Francesca Lai's Hallelujah in Sardinian 0 Comments

Francesca Lai's Hallelujah in Sardinian

I was literally conquered by Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah cover that Francesca Lai sings divinely in Sardinian and I wish to share the experience with you, first of all by introducing you Francesca Lai. Born in Cagliari in 1993, she is a singer, author, composer and musician. She joined the Cagliari Conservatory of Music at the age of 9, gaining a license in theory and music theory as well as a diploma in complementary piano.

She continued to complete her art, attending Master Classes, Internships and seminars with nationwide known teachers. She was able to present in the most important theaters of Sardinia, taking part in some operas, including Bizet's "Carmen" at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari. Since 2018 he has been teaching modern singing in various civic music schools in Sardinia.

Among the numerous evenings, events, television broadcasts and competitions in which she participated with excellent feedback from the public, she was a chorister for, among many others, Roberto Vecchioni, Tullio De Piscopo, Eugenio Finardi, Modena City Ramblers.

It's not something belonging to  these days but to when COVID-19 forced everyone to stay indoors. Francesca found in a drawer, forgotten, the text of Cohen's famous song, "Hallelujah", which she had commissioned to rewrite in Sardinian language by one of her singing class students, the composer and author Franca Burrai. 

With Davide Guiso, guitarist, composer and arranger of her band, they prepared from home the arrangement, recording and mix, and Francesca published a video of her Hallelujah on her social networks which went viral during the lockdown.

Explaining the meaning of his song, Cohen said: “This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled but there are moments when we can transcend the dualistic system and reconcile and embrace the whole mess, and that’s what I mean by Hallelujah.”

The Sardinian lyrics, written on Cohen's wonderful music, does not, however, follow the text. Francesca's Hallelujah is instead a prayer, a request to God: The wind rises in my hair, / in the warm breath / of loneliness in my home. / I sing you my prayer, / may it reach your heart, / with the good word, Hallelujah.

Just stare at the sky, / if you pay attention - how true it is - / to the calm, the beauty of serenity. / Now I ask God: / why was I born? / And where is my place, dear God? / Hallelujah... / You gave life to me, / this rare gift, / precious, to be loved and adored. / Listen to my prayer, / may it reach your heart, / listen to this voice, Hallelujah.

It is well worth listening to, it is wonderful: you too should try it.

 

“Music is the emotional life of most people” (Leonard Cohen)

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Written by Daniela Toti

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