by Alexandra Mrozowska
— Senior Columnist —
With so many decades of Rock and Metal that have already passed, it becomes more and more of a challenge to come up with more original music concepts. But even so, don’t assume it’s only the same ol’ song and dance – at least, until you become familiar with the Power/Symphonic Metal built around… a collection of Renaissance poems written by Petrarch titled Canzoniere. This extraordinary project was founded by the Italian singer Fabrizio Sassi years ago under the moniker of Verde Lauro and also features Pier Gonella (Necrodeath, ex- Labyrinth), Francesco Marras (Screaming Shadow), Mattia Stancioiu (Crown of Autumn, ex- Vision Divine), Mauro Desideri (VeraEuridice), Roberto Tiranti (Labyrinth, New Trolls), Davide Dell ‘Orto (Drakkar), Emanuele Rastelli (Magnifiqat) and… last but not least, a very certain Alessandro Del Vecchio (Edge of Forever, Hardline, JORN). Hardrock Haven caught up with the mastermind of Verde Lauro to discuss the project’s history, translating the Renaissance poetry into the language of Metal and symbolism in Petrarch’s works. And as “son animali in mondo”(there are animals in this world), are you more of an eagle, an owl, or a moth…? Find out below…
Hardrock Haven: I have to admit that combining Metal and Petrarch’s works is one of the most intriguing ideas I’ve come across lately. Where did the idea for Verde Lauro come from?
Fabrizio Sassi: I joined the maze of Verde Lauro around the age of 23. It was when during a class of Italian literature I rediscovered the Petrarch’s Canzoniere [a collection of poems written by Petrarch in the 14th century]. It was like I saw Laura in a mirror of water, naked as the goddess Artemis. Irresistible. She noticed I was looking at her and at this point my metamorphosis and my troubles started. She told me to not tell anybody what I saw because it’s impossible and I would have paid a very high price if I’d tried it. Like the moth drawn to the fire, I couldn’t resist that light and I have been trying to describe it… and still I’m desperately trying to do so, but with no success – even in this very interview!
Hardrock Haven: I’d argue it’s exactly otherwise. I believe Verde Lauro’s lyrics are the original Petrarchan poems. Does this fact pose any challenge when it comes to composing?
Fabrizio Sassi: Yes, the challenge was to not change the original form. I have to admit that sometimes I couldn’t resist and I’ve moved some verses. Working on lyrics that you shouldn’t modify is a limitation because at some point it may happen that you envision a different melody, but as you’re not able to find a synonym or a different way to say it, you have to adapt. However Petrarch left lyrics that are already music and above all, a wonderful concept.
Hardrock Haven: Verde Lauro is often classified as Progressive/Power Metal and sounds fairly modern music-wise. Why did you decide to combine this kind of sound with Renaissance poetry?
Fabrizio Sassi: In his first poem, Petrarch says: “Of all my different cries and wondering”…. His poems are emotions (cries) transformed through art and techniques (wondering). But crying and wondering have also a different meaning – surrendering and reacting, finding a solution. A way out. The Petrarch’s Canzoniere is in a way double-souled and also in my music I always try to put emphasis on it. It’s a continuous oscillation. Petrarch damns Laura, but then, in the very next page, he’s grateful for the day he’s seen her for the first time. He hesitates. Metal music has a lot of colors and it’s a genre that offers a lot of possibilities in terms of expression. To understand me, it’s essential to know that the Canzoniere is not only a collection of poems, but also a story in which all the fragments are united. I have been sometimes criticized because of “yelling” and putting together epic music and some lyrics that are usually read quietly – almost whispered, with a sad voice and melancholic music to match. – as in “Se Virgilio”. What I’ve done in it seems nonsense, but if you know that in the next page he changes the perception, it’s very different. The lyrics of “Passa la nave” tells about a journey in the sea where Petrarch is doubting about seeing the harbor. If you read only this lyric you could believe that he gave up on his journey. But there’s also will of starting all over again in Verde Lauro’s music, one that maybe cannot be found in these specific lyrics but exists in the following ones where Petrarch tries all over again. ‘Till the very last day. As far as our music genre is concerned more specifically, I can add that one of my favorite quote is: “an old word pronounced by a new mouth becomes a new word”. Also, in this case two opposites become the same thing – a kind of oxymoron. I’ve tried to leave musical elements that sounds “ancient” and at the same time put them together with something “modern”. Of course, you make music also based on what you listen to and the period that have influenced me the most are between the ‘90s and the 2000s. “My juvenile mistake,” as Petrarch would say, knowing that it’s the most beautiful mistake. Those years, that period and those sounds influenced me a lot and I can’t help but draw from that repertoire. My hands play that music.
Hardrock Haven: What were the circumstances in which Verde Lauro’s line-up was formed?
Fabrizio Sassi: I recorded the promo and sang all the parts, but together with Mattia Stancioiu we thought it would be nice to enhance the verses with other voices. The video of “Son animali al mondo” tells the story of me going around Italy trying to convince singers and musicians [to take part in a project]. I like to imagine it a bit like Lord Of The Rings. In the land of Hard Rock, I searched to find and convince Alessandro [Del Vecchio]. I needed that kind of voice for some “scratchy” verses. In the land of Power/Speed Metal I faced the labyrinth (pun intended), to convince Roberto [Tiranti, Labyrinth], as I needed some notes to reach and tell the stars. I needed a specific voice for the more aggressive parts too and I found it in the sea of Drakkar where I found Davide [Dell ‘Orto, Drakkar]. I wanted a poetic, deep voice and I thought about one of the most beautiful Metal records in Italian –Magnifiqat. So I asked the one who brings the Crown of Autumn, Emanuele [Rastelli, Crown Of Autumn/Magnifiquat]. I told them all about what I felt inside and asked for help to bring it out. Together we went down to hell like Orpheus did to take back Eurydice. I introduced them to the “mission” which is to sing 700-years-old lyrics in Metal key. We left for this adventure and we got lost…
Hardrock Haven: Similarly to the Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, each of the musicians you’ve mentioned possesses unique skills and experience in different genres of Rock/Metal. How does all that collective experience translate into what you do as Verde Lauro?
Fabrizio Sassi: My experience has taught me that everyone knows their instrument best. In all the projects in which I was a songwriter, I always requested the musicians to arrange the parts as I always let them give me the best of their instrument. Also regarding the singers, I wrote the melodies but then I let everyone adapt them to their own strings.
Hardrock Haven: The cover art of 2015’s Verde Lauro album Son animali al mondo doesn’t seem to be a random choice. How does the title correspond with the moth that we see on the cover (and that returns on the cover of Ingrata lingua as well)?
Fabrizio Sassi: “Son animali al mondo” means “There are animals in the world”. Therefore, there are animals in the world that are able to fly high towards the sun without going blind – the eagles (people believed so in the ancient times). Then, there are other animals like owls that go out only during the night as they’re too scared of the sunlight and they fear to be killed by it. Also, there are animals that fly towards the fire even if they know that they’re going to die. It’s their nature. The moths’ nature. The Petrarch’s Canzoniere tells us a lot, but in particular it tells us about the foolish desire of following and trying to reach what cannot be possessed completely. Petrarch chooses different pictures, but one symbol is important in particular – Laura, a woman with golden hair. Petrarch plays with sounds here. Laura may also be the laurel – because of the similar sound (‘laurus nobilis’), but also because Laura is compared to Daphne from the Apollo myth. Laura’s name is also a phonetic reference to the word “L’aura”, which in Italian spoken in the 14th century meant “the wind” and “aurum” which meant “gold.” There are several meanings that intertwine like branches.
Hardrock Haven: This year you released you released a four-song EP entitled Ingrata lingua. This wasn’t a follow-up to 2015’s Son animali al mondo though…
Fabrizio Sassi: Yes. As a matter of fact, the sequel to Son animali al mondo is titled 6 Aprile and was released a few years ago – again independently. I also recorded the promo of the third album and started composing the 4th and the 5th chapter of the story, but for health reasons I had to stop it all. I haven’t played for a couple of years now… Ingrata lingua (which means “ungrateful language”) was a parallel idea. It was supposed to be a record with a lot more songs, so we decided to release an EP now in two languages (Russian and Croatian) as an album trailer. With Elevate Records we have restarted from the first chapter and we are reorganizing the path and the plot. We will see how to continue….
Hardrock Haven: Indeed, what we can find on Ingrata lingua are newly released versions of “Zephiro Torna”and “Voi ch’ascoltate” – the former sung in Croatian, the latter in Russian. Why did you decide to go beyond the original Italian poems?
Fabrizio Sassi: I love Italian poetry and various authors, Foscolo and Ungaretti more than others, but I am attracted to the Canzoniere and Laura – she is my fire, so I didn’t stray from the fire… I discovered that the fire has been described with other sounds too. Several years ago I discovered that the Canzoniere has been translated into different languages. I searched for the various versions to hear how the same scenes were told in other languages and with other sounds.
Hardrock Haven: And now we can share the experience with the new EP out. The Croatian version of “Zephiro Torna”,entitled “Zefir se vraća”is sung by Dino Jelusick (Animal Drive, Dirty Shirley, Trans-Siberian Orchestra), whereas the Russian version of “Voi ch’ascoltate”, Франческо Петрарка is sung by Sergey Sergeev (Форсаж). How did you get in touch with each of the singers?
Fabrizio Sassi: As far as Dino is concerned, I have to thank Maestro Mistheria of the Vivaldi Metal Project who lives in Croatia. I asked him if he knew a singer who could sing in a similar style to Alessandro, but in Croatian. A quite demanding request! I was lucky as in that period he was working with Dino. A perfect voice! Sometimes you just need some luck! For the Russian singer, I’ve searched online and I also started to search for French, German and Japanese versions but then I kind of gave up.
Hardrock Haven: Will the EP be followed with a full-length album sometime in the future?
Fabrizio Sassi: Yes, I would like to record it in other languages as well but this is a secondary project. First, I’d like to finish the albums with the original lyrics, in “vulgar” language. And speaking of that… as I was telling you before, the Canzoniere has been written in old Italian, which is named “vulgar”. Hence, the original title of the Canzoniere is Rerum vulgarium fragmenta – fragments of vulgar things. “Vulgar” is derived from “vulgus” which means “folk”, “people”. So, it was the “language of the people”, we could say, which was “against” the Latin regarded as the most sophisticated language back in Petrarch’s days. Nowadays, the Italian word “volgare” means same as “vulgar” in English. That’s why I have to be careful when I say that I sing songs in “vulgar” language, as people may think we have offensive lyrics… I have to tell you that even to the Italian audience Petrarch is a bit difficult to comprehend as there are several words that no longer exist in these forms. I could give you many examples, but it would get boring. Instead, I’ll tell you a curiosity. I once read about an “experiment”. They gave a poem by Petrarch to a translator who translated it into English. The result of their translation was given to an Italian translator who retranslated it. You can imagine that the final result was completely different from the original! This is to tell you that while what I do is very fascinating and satisfying – on the other hand, fear of giving the wrong message and awareness that I might be not being understood is always there. Also, I’ve been frequently told that the Canzoniere is a collection of love poems…
Hardrock Haven: That’s basically what I was taught at school – that it’s a collection of poems dedicated to Petrarch’s platonic love of his life.
Fabrizio Sassi: Of course, they can be read as poems dedicated to a woman that doesn’t return his love but not only this! These verses are much more then “only” this. Today, we still do not know if Laura has ever existed. This in particular makes it all magic.
Hardrock Haven: You’ve just mentioned a newly signed record deal with Elevate Records…
Fabrizio Sassi: Elevate has worked with wonderful Italian bands. They have a real passion for Metal that lasts for many years. All this makes me believe I made the right choice. But here as well, I would like to share a curiosity with you. In 1348 Petrarch was crowned a poet in Rome (degree = Laurea = laurel crown ). Petrarch was 37 years old in 1348 and this year I turned 37. Elevate is based in Rome. On my second album there is a song about the desire to return to Rome… Rome comes back quite often! I really like this symbolic synchronicity that recalls Rome…
Hardrock Haven: That can’t be just a coincidence I guess. So with all the guest singers and musicians we already discussed, who were involved in Son animali al mondo, 6 Aprile and Ingrata lingua, what other guests would you like to invite to take part in Verde Lauro in the future?
Fabrizio Sassi: In Italy there are several great artists but everything also depends on the sounds and colors that I’ll need. As far as other countries are concerned, a dream for me would be to have Noora Louhimo as guest singer. In my opinion she represents the double soul of Metal that I mentioned earlier. I follow her on social media and I see her pictures: very natural, nice, sweet. Then you hear her on stage and she really turns into a “battle beast”. Another Heavy Metal voice that I really adore and I find very poetic is Mathias Blad’s (Falconer).
Hardrock Haven: Was collaboration with all the singers involved in Verde Lauroa smooth one, or was it challenging for them in any way to adapt to the idea?
Fabrizio Sassi: I come back to the earlier mention of the fear of being misunderstood. What is missing is always the time to speak and try to explain our thoughts. Trying to convince the singers has been easy, because I’ve had some time to show the aims of the project. For sure, we’ve considered that we were going to face some criticism. When the album came out, some people thought I shouldn’t ever be allowed to touch such a masterpiece of literature. Some professors attacked me while others told me they wish they’d had my albums at the time they were teaching in high school as they would surely thrill their students. I don’t know if I did the right thing or not by borrowing Petrarch’s lyrics and put them into music. I don’t know if I should have done it. For sure, I know I used them in an inappropriate way. I also don’t know if I should get closer to Laura and trying to recount about her… but as I told you before, I really couldn’t resist!
Hardrock Haven: I think all people who are really passionate about something in their lives can relate. But from more of a practical perspective, what are the details of the upcoming re-release of the first Verde Lauro album?
Fabrizio Sassi: The first album as well as the second – 6 Aprile – were released independently. My desire was to complete at least the first five albums and print them in just a few copies and then offer them all together to a label. The main fear is that the listener is going to take just one fragment and picture it as the complete mosaic… by now you’ve for sure understood that being misunderstood is my major fear. But to really understand the Canzoniere, there’s no other way but to merge its fragments. You have to read the whole Canzoniere and, in the end, when you read the 366th poem (no numbers happen by chance) you have to restart again, as a year that start again. The ouroboros. With five albums that I envision in my mind, it’s like arriving and completing the premise. Or at least these are my excuses for what I do… With five albums I cannot catch Laura, I still can’t tell what I’m singing – but I can explain why am I doing it. Unfortunately, some health issues made me lose quite a lot of time and I know it will take me some time to get back on track. That’s why I’ve decided to re-release at least the first album via Elevate and possibly prepare some videos while I will anticipate the rest. We’re still discussing that.
Hardrock Haven: Hopefully your health will improve, and I keep my fingers crossed for your meeting a goal of at least these five albums… But back to Son animali al mondo era when Verde Lauro stopped being just a studio project. What are your memories of bringing the project to the live stage, as during your Milan performance back in 2015?
Fabrizio Sassi: To hear the songs live and be on the stage with the entire line-up has been unforgettable. In the audience there were many important people to me. It’s been a magical evening. On a musical level, I have to tell you that the live experience somehow influenced the composition of the second album. When you choose you have to betray (I will come back later to this word), and for me it was difficult – very difficult to choose what to sacrifice for the live show. All the musical phrases on the record are important, even the oboe in the background. The second album was born with the awareness that in order to play it live, it should be done in such a way that we should be able to reproduce everything faithfully in a live setting. I also played more choruses. I looked for a compromise. Now I don’t mean to tell you if it’s right and if I did well. I tell you that I moved back. I’ve changed a lot of paths as it happens in the labyrinth. And I’m fine with it because everything I do with the music is exactly what I sing in the Petrarch’s Canzoniere. The Canzoniere is as well an attempt to explain and speak about mistakes and wrong directions…. reality melted with fiction.
Hardrock Haven: Do you plan to continue performing live with Verde Lauro once everything’s back to normal in terms of live events? Have you thought of touring with the project in a similar manner to Trans-Siberian Orchestra or Avantasia, together with at least the majority of the singers involved?
Fabrizio Sassi: I would love to perform live with Verde Lauro, but all the musicians have major projects and it’s not easy to bring them together. For example, Pier Gonella is very busy with our Italian pride Necrodeath… Two bands you’ve mentioned, Avantasia in particular, have a fundamental component that I love… theatricality. Having a stage that, in addition to presenting you with good music, surrounds you with images would really be the best to represent Laura.
Hardrock Haven: What else are you currently up to music-wise? Any other projects?
Fabrizio Sassi: Verde Lauro is currently my only musical project, but I have other projects in other areas. I’m writing a book (Nel labirinto del Verde Lauro) and I’m also making a comic (always with the symbols of the Canzoniere).
Hardrock Haven: Now that’s a real synthesis of the arts! We keep our fingers crossed for all your projects. Is there anything you’d like to add in the end?Fabrizio Sassi: I would like to say that the Canzoniere made me discover different interests and passions. The symbols, first of all, but not only. When I asked myself what Petrarch wanted to tell, by investigating deeper I discovered the etymology – the study of the roots of words. I’ll go back for a moment to the verb I mentioned before: “betray”. In Italian, “translate” and “betray” have the same root (tradire-tradurre). The same root is present also in the Latin verb “tradere” which means to bring out. Bringing out the buried port and the inexhaustible secret means betraying it, but it’s the only way. At the root of the words, we find the answers.
Hardrock Haven: So to translate is basically to betray the original. Very interesting concept…
Fabrizio Sassi: To understand Petrarch, I’ve also studied a little bit of Latin and Greek. It’s interesting, for example, to discover that the word “cosa” (a ”thing” in Italian) derives from “causa” (“cause”) and therefore every single thing it’s a cause … In the Canzoniere everything can be a Laura – a cause. Thanks to Petrarch, I’ve also discovered many other authors and I fell in love with Greek mythology… So, no matter if you like my music or not, I encourage you to discover or rediscover Petrarch or deepen your knowledge about him to go further. Petrarch is the father of humanism, one of the first (perhaps the first) to own a library… Let’s find out how things were told before him … and after him … how symbols traveled. And today? How does that ever-old and ever-new golden thread that speaks of Laura continue? I’d love to be much more precise and able to explain why, as the moth, I can’t resist Laura … I’d love to, yes, but same as the moth I know I can only fail and die. Artemis told me! I can only reborn and try again and again like the Phoenix… maybe in another interview I will be able to add something more than this…
Hardrock Haven: That’s certainly just a beginning of the story of Verde Lauro and your quest of Laura, so it’s surely not the last time we talk! Thank you!
Fabrizio Sassi: Thank you for your time.
Visit Verde Lauro online: https://www.facebook.com/verdelauro/
