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Riccardo Marasco is ranked the most influential
voice in the field of the traditional music of Tuscany.
Rising from the echelons of the folk-singers of the early sixties,
he developed over time a much wider repertory, becoming a scholar
of the wealth of old Italian songs, and an interpreter of great
appeal. The style of his interpretations, along with the habit
of accompanying himself on coeval guitars, remind the modern
listeners of an old-style minstrel. |
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The voice he is endowed with is
of uncommon capabilities. Marasco is a multi-faceted interpreter,
with mastership of a repertory ranging from the sentimental
to the comical, from the religious to the political, from historical
narration to innuendo, from songs of popular lore to those bequeathed
us from cultured milieus.
The quality of both his production techniques and actual singing
betoken a refined taste in the sung word, from the immediateness
of popular folklore to the more elaborated style of the chanson
à l’Italienne (Italian style of singing); from the
romance dedicated to one’s personal pleasure to the entertaining
at bourgeois receptions; and of ancient tunes.
His performances are the result of tireless research (he is
an expert on Italian singing in its tradition of several centuries)
and hold a mirror to his great artistic charge, erupting through
his unusual vocal capability. |
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His repertory, largely due to his research and creativity, is
unique especially from the point of view of the form in which
it is brought to the audience.
Marasco’s concerts open up new cultural spaces.
Marasco brings back to life, from the dusty, neglected and forgotten
archives, treasures of an art that was unjustly deemed to be
a minor one. During his cabaret activity, even when he seems
to be indulging to ludicrousness, he is actually revealing his
inclusion in the long, arcane and archaïc chain of the
orphic singers.
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He is a great interpreter: singer
and actor, author and musician, poet and guitarist. His shows
are true theatricals in music, featuring virtuosity in the sung
word and transcending regional dimensions inasmuch as, on an
internationally valid basis, they offer again the never-ending
patrimony of the singing Italian tradition, largely unknown
to most people, and forgotten by too many. Thanks to the unlimited
range of his voice (impossible to measure, as, indeed, the kaleidoscope
of feelings underlying his singing), Marasco allows us to trust
once more the human voice.
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Marasco began his musical training with eight years of formal
schooling on the piano under Professor Bruna Venturini; he then
went on to the guitar (Professor Giulio Giannini and Maestro
Otello Mori, both former pupils of Marasco’s great-grandfather
Amerigo Parrini, the founder of the modern Florentine school
of guitar-playing).
Next came the study of harmony ( begun with Professor Dina Giani
Paoli, another pupil of Parrini’s, and completed with Professor
Piero Adorno). |
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He studied on his own the ancient
instrumental scores, and attended Andrea Von Ramm’s Seminars
on Ancient Music.
Marasco graduated in Electronic Engineering at the University
of Bologna in 1972 while having already begun his activity of
performing artist. During his studies he also attended courses
on Theology for Lay People at the Dominican Theological Study
in Bologna. |
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Books:
"Chi cerca Trova. Vita e canti di Toscana",
Ed.Birba, Firenze, 1977
"Le Canzonacce fiorentine", Ed. Birba, Firenze,
1978
"Maria de' Medici e la chitarra", Atti del
Convegno su Rubens, Firenze
Bibliography:
G.Barbiellini Amidei - Minus valore. Ed. Rizzoli Milano
M.G.Parri - Riccardo Marasco, Il teatro della parola cantata.
Quaderni di Teatro. Firenze 1981
P.Magi - E dopo Spadaro, lui. "Toscana qui".
Firenze Anno XIII - Ott. Nov. 1993
A.Valleroni - "Riccardo Marasco". Artista troppo
grande per la Toscana. "Reporter". Firenze Anno
V - Apr. Mag.
TV performances:
In these years Marasco appeared in many TV shows; among the
others:
Qualcosa da dire
Domenica ore 12 (Paolo Cavallina)
Auditorium (Giorgio Albertazzi)
Canto popolare
Adesso musica
Speciale Natale 1975
Domenica in casa
Domenica Insieme (Enza Sampò)
Incontro con Riccardo Marasco
Speciale Bixio
Buon Pomeriggio (Nicoletta Orsomanno)
Trenta minuti giovani
Bella Italia (Emilio Ravel)
Omaggio a Spadaro (TV Svizzera Italiana)
Domenica In (Pippo Baudo)
A bocca aperta (Gianfranco Funari - TMC)
L'Arcobaleno
Va pensiero (Andrea Barbato)
Via Teulada 66 (Loretta Goggi)
Piacere Rai 1 (Badaloni-Cotugno-Marchini)
Firenze sogna (Pippo Baudo)
Colosseum (Giordani-Ravel)
Uno Mattina
Domenica in festa
Maurizio Costanzo Show (Canale 5)
Ciao Italia
Visage d'Europe (France 2)
Una caramella al giorno
Linea Verde: speciale per il 30° dell'Alluvione 1966
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