasso: niente forme contrappuntistiche eccessivamente rielaborate o scopiazzate ma semplici e gradevolissime linee melodiche che addolciscono e rendono estremamente partecipe l' ascoltatore il quale viene accompagnato così sotto braccio dall' esecutore nella partecipazione attiva del proprio stato emotivo interiore e cardine fondamentale della propria voglia di rappresentare "a note sue" quella eterna lotta fra il Bene ed il Male che forse non troverà mai un vincitore finale ma solo eterni sconfitti. "Lux ex tenebris" di Stefano Sciascia rappresenta così per la prima volta nell' intero e vasto patrimonio discografico per contrabbasso classico (con le sue dovute accezioni) una vera e propria novità, senza alcun ombra di dubbio: un vero e proprio quadro "visivo-pittorico" con tendenza narrativa che potrebbe costituire tranquillamente la colonna sonora di un film, e dove l' Idea innata del Male viene sagacemente riprodotta su di un contrabbasso insieme a suoni campionati condivisi con altri musicisti, concludendosi così in uno squarcio di speranza lucente costituito da una finale e brevissima considerazione musicale in tonalità maggiore. Un' assolutà novità discografica che certamente porterà questo compact disc a toccare le più alte vette di notorietà per ciò che concerne le realizzazioni musicali concepite per il contrabbasso classico, uno strumento che anche grazie a Sciascia comincia ad avere più nobiltà e prestigio rispetto ad un passato indecoroso e poco gratificante. Il contrabbasso di questo incredibile artista canta come non mai e narra le vicende che poi toccano qualsiasi ascoltatore a seconda del punto di vista in cui ci si pone, non lungi tuttavia dal voler rappresentare la reale condizione umana fatta di sofismi irrazionali che tendono a condurla inevitabilmente nelle tenebri dell' ignoranza di un intelletto fine a se stesso e mai foriero di reali "compromessi storici" volti alla Luce e rinnovamento spirituale a cui potrebbe puntare. "Lux ex tenebris" si snoda fra ben sette quadri pittorici ma, al cospetto di cotanti titoli fra i quali ricordiamo lo "Stabat Mater" nel quale il "leit motiv" iniziale viene magistralmente ripreso in una forma estremamente lirica e dolce, il discorso musicale sembra essere univoco, senza alcun segno di distinzione o frazionamento fra un "Orior" e la conclusiva "Lux ex Tenebris", interpuntato da "Scotland the Brave" ( titolo che si discosta dall' utilizzo delle voci principali in Latino insieme a "The Temple"), "Lacrimosa" e "Requiem" (tutto questo di chiara ispirazione mozartiana ma dalla quale Sciascia tende a discostarsi per un diverso utilizzo della "forma musicale"). Così l' oggetto musicale diviene univoco ed il linguaggio narrativo evoca immagini ben precise in alcuni tratti, in talaltre lascia l' ascoltatore libero e scevro da condiziomenti nel rappresentarsi ciò che la potenza della Musica è in grado di sostenere a livello percettivo e sensoriale. Un mondo non più magico e fiabesco come nel "Regno di Ibbi Obbi" ma estremamente pacato ed al contempo vissuto nel dolore di chi deve soccombere ad un Male che ne condizione l' intera esistenza umana. Nello specifico, quindi, non si andranno ad analizzare i singoli brani, ma l' intera narrazione che viene suddivisa idealmente per capitoli, proprio come in un libro tipo il "Nome della Rosa" di Umberto Eco a cui potrebbe fare da sfondo musicale. I suoni campionati provengono da un sito web famosissimo (freesound.org) dove gli artisti di tutto il mondo condividono le loro trovate tecnologiche e le mettono gratuitamente al servizio dell' Arte, di qualunque stampo essa sia costituita. Insieme a suoni di campane e voci lugubri, il libro musicale di Sciascia mette inizialmente in risalto la tenebrosità di ombre che sembrano rincorrersi fra se stesse, come dei fantasmi della propria coscienza che lottano fra di loro per farsi largo in una "lux" che mai li abbaglierà. La tonalità minore è quella preferita, naturalmente perchè conferisce all' intero disco una quasi dovuta sensazione di incanto e sgomento allo stesso tempo. I quattro contrabbassi miscelati insieme rendono questo discorso unitario molto teso e vibratile, all' interno del quale il vibrato molto largo sul contrabbasso ed il conseguente "basso ostinato" forniscono un' immagine ben precisa di quello che si va narrando. Le voci "Nahama" ed un glissato sapientemente dosato sono alla base della bellezza esteriore di quest' opera dove il respiro quasi affannoso dell Sciascia si mescola alla musica rendendo più viva e fresca questa sensazione di brutalità che si andrà a tracciare nei paragrafi che seguiranno. La sola campionatura di suoni presi anche dalla Natura avrebbe creato il rischio di rendere troppo fredda la magistrale esecuzione del contrabbassista che, al contrario, fa musica con la sua stessa presenza quasi materiale e non solo inframezzata da un semplice supporto magnetico. Il lirismo melodico è affascinante, così come la scelta di dinamiche amplissime realizzate su di un contrabbasso eccezionale di inizio Settecento. Il silenzio, che è pur esso Suono ma con un segno meno davanti, apre le porte a dei tamburi che forse riecheggiano una battaglia, quella fra la Scozia e l' Inghilterra per l' autonomia del popolo oppresso rappresentato propio dagli Scozzesi e di cui si parlerà più innanzi, ma che già nella fase iniziale del Cd ben si può comprendere. I giri armonici non sono mai complessi o trabordanti ma preferiscono rimanere contenuti e ben udibili visto che è proprio la semplicità compositiva dell' intero lavoro che lo rende magistralmente apprezzabile, senza alcuna ombra di dubbio. Una scelta di Sciascia che si mostra ben precisa e che, in un certo senso, si discosta dalle celeberrime interpretazioni dei brani più importanti della letteratura per il contrabbasso  del passato e che comunque costituiscono la firma vera dell' Artista. La sensazione di essere in una grande cattedrale inglese ed il rapporto del Male con qualsiasi forma di religione redenzionista si evidenziano allorquando la "iusta crocem lacrimorum" dei cori si intreccia con il contrabbasso, strumento che viene utilizzato dalla più grave nota pedantesca e ben ritmata fino a sonorità acutissime simil violino che portano l' autore a realizzare al meglio la propria idea, usufruendo così dell' ampio spettro di sonorità che solo questo incredibile strumento mette a disposizione dell' interprete (basti pensare che un "lux ex tenebris" difficilmente potrebbe essere realizzato od interpretato da altri strumenti della stessa famiglia degli archi poichè determinate sonorità non potrebbero assolutamente essere riprodotte). La domanda e risposta fra Nahama e contrabbasso fanno quasi pensare ad un dialogo di persone che tardono ad intrattenersi in un discorso quasi futile che non potrà essere alla fine essere giustificato: il Male, l' oscurità, il sangue e la lotta non potranno mai essere comprese ed adottate dalla umana coscienza sebbene intrinseche nella Natura dell' Uomo. L' inesorabilità del tempo che comunque trascorre inevitabilmente, la possibile vita che si spezzerà sicuramente durante una qualsiasi battaglia, sono temi ben cari al compositore, e questi vengono introdotti dal suono di cornamuse che anch' esse dialogano fra di loro quasi a voler dare il segnale dell' inizio di una battaglia che, per quanto doverosa sia, in conclusione non troverà nè vinti nè altrettanti vincitori. Addentriamoci ancora nelle piaghe e nelle pieghe di questo incredibile libro musicale. Rulli di tamburi che fanno da sfondo ad una battaglia che si accinge a divenire comunque un massacro si associano ad un andante tempo ostinato, ad una tensione interiore che domina tutti coloro che non potranno più rientrare nelle loro dimore; è l' inizio della fine dove i contrabbassi si intrecciano ai cori incastrandosi fra di loro in configurazioni ritmiche ondeggianti, ondulanti. Sciascia ansima e così i contrabbassi vengono lasciati soli insieme ad una voce quasi spettrale: è il concretizzarsi di un evento che avrebbe potuto benissimo non verificarsi se solo la "lux" umana avesse avuto il sopravvento. La vicenda viene resa più drammatica grazie all' uso di cromatismi ben dosati sia nei cori che nel contrabbasso: del resto la saggezza ed attenzione ai minimi particolari è stata sempre la caratteristica interpretativa di Stefano Sciascia che mai lascia nulla al caso. Ma la guerra è atroce, non lascia scampo neanche ai sopravvisuti ed alla fine l' inno scozzese di vittoria non è poi così scontato e giustificabile come a tutta prima potrebbe sembrare; distruzione e fiamme si odono facilmente e tutto sembra adombrarsi in una lotta conclusasi con dei vincitori solo apparenti. Ecco perchè la musica di Sciascia non è oscura o lugubre: essa è semplicemente drammatica. Quindi un altro pezzo di genialità del contrabbassista da Trieste: far dialogare le voci Nahama insieme ad un contrabbasso pizzicato ad arte. L' uso dei bicordi è esemplare, il risultato finale degno di ogni lode. Questo strumento fra riecheggiare insieme alle campane la sofferenza comune dell' intera esistenza umana, assimilando insieme il sacro al profano, l' intelligenza dell' Uomo così come la sua stupidità esistenziale. I tamburi si fanno così devastanti fino all' inverosimile. Il fuoco, il campo di battaglia e le tante vite si spezzano in nome di chissà quale principio o morale giustificabile. Siamo alla consacrazione della misticità di Sciascia che decide di sfruttare delle note acutissime e vibratissime come se venissero toccate le corde della sua innata anima di comunicatore di visioni ed immagini attraverso la "sua musica". Ma ad un certo punto i quattro contrabbassi che di nuovo si inseguono fra di loro con un coro di sottofondo forse lasciano luce alla speranza, alla consapevolezza che magari la luce potrà alla fine aprirsi un varco all' interno di cotanta soffernza umana. In sostanza questo intero lavoro non può considerarsi pessimistico, anzi è semplicemente realistico, non è assoluto nel senso di indicare che qualsiasi cosa  poi alla fine è vana. Se l' oppressione non è giustificabile con una guerra, allo stesso tempo una battaglia dovuta per far riemergere un popolo e la sua identità storico-culturale può trovare un abbaglio di luce solo ed allorquando il male non può comprendersi in maniera assoluta: è l' eterna lotta fra la teoria degli opposti. Può ad ogni modo il male di una guerra giustificare il bene della salvezza e della redenzione nel momento in cui entrambi tolgono comunque all' essere umano ciò che è più importante per la sua esistenza e cioè la Vita? Una domanda alla quale forse non c'è risposta! Ma il contrabbasso di Sciascia va sempre più avanti. Nel parole del "miserere nobis", dove voci di sfuggita si confondono fra di loro, la sensazione è quella di gente che si chiede il perchè di cotanto disastro seppure portato avanti in nome della Libertà. E il contrabbasso si fa più espressivo, il vibrato si allarga seguendo il pulsare naturale del cuore umano. Questo mastodonte di strumento che parla, che sembra essere un vera voce umana è la caratteristica principale di Stefano Sciascia: forse nessuno al mondo riesce a cavare la bellezza intrinseca ed estrinseca del "violino contrabbasso", come da tradizione Italiana ed Inglese. La solitudine dei pizzicati molto fraseggiati è la risposta più concreta alla domanda posta in precedenza. Campane di chiese e "vox populi" sembrano cercare di comprendere cosa alla fine sia veramente accaduto: un popolo vincitore ma a che prezzo? Sgomento, solitudine, tristezza, terrore e dolore si manifestano con un contrabbasso molto più grave della sua stessa estensione dinamica. Ed ecco aprirsi anche un momento atonale: il dubbio se alla fine una guerra può realmente rendere più felice il popolo vincitore rimane tale. Ma lasciamo il finale fra le mani dell' ascoltatore. "Lux ex Tenebris", insomma, rappresenta una sorta di palingenesi spirituale di Sciascia che sembra lasciare comunque un segnale di Luce e Speranza costruttiva in una Vita che deve essere vissuta sempre nella sua interezza, purtroppo anche a discapito di quell' immensa atrocità che comunque una guerra fra popoli non potrà mai dissipare. Un lavoro, infine, dove spicca un forte senso della religione intesa in modo diremmo noi "ateistico": una contraddizione in termini che lascia l' ascoltatore del disco libero di interpretare questa composizione come meglio la propria coscenza gli detta. Un cd che scorre veloce, troppo veloce e piacevolissimo all' ascolto specie in cuffia poichè si può apprezzare la qualità d' incisione e la stravaganza degli effetti stereofonici così come voluti da Sciascia. E' nata forse una sorta di "New Age" contrabbassistica? Agli ascoltatori l' ardua sentenza! Da noi un semplice ringraziamento al Maestro per averci donato un così splendido capolavoro ricco di idee innovative e mai giunte all' orecchio fino ad oggi. Un libro ed un Cd allo stesso tempo: questa è la musica visivo-descrittiva di Stefano Sciascia. Un disco fatto semplicemente "ad-e-per" l' Arte.

                                                                  di Vito Domenico LIUZZI