“Seven thousand people singing”

Fuori Orario

The From mother to daughter dinner at Fuori Orario was GREAT. No one expected it: the venue was practically stormed, and it set a record: 250 people eating dinner! Franco and his crew had to set every table available and bar counters upstairs, too. Mondine were in top condition: they sang a lot while sitting at a dinner table, which is probably their favourite situation for delivering a song. But the nicest thing was to see the community gathering to celebrate them: there was Cisco with Giovanni, there was a delegation of Modena City Ramblers, there were Maurizio, Davide and Walter of Gruppo Padano di Piadena, there was Graziano “Monduja” Magagnoli with Luciano Gaetani for Paulem, there was Marco Mainini representing Bonifica Emiliana Veneta but also – together with “the two Fabio”, Bonvicini and Vetro – of the Emilian pipers orchestra Pive nel Sacco, there was the Casalecchio Partisans Association, there was La Grande Famiglia headed by Checco, there were Valeria and Freddy of the mondine’s blog, there were the kids of Correggio Mon Amour and Rock in Rolo, there were the lady major of Gattatico and Beniamino Grandi, Head of Culture in the Modena provincial administration, and both had come as private citizens. Roberta and I represented Fiamma Fumana. Everyone sang: musicians strummed guitars and pumped air into accordions and bagpipes. Everyone found it natural to sing folksongs, speak and sing in dialect, play traditional tunes.

This is weird, I thought. Twenty years ago I would travel to Ireland and really really long for precisely this: that they gathered in the pub to sing songs and play tunes that everyone knew, that belonged equally to grandparents and their grandchildren, and that grandparents and grandchildren could sing together; I was experiencing something that felt very similar, except that there were a lot more people eating a great deal better, and that it took place in Emilia Romagna, in my home. Young and old people recognizing themselves as characters in the same story, with mondine acting as a powerful living symbol of the joy and the courage of our people. A twenty year old dream, come true.

And it does not end here. Because the Fuori Orario has a captain, and this captain is Franco Bassi, a true visionary. And Franco – who was moved seeing the venue full not only with young people, but with old people as well, flocking to the ancient call of “singing at the eating table” – is a man to dream a new dream as soon as he fulfills an old one. And what he dreamed last night was: “the April 25th show at Museo Cervi must be like tonight, only a hundred times bigger. Let’s bring there seven thousand people to sing together.!”

Seven thousand people singing. Hmmm. There’s something there. Who wants to join us – and mondine?

6 thoughts on ““Seven thousand people singing”

  1. Elena

    Quasi quasi …
    Sai cosa penso? Bisogna stare attenti ad esprimere un desiderio, perchè potrebbe anche avverarsi 😉
    Preparate la logistica!! 🙂

    Reply
  2. Leonardo Pelo

    In questo momento con quanto accade (e non soloa Napoli), con i Ferrara che straparlano dai loro quintali di potere -e non solo-, dai piccoli egoismi quotidiani….
    c’è davvero bisogno delle Mondine.
    E di 7milioni che cantano con loro
    Leonardo

    Reply
  3. Correggio Mon Amour

    “Difenderemo le nostre idee ballando” (Franco Bassi, dal libro “Fuori Orario – dentro l’anima”)

    Noi di Correggio Mon Amour ci saremo… anche se alcuni (Andrea) sono impegnati nell’organizzazione di Duemila Resistenze (www.duemilaresistenze.it), magari si potrebbe proporre un gemellaggio…?

    M.

    Reply
  4. Alberto Post author

    Duemila Resistenze è una gran bella idea, abbiamo suonato lì anni fa… il gemellaggio è sicuramente facile per quanto riguarda la comunanza delle intenzioni, anche se non so che forme organizzative concrete potrebbe prendere. Avete qualche idea?

    Reply
  5. Pingback: Vuoto Spinto » Blog Archive » E quando meno te l’aspetti

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