Canto del Carcerato

Canto del Carcerato (Song of the Prisoner) is a 19th Century folk song from Sicily, Italy. This piece tells the story of a man being sent to jail away from his hometown of Palermo. In the first section of the piece, the oboe sets the mood by playing a haunting melody over the drone of the lower brass and an ostinato in the percussion section. Listen for the tambourine (tamburello) and the finger cymbals (which will remind us of the prisoner's shackles) that play an integral part in this piece. The flute (friscalettu) comes in at m.13 playing the original Sicilian folk melody in G harmonic minor. The trumpets come in at m.26 taking over the folk melody and the ensemble supports them in rhythm. The dance section at m.39 is in 12/8 starts off light and as the dance goes on more instruments add on to the excitement and fun! This section also has an optional Jaw Harp (marranzanu) that will add to the authentic Sicilian sound. There is a nice countermelody at m.71 played by the lower brass and woodwinds that sounds powerful against the melody. The dance section begins to wind down at m.76 which is slowly bringing us back to our original theme. Our last section (m.84) has a beatutiful call and response section between the oboe and flute over the ostinato rhyhtm of the percussion section. A final trumpet call brought back from m.26 is heard as the percussion plays on. The last note in the chimes marks the end of our prisoner's journey.