The town of Matera has become the setting for the canonization of the Genoese singer-songwriter, Fabrizio De Andrè, one of the poets of the new millennium. Unbelievably, still today, his lyrics manage to reunite three generations through his truthful art.
On a cold autumn night, in Matera, during one of the many cultural events the city stages for its citizens, the poetical songs by Fabrizio De Andrè started filling the air, warming it up and moving instantly so many hearts!
In Piazzetta Pascoli on October 3rd everything around smelled of the typical winter if it were not for the music produced by some string instruments (two guitars, and a violin) together with three warm and deep -voiced singers who tried to revive De Andrè's most famous songs. All at once, time stopped while cold weather and weariness slowly vanished.
Through the gripping tales told by Professor Gianluigi Trevisi, the young people among the audience, who had never felt any emotional involvement in the literary and musical revolution De Andrè brought about onto the Italian stage, got their first-hand impressions.
Poet, singer-songwriter, a complete artist, according to Professor Trevisi, De Andrè was one of the few who had tackled Italian literature after WW2.
How can that have happened? Simply, by means of pure Music.
A difficult task to achieve after the war, when music was a way to escape in enjoyment and relaxation.
De Andrè’s artistry was meant to encourage political and sociological thought and debate on the world around, developing magical lyrics tuned in to popular musical scores.
A key figure in the Genoese school of singer-songwriters (Genoa was the capital of the workers’ movement in the ‘60s ), De Andrè bent the rules and codes to create a new wave.
Each song tells a story, but none of them is about famous heroes or great men: his songs describe the lives, adventures, misfortunes and dreams of weak, oppressed and marginalized people - their anger and hopelessness.
Also, his lyrics are memorable and belong to everyone without exception: that is why, even today, his songs and music have the power to reunite people from various generations. 
Only such evaluation may explain how differently-aged people crowded the place, allowing the music to break their hearts on a cold autumn night in October.
What is more, the magic was rekindled on the following Sunday 4th in a concert in the local music hall, where the most popular De André’s songs were played again. His music echoed loudly at night as the talented players of musical trio Andajaro tuned the seamless De Andrè’s unique blend.
In the end, and once again, the audience could not but be locked tightly into the musical enchantment the songs like Bocca di rosa, Marinella, Don Raffael, Creuza del mar, Il pescator produced around on the lyrics everyone crooned somehow, somewhere “…nothing is born from diamonds, flowers are born from muck..” ( “dai diamanti non nasce niente, dal letame nascono i fior”).
Written by Luisa Iannuzziello
classe III B
Translated by Massa Stefania
class III D
Liceo Classico "Duni" - Matera (Italy)
“Extraordinary Lyrics”: Trevisi tells us about the 20th century poet