Monday Music Appreciation #21 -- Nella Fantasia

Warning: the first time I heard Nella Fantasia from this Sarah Brightman album, it brought me to tears. And I'm pretty sure I've moodled about it before, but it deserves to be appreciated again, in my humble opinion.

Nella Fantasia is a piece of music that was composed for the movie The Mission by Italian composer Ennio Morricone, who died in 2020. It's a stunning piece of music both within the film, and without it. 

I recommend listening with your eyes closed and the volume up just enough that it feels like the melody is flowing through your veins. The lyrics, both the Italian by Chiara Ferraù (readers know how I love Italian!) and an English translation, are below. Enjoy!

 

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo giusto
Li tutti vivono in pace e in onestá
lo sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano
Pien' d'umanitá in fondo all'anima

Nella fantasia io vedo un mondo chiaro
Li anche la notte è meno oscure
lo sogno d'anime che sono sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano

Nella fantasia esiste un vento caldo
Che soffia sulle cittá, come amico
lo sogno d'anime che sonon sempre libere
Come le nuvole che volano
Pien' d'umanitá in fondo all' anima

In my imagination I see a just world
Where all live in peace and honesty
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar
Full of humanity, deep in spirit

In my imagination I see a bright world
There even night is less dark
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar

In my imagination there is a warm wind
That breathes over the cities like a friend
I dream of souls that are always free
Like clouds that soar

Full of humanity, deep in spirit

Nella Fantasia for a Sunday

A number of years ago, I enrolled in a series of Art and Spirituality workshops taught by a friend -- who is now the woman I work for... Pat, our Community Leader at L'Arche. I hadn't seen her in several years, and was delighted to explore different art forms and meditative practices with her on those evenings at Star of the North Retreat House. Besides recalling the opportunity to reconnect with a special person who had dropped off my radar for a few years, one other thing sticks with me from that time... this song. Pat played Sarah Brightman's version of it, and it so haunted me that I searched it out and purchased a copy of Ms. Brightman's1999 Eden cd so that I can listen to Nella Fantasia now and again.

In looking on the internet for a version for you, I learned a few things about Nella Fantasia... I knew that it was composed by Ennio Morricone for the movie The Mission, but what I didn't know was that it had no words until Sarah Brightman repeatedly bothered Maestro Morricone to make it into something she could sing. Chiara Ferrau wrote the lyrics, and if you've been with me for a while, you know I'm a definite sucker for Italian... If you're curious what it all means, there's an English translation here on Wikipedia. I didn't know its meaning until today because its beauty is meaning enough. The video below is of Chloe Agnew from Celtic Woman -- she has a gorgeous voice that moves my soul like it was the first time I heard the song. Enjoy!