Roberto Cassani – Ansema We Stand
Independent – 2 April 2021
Double Bass player Roberto Cassini wanted to introduce the world to the native language and culture of his native Lombardy through a unique body of songs that are the first time that the language of Rivoltano has been showcased through music. Now living in Perthshire he has absorbed some Scottish influences and done a fine job.
It is pretty rare to find a major recording project helmed by a double bass player. In this case, the player is Roberto Cassani who was born and raised in Lombardy-speaking Rivoltano, the minority language particular to that part of Northern Italy. Some twenty years ago, Roberto made his home and his family in rural Perthshire where he began to absorb the music and culture of that region. He has pursued a successful career as a session player all over the world with top-flight artists from the folk and jazz world but, in common with many artists, lockdown gave him the opportunity to finally bring together a long-cherished plan to combine the sounds of his homeland and native language with the rhythms and music of his new home. Creative Scotland provided funds to enable these songs to be recorded and mixed in Glasgow with some remote contributions due to lockdown restrictions.
Roberto has had help and guidance over the years from longtime mentor Danny Thompson and, to my ears, his influence is all over this album. He also had practical help from an array of class sidemen in the form of Anna Massie on guitar, fiddle, mandolin and tenor guitar, John Somerville on accordion, Steve Fivey on drums and percussions, Ross Ainslie on pipes and whistles, Hamish Napier on piano and flute and Greg Lawson on violin. With a cast of characters of that quality, you would expect high-class musicianship and that is what you get. I’m guessing most readers will not be fluent in the Rivoltano language but that should in no way prevent you from taking much pleasure from these songs. Occasionally I found a word or two would raise their heads to perhaps give a clue to the subject matter but most of the time I found myself just relishing the feel of the sun and vineyards and the mood of the Mediterranean created by these distinctive melodies.
The song ‘An Basi’ might be a good place to get to the heart of Roberto’s music. This is clearly a love song and features Roberto’s wonderful, sensual voice accompanied by only a plucked double bass that reeks of Danny Thompson. It’s not a great leap to guess that an basi might mean ‘on bass’…of course I could be wrong.
‘Eroi in Corsia’ is a fine tune that features some great accordion and some distinctive percussion that may be a bodhran but, to me, often sounds a little like tabla drum. It has a quirky hop-step rhythm that suggests a step dance but has the feel of a pipe tune.
The opening track gives the album its title and its philosophy in one go. Ansema means ‘together’ in Rivoltano and illustrates perfectly the compatible elements between the musicality of the Italian spoken word and the sounds of Scottish traditional music that Roberto felt compelled to bring together.
‘Evviva’ is a fun-filled song with percussive lyrics fired at a machine-gun pace blended with a tune that is so typically Scottish that you are sure you have heard it before…but can’t quite recall. I guess what I am trying to say is that after a few listens to these songs you stop looking for differences and begin to have fun spotting the similarities.
It seems that Roberto wanted to introduce the world to his native language and culture through a unique body of songs that are the first time that Rivoltano has been showcased through music. I think he has done a fine job. This is a musical experience that will repay a little patience with huge pleasure.
Order via Bandcamp: https://robertocassani.bandcamp.com/releases
https://www.robertocassani.com/