1. Italo Meschi`s Life [Compatibility Mode]

Italo Meschi
“The Last Troubadour”
Sept. 9, 1887- Oct. 15, 1957
(Lucca, Tuscany)
In Memory of
“Maestro Italo” and his sincere and
unyielding spirit
In Memoria
dello spirito sincero ed incorruttibile
del “Maestro Italo”
Updated
August 2010
1
Italo Meschi
Lucca’s Musician and Singer
Poems, reflections, testimonials
The intent and the desire has been to
render immortal Uncle Italo, who was
for me an exceptional man.
Laura Bedini
Lucca Sept. 9 July 1993
Watercolor by Tista Meschi
Volume printed in June 1993 by Tipo-Lito Editrice
Martinelli, Lucca - All rights reserved.
2 Sarti
Translated by Riccardo Sarti, Dana Wesley Sarti and Lauren Ennis
Forse qualcuno ricorda
ancora…
anarchico o circonvicino,
naturista che vestiva estate e
inverno di lino, portava barba
e lunga chioma biondorossastra, i piedi scalzi in
calzari francescani: coltissimo,
lettore indefesso di poesia e di
filosofia, inventore di uno
strumento musicale integrato,
la chitarpa che suonava
cantando canzoni di cui era
spesso autore o riduttore da
carmi popolari, camminatore
favoloso. Pacifista, non
violento, internazionalista, era
odiato dai fascisti e poteva fare
a Lucca solo rare apparizioni, il
resto del tempo all’estero a
guadagnarsi il pane come
cantautore nelle stazioni estive
delle Alpi.
Watercolor by Tista Meschi
C.L. Ragghianti
(March 1979)
Perhaps someone still
remembers…
An anarchist or near anarchist, a
naturalist who dressed in linen in
both summer or winter. He wore
a beard and long hair of reddish
blond, his bare feet in
Franciscan footwear: erudite, a
tireless reader of poetry and
philosophy, inventor of a hybrid
musical instrument (the harp
guitar, that he played while
singing songs of which he was
often the composer or an
adapter from folk chants) and a
legendary walker. Pacifist, nonviolent internationalist, he was
hated by the fascists and could
only make rare appearances in
Lucca, living the rest of the time
abroad earning his bread as a
singer/songwriter in the summer
resorts in the Alps.
3
Quando lo incontrammo per la
prima volta in una via di Lucca, ci
sembro’ di vedere Gesu’ nello
splendore della sua gloria. Volto
ascetico, barba fluente, capelli
lunghi sulle spalle, una strana
chitarra tra le mani. Stupiti ci
fermammo ad osservarlo,
chiedendo di lui ad un caro amico
lucchese, che della citta’ conosceva
ogni piccolo risvolto. Mi disse che
era Italo Meschi, di Lucca, un
personaggio conosciuto in tutto il
mondo, per il suo grande
virtuosismo musicale e poetico.
Viveva solo nel torrione di S.
Gervasio, ed era chiamato anche
“Cristo il Nazzareno” per il suo
portamento, per la sua figura
ascetica, dallo sguardo dolce,
invitante, con un sorriso velato in
leggera malinconia, ben nascosta
dietro le sue canzoni e le melodie
della sua inseparabile chitarra.
Italo Meschi,
musician and poet who
enchanted the world.
Giulio Simonini
“La Nazione” Daily
Sunday, June 6, 2004
When we met him for the first time
in a street in Lucca, it seemed like we
were seeing Jesus in the splendor of
His glory. An ascetic face, a flowing
beard, hair to his shoulders, a
strange guitar in his hands. Amazed,
we stopped to observe him, asking
about him to a dear friend from
Lucca, who knew every single twist
and turn of the city. He told me that
the person was Italo Meschi, a
character known all over the world
for his great musical and poetic
talent.
He lived alone in the San Gervasio
Tower. He was also known
as “Christ, the Nazarene” for his
appearance, his ascetic look, his
sweetly inviting expression and his
smile, which was veiled in a slight
melancholy, well hidden behind the
songs and melodies of his
inseparable guitar.
4
An exceptional character,
with the soul of an anarchist and
profoundly mystic, yet, also a
poet, musician and singer. With
no doubts, he left an indelible
mark on the history of Lucca.
La Nazione - July 1993
An absolute pacifist, vegetarian,
internationalist, and anarchist by
instinct, but above all, an extraordinary
self-taught musician, perhaps the
greatest guitarist of the first half of the
20th century. The Lucchese Italo
Meschi still lives in the memory of
those who are no longer young; they
still refer to him as the “Christ of
Lucca,” for his legendary bearing, the
long beard, the thick blonde head of
hair that framed his slender face.
5
The intention and the desire for me is to render Uncle Italo immortal;
for me he was an exceptional man. Laura Bedini. Lucca July 9th 1993
Quando nell’inverno del ‘88, lo zio
Mario mi propose di sistemare tutto il
‘materiale’ dello zio Italo, accettai
l’incarico con commozione, felicita’ e
senza esitazione non rendendomi conto
della gran mole di lavoro che mi
aspettava.
In the winter of 1988, my uncle
Mario suggested that I sort out all of
uncle Italo’s “material;” I accepted the
assignment with emotion, happy and
without hesitation, not realizing the
great volume of work that awaited
me.
A pensarci bene, questo riordino
delle carte di Italo Meschi avrebbe
dovuto aver luogo molti anni fa; ma una
serie di sfortunate circostanze familiari,
tra cui la morte di mio padre che
precedette di poco quella di Italo, ha
impedito per il passato di porre mano a
questo lavoro.
Looking back, this rearrangement
of Italo Meschi’s papers should have
taken place many years earlier.
However, a series of unfortunate family
circumstances, among them the death
of my father shortly after the death of
Italo, delayed the start of this work.
Moreover, perhaps, we family
members were not even aware of how
rich and interesting Uncle Italo’s
artistic heritage was, and one should
not forget that the Uncle, by living
alone, had accustomed himself to be
rather untidy.
Poi, forse, se noi familiari neppure
ci rendevamo conto di quanto fosse
ricco ed interessante il suo testamento
artistico, non va dimenticato che lo zio,
vivendo solo, si era abituato ad essere
assai poco preciso…
Page 1 of 3
6
Le poesie “I suoi palpiti” sono state scritte
un po’ dovunque: buste da lettera, biglietti
ferroviari, addirittura su fogli che contenevano
analisi mediche, mentre quelle ricopiate sul suo
“Libro Mastro” sono state riportate senza
considerare la data effettiva di composizione.
The poems, “The Fluttering of His Heart,” were
written a little everywhere: on envelopes, on railway
tickets, even on medical analysis sheets, while the
poems copied out on his “Ledger,” were transferred
without consideration to the actual date of
composition.
Tante e tante poi le trascrizioni musicali
fatte nel nostro paese e all’estero e nella stessa
pagina Italo era uso mescolare il sacro col
profano.
And there were so many musical transcriptions
made in Italy and abroad, where, in the same page,
Italo had the habit of mixing the sacred with the
profane.
Innumerevoli le lettere di gratificazione
rilasciate dai gestori degli alberghi dove lo zio
intratteneva gli ospiti suonando e cantando
senza mai ripetersi.
Countless were the letters of appreciation from
the owners of hotels, where Uncle Italo entertained
guests by playing music and singing without ever
repeating himself.
Su diverse riviste specializzate i critici
hanno spesso parlato in termini elogiativi di
Italo e del suo lavoro artistico. Per tutti bastino
i giudizi espressi da A. Bonoccorsi, che su
“Comoedia”, il 15 aprile – 15 maggio 1929,
defini’ il Meschi “l’ultimo trovatore italiano”
raccoglitore di
In various journals of the genre, critics often
spoke in praising terms of Italo and of his artistic
work. The opinions expressed by A. Bonoccorsi speak
for all: in the 15 April – 15 May 1929 edition of
“Comoedia,” Bonoccorsi defined Meschi as “The Last
Italian Troubadour,” a collector of
Page 2 of 3
7
canti importanti, sia dal punto di vista
degli studi dialettologi, sia dal punto di vista
musicale, mentre su “Musica d’oggi”, n. 6 giugno
1940, ne evidenzia le doti di stornellatore e le
capacita’ di “musico cantore”.
Una volta riordinato tutto il materiale non mi e’
sembrato giusto trattenere solo per la ristretta
cerchia familiare questa raccolta che sembrava
migliorare col passare del tempo. Ecco, allora, l’idea
di pubblicarla per portarla a conoscenza di tutti,
raccogliendo i testi piu’ significativi e le
testimonianze piu’ importanti intorno alla sua vita e
alla sua arte.
Per ricordarlo ancora ai piu’ maturi per eta’ e
partecipare ai piu’ giovani i suoi ideali, i suoi principi
e i suoi valori di pace, di tolleranza, di bonta’, di
poesia. Si, perche’ Italo e’ forse nato troppo presto,
in un periodo in cui non c’era posto per i veri artisti.
Un ringraziamento sincero a mio cugino Tista
Meschi per la sua preziosa collaborazione nella
organizzazione di tutta la documentazione e per la
spendida copertina realizzata per l’occasione.
important songs, from both the viewpoints of
folklore and music, noting in Bonoccorsi’s “Musica
d’oggi” n. 6 June 1940, Meschi’s artistic skills as folk
singer and his proficiency as a performer.
Once I had rearranged all his material, I did
not deem it right to restrict this collection to the
family circle. It was a collection that seemed to
improve with the passage of time. Thus I arrived at
my idea to publish the collection in order to bring it
to everyone’s attention, gathering the most
meaningful texts and the most important
testimonials about his life and art.
This is for the senior set to remember him and
for the younger generation to share his ideals of
peace, tolerance, goodwill and poetry. Yes,
because Italo, perhaps, was born too early, in a
time when there was no place for true artists.
Sincere thanks to my cousin Tista Meschi for
his gathering all the valuable documentation, and
for the wonderful cover page made for this
occasion.
Laura Bedini
Page 3 of 3
8
My Intention and Desire
Cousin Laura Bedini did not deem it right to restrict Italo’s
collection to the family circle. With the assistance of Lucca’s
“Historical Institute”, she succeeded in publishing a wonderful 95page book, returning Italo’s memory to the Lucchese community.
My intention and desire (to take a phrase from my cousin) is to
take Laura’s work one step further; that is, to share Uncle Italo’s
works and memory beyond the medieval walls of Lucca and to
the international community.
Modern times have provided me with two effective tools for
bringing her work to completion: the growing ubiquity of the
English language and, of course, the internet. In 2005, I took the
first step in that direction by co-authoring a long article on Italo’s
music with Gregg Miner, head of the Harp Guitars Association.
One can visit the site at:
http://www.harpguitars.net/players/italo/italo.htm
And, as a final touch, I have accompanied Italo’s words with
images of paintings drawn from the painting collection of his
cousin Alfredo, who lived and painted in Italo’s times and places
and, foremost, shared his philosophy and love of nature, as well
as his austere lifestyle.
The Last Italian Troubadour with his Ala
d’Aquila “chitarpa” (Eagle Wing Harp Guitar)
Riccardo Sarti
January
9 2010
Assunta Meschi (1896-1984)
my paternal grandmother,
Anticlerical, fervent Idealist,
and active Socialist
Italo Meschi
(1887-1957)
Alfredo Meschi (Self-portrait)
Painter (1905-1981)
“The Meschis: Amiable people, but rather
odd”, said a cousin in 2005.
“. . . Alfredo Meschi did not “emanate”
holiness, due to his kinship with notorious
libertarians and subversives”, wrote author
Carlo Ragghianti in 1979.
“A large clan, many of whose descendants
still march to the beat of a different drum in
Europe and America”. Riccardo Sarti in 2010.
Vittorio “Meschi” Casini in 1948
One of the early designers of the
Legendary “Vespa”
Umberto Meschi 1892-1951
10
Sculptor and amateur musician
“Italo’s” Lucca in 1949 - Painting by Alfredo Meschi. .
11
La porta e’ chiusa,
campanelli non ce
ne sono, finestre
alle quali sperare
che qualcuno,
chiamando dalla
strada, possa
affacciarsi,
nemmeno . Questa
mancanza di
campanelli e di
finestre non puo’
meravigliare: si
parla di una torre.
Precisamente d’una
delle due torri con
ancora ben visibili, a
cinque o sei metri
da terra, I segni del
fu ponte levatoio (e
il fossato e’ sempre
li davanti che
continua a scorrer
come se niente
fosse), e che
costituiscono i
massicci avanzi della
Porta di San
Gervasio, nella
seconda cerchia di
mura.
“Il Cronista Errante” (The Wandering Chronicler)
interviews Meschi in September 1951, in his dwelling
on top of Saint Gervasio’s Tower.
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
Italo lived atop the left tower, Alfredo atop the right.
The Saint Gervasio Gates inspired Dante to warn his readers to
“abandon all hope . . .” upon entrance to the Infernal city of Dite.
The door is shut,
no door-bells nor
windows from
which one might
hope that
someone, hearing
a call from the
street, could look
out. This absence
of door-bells and
windows is hardly
surprising as, after
all, it is a tower.
More precisely,
one of the two
towers that still
displays, at five or
six meters high, the
distinct marks of a
former drawbridge
(and the moat is
still there, flowing
as ever). The
towers are the
massive remnants
of the Saint
Gervasio Gate,
part of the second
round of city walls.
12
Midway up a small stairway that
reaches straight up with its
eighty-six stairs, the locked door
of a former prison appears. The
door, in vain, tries not to give
visitors the shivers by hosting a
chair without a leg, an
abandoned bicycle, three or four
inner tubes, and other cast off
items.
Fra quelle pietre, in cima a quella
scaletta che, sempre piu’ ritta, arriva
agli ottantasei scalini e giusto a
meta’ strada, sfiora l’usciolo
inchiavardato d’una prigione che
inultilmente, oggi, cerca di non far
venire i brividi ospitando una sedia
senza una gamba, una bicicletta
fuori uso, tre o quattro camere
d’aria, e quant’altro.
…Nestled within those walls is
one of the most beautiful,
picturesque, and in many ways,
significant human beings; the
type of person we haven’t come
across in this city for a long while.
…Fra quelle mura, dicevamo, e’
andata a fare il nido la piu’ bella e
pittoresca, e per molti versi
significativa, vita umana che ci sia
capitato, da gran tempo a questa
parte, d’incontrare.
Lassu’ abita Italo Meschi:
sessantaquattro anni, barba e
capelli fuori ordinanza, pellegrino
senza macchia e senza paura, pacato
ma tenace indagatore, sul binario
della piu’ elementare filosofia, del
perche’ si vive e del come convenga
morire.
Up there lives Italo Meschi, age
sixty-four, unusual beard and hair,
fearless and par excellence world
traveler, quiet, but tenaciously
inquisitive. He is on the track of
the most basic philosophy of why
one lives and how one should
die.
A View from the Tower by Alfredo Meschi
13
. . . from which one can hop across Lucca’s tiled roofs. . . .
Ottantasei scalini.
L’abituro e’ come
dicevamo, in cima in
cima; a tetto. Le scale
vanno ad arrampicarsi
fino ad un pianerottolo
non piu’ largo di un
metro quadro. A destra,
la camera-salotto-studio
a sinistra la porticina
che conduce alla
piccola, forse non
troppo sicura terrazza
dalla quale si rimbalza
sui tegoli di Lucca fino
alla torre del Guinigi,
poi su altri tegoli, poi
verso le colline e, oltre
queste, fino a
chissaddove.
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
The view from the St. Gervasio’s Towers
To the left, in the distance, the Guinigi Tower with an Olive Tree on top
Eighty-six stairs. The
living quarters, as we
said, are at the very
top – just below the
roof. The stairs climb
up until they reach a
landing not wider
than a square meter.
To the right, a single
bedroom-parlorstudio. To the left, a
tiny door that leads
to a rather unsafe
terrace from which
one can hop across
Lucca’s tiled roofs to
the Guinigi tower,
and then on to other
tiles and beyond
those, to who knows
where.
14
“S’accomodino. L’ambiente e’ modesto,
come vedono, ma e’ pulito”.
“Make yourselves at home. The place is
modest, as you can see, but it’s clean.”
Camera-salotto-studio. C’e’ una branda, in
un angolo, poggiata su sei sedie: due di
qua, due di la’, una in cima, una in fondo.
C’e’ un tavolino nell’angolo opposto, con
un piccolo centro ricamato e, nel mezzo,
un vasetto di fiori. C’e’ un armadio di
noce chiaro, a quattro battenti, con
dentro, allineato in bell’ordine, barattoli di
ciliege sotto spirito, pigne di fichi secchi,
la chitarra, trappole per topi.
Bedroom-living room-studio. There is a
cot in a corner, placed on six chairs: two
on this side, two on the other, one each
at head and foot. There is a small table in
the opposite corner, with an embroidered
centerpiece and, in its middle, a small
flower pot. There is a light walnut
wardrobe with four knockers and inside,
neatly aligned, jars with cherries in
brandy, clusters of dried figs, the guitar,
mouse traps.
“Ho dovuto farci qualche lavoretto, come
vedono”
dice Meschi indicando il soffitto ricucito,
qua e la’, tra i tegoli vecchi, con tegoli
nuovi. Sospira. Poi:
“La mia vita?” dice “ce n’ho tanta, qui
dentro, ammonticchiata alla rinfusa, che
e’ difficile trovare il punto di partenza. Ci
penseranno loro a rimetterla in ordine”.
As you can see, “I had to make some
small repairs”
says Meschi, pointing to a ceiling patched
here and there, replacing old tiles with
new. He sighs. Then:
“My life” he says “there is so much of it,
jumbled up in this place, that it is
difficult to find a starting point. I leave to
you to sort it out.”
15
Italo Meschi’s Early Life
Farsi una
strada
Suo padre faceva
il sarto, sua
madre la
stiratrice. Lui
aveva 14 anni e
gia’ sentiva che
le sue idee
prendevano una
strada ben
diversa dal
binario sul quale
camminavano i
normalissimi
discorsi, e i
semplici
insegnamenti di
casa sua.
Paving a road
His father was a
tailor and his
mother a
presser. He was
14 years old and
already felt that
his ideas were
taking quite a
different path
from the track
on which
traveled the
most normal
discussions and
simple teachings
of his household.
Italo’s Parents: Innocenzo Meschi and Filomena Bianchi
[From an early age he was lively quick- to-learn child, according to his brother Mario]
16
Italo Meschi’s Brothers and Sister
Fabio
*Erina left Lucca for California.
She was also politically controversial in Lucca
Erina*
Mario
Marianna’s photo is missing.
17
Nella prima adolescenza, fra tante
conoscenze, in particolare Tolstoi
cambio’ il suo carattere divenendo
riflessivo e pacifista convinto: in lui
si plasmo’ un animo dolce e
affettuoso, oltre l’affetto profondo
per mamma: si interesso’ anche
delle nonne e appena comincio’ a
guadagnare, le aiuto’
finanziariamente.
In his early adolescence, Tolstoy’s works
were among Italo’s many influences. In
particular, they changed his character by
rendering him thoughtful and a staunch
pacifist. He developed a sweet and
affectionate disposition with a profound
love for his mother. He also looked after his
grandmothers, and as soon as he began to
earn a living, he helped them financially.
[from his brother Mario]
[Mario Meschi]
He was clearly enamored of the guitar,
purchasing his first instrument at the age of
14. The price was 11 lire, “one of which he
earned at the rate of one half-penny a night
carrying sacks of flour for a corn merchant,”
the remaining cost being paid by Italo’s
uncle.
Marjory M. Fisher
The News Radio Editor
18
Gli dissero: “Bisognera’ che tu impari un
mestiere”. E lui non disse di no. Lo misero
in un negozio di ottico. E lui,
onestamente, cerco’ di fare il suo meglio.
His parents told him: “ You must learn
a trade” and he didn’t object. They
placed him in a lens maker shop; he
honestly tried to do his best.
Ma piu’ il tempo passava, e piu’ il suo
cervello si disinteressava delle lenti e dei
cannocchiali, e camminava per conto
proprio. Un giorno che si provo’ a
riassumere, se non altro per renderli
chiari a se stesso, i suoi concetti di vita,
senti nascersi sulle labbra, guardingo e
timoroso, questo discorso:
But the more time went by, the less
interested his mind became in lenses
and telescopes; eventually he went
his own way. One day, when he tried
to summarize his concepts of life (if
nothing else but to make them clear
to himself), he felt growing on his lips
this cautious and timorous discourse:
“L’esistenza degli uomini deve’essere il piu’
possibile vicina alla natura, quindi alla
terra. Gli esseri viventi che davvero
meritano d’esser presi a modello, sono gli
animali. Gli animali hanno, istintivo, il
senso della gratitudine”.
“The existence of Man must be as
close as possible to Nature, therefore
to the Earth. Animals are living things
that really deserve to be taken as
examples. Animals have an instinctive
sense of gratitude.”
19
Tirate queste prime incerte somme, le
sue idee presero nuova forza. Sempre
piu’ ando’ cullandosi nel sogno d’una
vita estranea ai mille obblighi
dell’esistenza pratica, comunemente
intesa: dal mestiere,
Ai vestiti che suo padre cuciva e sua
madre stirava.
In casa Meschi venne a delinearsi
questa singolare realta’: a babbo sarto,
figliolo di tendenza nudista. Infatti, fu
quello il primo concreto traguardo verso
cui si mosse. Un nudismo, pero’, inteso
nel senso piu’ pulito dell’espressione.
Un nudismo che si riallacciava al
concetto iniziale della vita legata alla
terra; naturalismo, dunque: bandiera
della salute.
Having summed up these first uncertain
conclusions, his ideas took new strength.
More and more often, he found himself
lulled by the dream of a life detached
from the thousand duties of everyday
practical existence, as commonly
understood: from his job, from the
clothes his father sewed and his mother
ironed.
In the Meschi household, this
fundamental reality took shape: to a
tailor-father, a son with a nudist
tendency. In fact, that was the first
concrete goal toward which he headed.
Nudism meant, however, in the purest
sense of expression. A nudism
unbreakably linked to the original
concept of life tied to the earth;
naturalism, therefore – the symbol of
health.
20
Non era facile, no, raccontar tutto questo
a un babbo sarto e a una mamma
stiratrice. Italo non ci provo’ nemmeno.
Solo, manifesto’ il desiderio di lasciare il
negozio dell’ottico per tentare una strada
diversa. Eccolo, infatti impiegato in una
societa’ elettrica; e, piu’ tardi, agente del
dazio.
It was not easy, by any means, to explain
all this to a tailor father and a mother
who pressed clothes for a living. Italo did
not even try. He demonstrated his desire
to leave the lens shop, to try to find a
different path. Eventually we find him
employed by a power company, and later,
working as a customs agent.
E’ di quel periodo una sua
importantissima decisione che solo a
prima vista puo’ apparire di natura
puramente estetica.: la barba.
One of his most important decisions goes
back to that time period - a decision that
at first glance might appear merely
aesthetic: his beard.
La gran barba … appare sul suo volto e
nella sua vita verso i ventidue o ventitre’
anni, giusto all’epoca dell’impiego nel
dazio. All’agente Meschi dettero l’incarico
di aprire le porte della citta’, dopo la
mezzanotte, ai nottambuli lucchesi.
The great beard. . . appears on his face
and in his life around the age of twentytwo or twenty-three, right at the time
when he found employment with the
local fiscal authority. Agent Meschi was
assigned the task of opening the city
gates, after midnight, to let the city’s
night owls in.
21
Customs Agent Meschi recalls:
“Quando servivo come
impiegato al dazio, tutte
le mattine, allo sporto
della gabella mi portava
un gavettino con
minestra, fagioli caldi,
meta’ di quel pane e una
boccetta d'olio.
“When I was serving as an
employee at Customs [circa
1910], every morning at
the checkpoint my mother
brought me a mess tin of
soup, warm beans, half a
loaf of bread and a small
bottle of olive oil.
Ma chi le dava il grano
per la farina, i fagioli e
chi spremeva le olive
perch'io potessi condire?
But who was giving her the
wheat for the flour, and
the beans, and who was
pressing the olives so that I
could season the food?
Conoscevo tanti buoni
contadini e quest'uomo,
nella sua incoscienza, li
vessava, li perseguitava.
E loro continuavano a
fornire fagioli a mia
madre.“
Porta San Donato, one of Lucca’s Gates
and Customs checkpoint.
Painting by Alfredo Meschi, 1931
From “ La Provincia di Lucca”
I knew so many good
peasants and this man
here, in his
thoughtlessness, extorted
them, harassed them. And
they kept supplying beans
to my mother.”
22
Italo Meschi, circa 1907, at age
twenty, before the great beard
appeared on his face.
Self-educated through assiduous
reading, he was able to choose and
mix with higher cultural circles, thus
broadening his knowledge. Open
minded and quick to learn - in his
life he mastered English and French.
[from his brother Mario]
“Self-education”? My grandmother,
Assunta Meschi, once asked Italo the
favor of lecturing her son, Aldo, who
was not showing much interest in
school. Italo did take my father
aside, saying “I don’t blame you. . . .
the things they teach in schools these
days.”
Riccardo Sarti
23
Una chitarra!
Gravosissimo, pero’ quell’incarico. Fini
per rinunciarvi. E riapprodo’ alla riva
familiare. Lascio’ le chiavi e si provo’ a
maneggiar le forbici aiutando suo padre.
“Fissammo che avrei avuto, come
compenso, due soldi la settimana;
naturalmente quando mio padre
riscuoteva. Il fatto e’ che non riscuoteva
mai, come fin troppo chiaramente
dimostravano i nostri desinari e le nostre
cene”.
Bisognava cercare un’altra strada. Alle
elementari, Italo aveva studiato musica.
In modo particolare aveva studiato il canto.
A guitar!
However, the assignment, as a custom’s
agent, proved most burdensome. He ended
by giving it up, landing again on family
shores. He abandoned the “keys” of the City
for a pair of scissors, thus helping his tailordad.
“We had established that I would have
received a remuneration of two pennies per
week at the time when my father cashed in.
The fact was that he never cashed in, as it
was so clearly shown by our midday meals
and dinners”.
Out of necessity he had to find a different
path. In elementary school, Italo had studied
music. In particular, he had studied singing.
24
Dentro di se’ si era mantenuta viva la
speranza di potere, un giorno, girare il
mondo in compagnia d'una chitarra; Non
solo, ma era anche arrivato a studiare
alcune modifiche da apportare alla chitarra
normale, proprio quella da serenata
all'aperto o da osteria, per farne uno
strumento di ben altro aspetto e di ben
altre possibilita’ melodiche.
Ma non era ancora il momento giusto, lo
capiva da se’. Bisognava restare coi piedi a
terra. I sogni piu’ tardi. Uno, pero’ dei suoi
sogni, aveva la possibilita’ di realizzarlo.
Moriva dalla smania di vedere Firenze. Per
andare a Firenze sarebbe bastato potere
entrare nelle ferrovie. Si presento’ al
concorso e lo vinse.
Ed ecco Italo Meschi, ancora senza
chitarra ma sempre coi capelli sulle spalle e
la barba sul petto, a bordo della locomotiva
sulla Firenze-Pisa.
Italo had kept alive the hope of one day
touring the world accompanied by a guitar.
He had also started to study the art of
modifying the normal guitar (the type used
for open-air serenades or for country inns)
He wanted to transform it in an instrument
of an altogether different look and of
various melodic capabilities.
But the right moment had not yet arrived
and he knew it. One had to keep both feet
on the ground: dreams were for later. One
of his dreams, however, could be turned
into reality. He had an incredible desire to
see the city of Florence. Going to Florence
simply required joining the railways. He
showed up for the test and passed it.
And there was Italo Meschi onboard the
Florence-Pisa locomotive, still without a
guitar, but always with shoulder length hair
and a beard down to his chest.
25
The Florence-Pisa Locomotive, circa 1910.
Italo was hired as a brake operator.
Corner close-ups show a ticket collector
and a pretty passenger.
26
Cose d’America
Things of America
Passarono altri due anni. Due anni
durante i quali la sua voglia piu’ antica (il
desiderio di conoscere il mondo) divento
1'assillo d'ogni sua ora, d'ogni suo
minuto.
Nel 1913, il gran salto: 1'America.
A San Francisco, le prime delusioni. Fini
in tre giorni i tre soldi che aveva.
"Pazienza" disse. “Non sono venuto
qui a fare il signore. Lavorero“.
Two years went by. Two years during which
his oldest longing (the desire of knowing the
world) became an obsession every minute,
every hour.
In 1913, the great jump: to America!
In San Francisco came the first
disappointment: he spent the few dollars he
had in just three days. “Patience” he said. “I
did not come here to be a rich man. I will
work”.
While in California from 1913 to
1918, Italo:
Italo had joined the growing
Lucchese and Tuscan
community in California
“learned to read music at the San
Francisco Public Library, when he
was 26 old. But his ears had
recorded the songs of peasants of
his native Italy many years before”.
The San Francisco News.
The Library, in 2005 an Art Museum
27
S'accorse, soprattutto, che i suoi requisiti fisici
per fare l’operaio, gia’ molto relativi,
apparivano ancor meno apprezzabili proprio a
causa di quei suoi capelli e di quella barba
che, per il modo di ragionare americano,
davano scarso affidamento di buone braccia e
di modeste ambizioni.
Fu cosi che, qualche tempo dopo, arrivo’ a
Lucca, alla casa dove la madre di Italo, se ne
stava pensierosa pensiorosa, una busta
stranamente rigonfia e, piu’ stranamente che
mai, leggera. La brava donna guardo’ il timbro
postale, vide che veniva dall’America, e disse:
“Toh, mio figlio mi manda un cuscinetto
per gli spilli. Che matto!”
Apri la busta. Era piena di crine biondo
riccioluto. Suo figlio le mandava la propria
barba, perche’ almeno rimanesse in casa.
Dunque s’era tagliato la barba;
per poter campare.
He realized, above all, that his physical
prerequisites for becoming a construction
worker appeared even less desirable because
of his hair and beard. To the American way of
thinking, they did not inspire much
confidence in terms of strong arms and
average ambitions.
Some time later, a light and oddly swollen
envelope was delivered in Lucca to Italo’s
very worried mother. The good woman
glanced at the postmark, saw that it came
from America, and said:
“There, my son sends me a pincushion. How
crazy”!
She opened the envelope: It was full of curly
blond hair. Her son was sending back home
his own beard. Italo had shaved his beard off
so that he could make a living.
28
In America gli uomini con la barba (tira via con
barbette) se non sono signori possono morir di
fame. Tanto piu’ se si tratta di lavoratori non di
concetto, ma di fatica. Via la barba, lavoro
trovato.
In America, bearded men (with the exception of
short beards), would die from hunger unless they
were rich. Even more so with the case of
unskilled workers and laborers. Beard gone, job
found.
Anni duri. Tanto che, non appena gli fu
possibile, penso’ di tornarsene in Italia. Ormai
non era piu’ un giovincello, e riteneva che fosse
giunto il momento di dar libero sfogo alla sua
smania antica: suonare e cantare.
Hard years followed, so much so that as soon as it
became possible, he decided to return to Italy.
By this time, he was no longer a young lad, and he
decided that the moment had arrived to give vent
to his ancient craving: Playing music and singing.
Prima di tutto, percio’: comprarsi una chitarra.
Con una attivita’ libera come questa, avrebbe
potuto amare la terra finche’ voleva.
First of all priorities: Buying himself a guitar.
With a free-lance activity like that, he would have
the chance to love the earth as much as he liked.
Parti’ per New York. Stava per imbarcarsi
quando scoppio’, a bordo della nave, un quanto
mai intempestiva epidemia. La partenza fu
rimandata. Italo rimase a New York diciotto
giorni, fini tutti i quattrini, e quando il
piroscafo, che era il “Duca d’Aosta”, fu in grado
di salpare lui non era piu’ in grado di pagarsi il
biglietto.
He departed for New York. As he was about to
embark in New York, an unexpected epidemic
broke out onboard the ship. The departure was
delayed. Italo remained in New York for eighteen
days, running out of money. So when the
steamship, “Duca d’Aosta,” was ready to set sail,
he was no longer able to pay for his fare.
Si vide dinanzi lo spettro d’un altro lungo, e
quanto mai faticoso, soggiorno americano.
He saw ahead the specter of another long and
exhausting American stay.
29
Tanto valeva che quella
fatica l’affrontasse a bordo.
For what it was worth, he might as well have
faced that toil onboard the ship.
Chiese, ed ottenne, d’essere
imbarcato come operaio,
come fuochista. Lavoro’ dalla
mattina alla sera.
He asked for, and was able to
embark working as a stoker. He worked from
dusk until dawn.
L’ultima palata di carbone la
rovescio’ nella caldaia
quando gia’ la nave era in
vista di Genova.
His last shovelful of coal
was emptied in the boiler just
as the steamer was within sight of the port
of Genoa.
The “Duca d’Aosta” steamship
that returned Meschi to Italy in 1918
just after the First World War.
30
Quello che non t'aspetti
Mise piede a terra coi pochi soldi
guadagnati in quel modo e con una
bella raucedine regalatagli dalla
polvere di carbone respirata per tanti
giorni. Per un cantante, non era
quello che si dice un colpo di fortuna.
Ma Italo Meschi aveva, in quei giorni,
dentro di se, una tale risorsa di gioia
orgogliosa da poter fronteggiare ben
altro: la liberta di farsi ricrescere
chioma e barba. La raucedine,
com'era venuta sarebbe andata via.
Nell'attesa, si compro’ la chitarra, e se
la fece modificare a suo modo.
The unexpected
He set foot on land with what little
money he had earned as a stoker and
with a hoarseness, a gift from the coal
dust he breathed for many days. For
a singer, that was not what one would
call a stroke of luck.
But in those days, Italo Meschi had
within himself a pride and joy that
enabled him to face so much more:
the freedom to grow again a head of
hair and a beard. The hoarseness, as
it had come, would eventually go
away.
While waiting for the hair and beard
to grow back, he bought a guitar that
he had modified according to his
liking.
31
Apparitions
Sul finire della raucedine, zazzera e
barba ricominciarono a farsi degne
del loro nome. Ben presto, anzi,
superarono ogni aspettativa; e
diventarono preoccupanti.
With the hoarseness almost gone,
the mop of hair and the beard
became worthy of their name. Quite
soon, they surpassed every
expectation, becoming
overpowering.
Infatti, quegli onori del cranio e del
mento andarono assumendo un
aspetto che non e’ esagerato
definire sacrilego.
In fact, these head and chin
decorations, without exaggeration,
began to look sacrilegious.
Italo Meschi, ancora imbarazzato, ci
racconta delle innumerevoli volte
in cui, per particolari condizioni
ambientali (e, spesso, complici le
prime ombre della sera, o la nebbia
campestre), si trovo’ a dover
persuadere uomini e donne, non
sempre campagnoli, che, no, non
era un'apparizione di Nostro
Signore, ma era un semplice e
povero peccatore in came ed ossa.
Toward the Evening
From a painting by Alfredo Meschi
A still embarrassed Italo Meschi
recounted the innumerable times,
due to particular environmental
conditions such as shadows of the
evening or rural fog, that he found
himself persuading men and women
- not always country folks - that he
was not an apparition of our Lord,
but a poor and plain sinner in flesh
and bones.
32
…In un sobborgo di Londra, per
esempio; quando il pellegrino
lucchese, finalmente canoro e
armato di chitarra, ci torno’
subito dopo l’altra grande
guerra.
…In a London suburb, for example,
where the Lucchese pilgrim returned
immediately after World War I, he was
finally able to sing with his melodious
voice and armed with a guitar.
Many women were coming out of a
church. They saw him and fell on their
knees before him.
Molte donne uscivano da una
chiesa. Lo videro e gli si
gettarono in ginocchio davanti.
“Mi tenevano stretto alle
caviglie, volevano a tutti i costi
che le benedicessi, che avessi
pieta’ di loro. Piangevano e si
battevano il petto”.
“E lei?”
“Io? che potevo fare? Provai a
dire: Su, su, cosa vi prende?”
Ma quelle non m’intendevano.
Venne a liberarmi un poliziotto.”
Christ’s Sculpture
by
Umberto Meschi.
“ They held me tight by the ankles, they
wanted at all cost that I bless them, that
I would have mercy upon them. They
cried and pounded their chest”.
“And you?”
“And I? what could I have done? I tried
to say: Come on, come on, what ‘s
wrong?”
But they did not understand me. A
constable came to free me”.
33
Un musicista
di Guglielmo Lera
43° 53’ 49.01’’ North 10° 28’ 50.73” East
Google Earth
A Musician
by Guglielmo Lera
Tools to work the earth,
seeds and some torn
plastic sheets.
Scratches on my hands;
in Liliana’s hands a small
tuft of violets.
Attrezzi per lavorare la
terra, sarmenti e
qualche straccio di
plastica. Dei graffi sulle
mie mani;
in quelle di Liliana un
ciuffetto di viole.
Facing the sun, between
the house and the olive
trees, there was a piece
of America.
A petto di sole, tra la
casa e gli olivi, c'era un
lembo di America.
After twenty years, “his”
house at La Cappella
had turned into a
“country cottage” and
the fruits of distant
California were now an
undergrowth of twisted
branches.
Dopo ventanni la "sua"
casa della Cappella e’
tornata un "tirasotto" e
i frutti della lontana
California sono uno
sterpeto di rami
contorti.
Italo’s abandoned farmhouse in the Tuscan countryside,
north of Lucca, in January 2007.
34
Vallebuia in 1948 - Painting by Alfredo Meschi. Italo’s farmhouse is on the mountain to the right.
35
"Questa la portai con me da Los Angeles. Quella
viene da San Francisco...".
“I brought this back from Los Angeles. The
other one comes from San Francisco…”.
Com'erano dolci le sue marmellate!
How sweet were his marmalades!
"A voi un vasetto. Per ricordo di me.“
“A jar for you to remember me”.
Un ritorno affogato nel silenzio. Le "sue" piante
tutte scomparse. A significare il passato solo tralci
secchi in una foresta di pruni.
A return drowned in silence. “His” plants all
gone. Evoking the past : only dry shoots in
a forest of thorns.
"Le biciclette appoggiatele all'olivo, ora non
posso muovermi.“
“Rest the bicycles against the olive tree, I
cannot move from here now”.
Le galline gli beccavano a turno il granturco nella
mano, ingannando l’attesa con qualche colpo
d'ugnolo nel fresco terreno.
The hens were taking their turn at pecking
the corn from his hand, pretending not to
wait for their turn by occasionally digging
their toes in the fresh soil.
"Accomodatevi nel 'tirasotto', ma prima pulitevi
bene le scarpe.“
“Make yourselves at home in the ‘cottage’,
but before coming in wipe your shoes well.
36
Un limone porgeva frutti alla finestra che dava
sopra l’ingresso.
In the window over the entrance door, a lemon tree
hung heavy bearing its fruit.
"Se volete stare piu comodi, le ciabatte sono
dietro la porta.“
“ If you wish to make yourselves more comfortable,
the slippers are behind the door.”
Ci trovammo all’interno senza volerlo. Una
panca con spalliera di legno presso il camino.
Due panchette di castagno rozze e scomode, un
tavolo con zampe di leone e piano rientrante,
quattro belle sedie di gusto neoclassico.
Nell’angolo un paravento di seta orientale con
dietro la dispensa. In terra un tappeto che
abbracciava tutta la stanza.
E l’invito basto’ per sentirci liberi.
"Non sono solo, l’avete visto, ma ospitarvi e’ una
festa. La frase era di mia madre, una donna alta,
bionda, bella. Nelle sue mani il lievito
s'inorgogliva fino a dare dei pani profumati e
stupendi”.
We found ourselves inside without even realizing it.
A bench with a wooden headboard near the
fireplace. Two small benches of chestnut wood,
rough and uncomfortable. A table with lion feet
and a folding top. Four beautiful chairs of a
neoclassic style. In the corner, an oriental silk
screening behind the pantry. On the floor, a carpet
that hugged the entire room.
And the invitation was enough for us to feel at ease.
“Not only that, “ hosting you is a festive occasion
for me”. As my mother used to say; a tall, blonde,
beautiful woman. In her hands, bread yeast rose
with pride, producing fragrant and wonderful
breads.”
37
Liliana could not figure
out the odd décor of
the room, but what
most surprised her the
most was how pomp
and humility could find
harmony in a country
cottage.
Liliana non capiva lo
strano arredamento
della stanza, ma
soprattutto era
sorpresa di come
sfarzo e umilta’
potessero trovare
armonia in una
rimessa di campagna.
“What a beautiful
carpet: Have you had
it for long?”
Bello questo tappeto:
e’ molto che lo
possiede?" “
“From before I came
down from the sky.”
Da prima che
scendessi dal cielo.“
Liliana resto’ muta. Lui
sorrise. Fece con le
due palme la mossa di
carezzare
l'impalpabile.
"Dal cielo della citta,
dove le rondini
passano come fili di
seta...“
The Interior of Italo’s cottage in January 2007
Liliana stood
speechless. He smiled.
With his two palms, he
made the motion of
caressing the
impalpable.
“From the sky of the
city, where swallows fly
by like silk threads…”
38
Italo Meschi era alto, aveva
barba fluente ed occhi
azzurri. Le mani color
dell'avorio, il naso aquilino e
una capigliatura che gli
indorava le spalle.
Molti, per un superficiale
gioco di affinita’ fisiche, lo
chiamavano Cristo.
Ma chi avesse considerato
l’umilta nel vestire, la nobilta’
del portamento, l'amore per
le creature, le genuinita’ dei
sentimenti si sarebbe forse
stupito dell'esatta
collocazione di quel nome.
Italo Meschi was tall with a
flowing beard and blue eyes. His
hands, ivory color, an aquiline
nose, and a head of hair gilding
his shoulders.
Many, because of a superficial
physical resemblance to Jesus,
had nicknamed him the Christ.
But whoever took into
consideration the humility of his
clothes, the nobility of his
bearing, the love for living
beings, the sincerety of his
feelings, would have perhaps
been astonished by the exact
match of that name.
39
From a Painting by Alfredo Meschi
… in him they saw someone
who flew from tower to tower.
Passava alto e leggero per le vie cittadine,
coi piedi nei sandali, i pantaloni e la giacca
da lui stesso ideati, la borsa di stoffa a
tracolla come un pellegrino antico.
Camminava svelto e i grigi pantaloni attillati
parevano sollevarlo in altezza.
Per i ragazzi era un essere misterioso,
affascinante, un qualcosa di irraggiungibile.
Talvolta lo seguivano fino alla torre, dove
abitava in compagnia d'uno strumento col
quale, la notte, invitava a cantare gli angeli.
Ma se lui si voltava loro fuggivano. E si
domandavano i ragazzi da dove passava per
salire lassu’, su di una torre senza porte e
finestre, e com'erano quelle scale. E se di
nuovo lo incontravano, lo vedevano come
uno che volava di torre in torre.
He would walk by tall and slender through city
streets, wearing sandals, self-designed pants
and jacket, and a fabric shoulder-bag as an
ancient pilgrim. He had a quick pace and his
tight gray pants made him seem even taller.
For young people, he appeared as a mysterious,
fascinating being, something unattainable. At
times they would follow him to the tower, where
he lived in the company of an instrument with
which at night he invited angels to sing.
But if Meschi turned around, the teens ran
away. And they would ask themselves how he
could reach the top of a tower without doors
and windows, and what the stairs would look
like. And if they ran into him again, in him they
saw someone who flew from tower to tower.
40
“….Da dove le rondini passano come fili di
seta e dove i fulmini battono senza
pieta’».
“….From where the swallows pass by like silk
threads and where bolts of lightning strike
mercilessly”.
Realta’ e fantasia si erano divisi il potere in misura
uguale ed armoniosa di fronte a quell'uomo.
Reality and fantasy lived side-by-side in harmony
when children ran into this man.
I ragazzi dietro le porte attendevano che passasse. I
piu’ coraggiosi misuravano con lui le sue orme per
vedergli di profilo il volto e i riccioli.
Boys and girls behind doors waited for him to go by.
The most daring kept up with his pace to catch a
profile of his face and curls.
Sulla torre compariva ad ore impensate. A lungo si
piegava in ascolto tra i geranei che pendevano nel
vuoto.
On the tower he would appear unexpectedly. For
a long while, he would bend over listening among
the geraniums that hung in the air.
Quando lui spariva la torre tomava grigia e
riacquistava leggerezza solo al mattino, al primo
scampanio d'una vicina cappella.
When he disappeared, the tower returned to a
grey color. Only in the morning, at the first pealing
of bells from a nearby chapel, the tower
would reacquire its lightness.
41
La citta’ raccontava
che a mezzanotte si
gettasse talvolta nel
fiume per un bagno
nell'acqua gelata.
The city recounted that
at times at midnight he
would jump into the
river for a dip in the icy
waters.
Cosa che non
stupisce in uno che
donava ai tetti la
magia dei fiori ed ai
ragazzi l'immagine
del cavaliere
fantastico.
Not surprisingly, coming
from someone who
would bestow to the
roofs the spell of
flowers and to the boys
and girls the image of
an imaginary knight.
The Serchio river near Lucca
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
42
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
«... Di lassu’ si vedono l'alba e il tramonto,
puri, senza ostacoli. Lassu’ ho vissuto per
anni e qui ho terminato la mia storia: un
suono di campana che fugge e muore sotto
la sua bocca di bronzo”.
“…From up there one can see sunrise and
sunset, pure, without obstacles. Up there
I have lived for years and here ends my
story: a bell sound that escapes and dies
43
under its bronze mouth”.
Italo narrates his life story in the 20’s.
“Storia
di uno strimpellatore
di chitarra che fini a giro nel
mondo, fin nelle corti, per
esservi ascoltato e
fotografato. San Rossore,
Bruxelles, Londra: l’applauso
dei re. Omaggio alla musica
dei Grandi per la quale le mie
dita si erano fatte magre.
“The story of a guitar player who
ended up touring the world, all
the way to the Royal Courts
where he was heard and
photographed. San Rossore*,
Brussels, London*: The applause
of the King and Queen. An
homage to the music of the
Great composers for which my
fingers had shriveled.
•San Rossore – Concert at the summer home of the King of Italy
* London – Concert at the Royal Court
44
Il chitarrista Italo Meschi Il Nuovo Giornale” April 25th, 1923
ci dette ancora prova della
sua mirabile
interpretazione di musica,
delle
diverse scuole, passate
soavemente dalle sue
magiche mani sulle corde
armoniose della chitarra
che
ci sa rendere tutte le note
d'un'arpa delicata e di un
L’Esare, Pisa 26 aprile 1923
violino pizzicato a somma
valentia.
Nelle piccole Malinconie del
Sor, nella Rapsodia del
Navone, nell’Aria di Scarlatti
e nella serenata del
Castagni, il Meschi fu
addirittura insuperabile per
il profondo sentimento che
metteva nelle sue
esecuzioni....
One of Meschi’s Harp guitars
built in 1911 by
Bruno Mattei
The guitarist Italo Meschi
once again gave us proof of
his admirable
interpretation of music
from various schools,
gently played with his
magic hands on the
harmonious strings of the
guitar that renders all the
notes of a delicate harp or
of a violin pizzicato of the
highest quality.
In the petite melancholy
by Sor, in Navone’s
Rhapsodie, in Scarlatti’s
aria, and in Castagni’s
serenade, Meschi was
absolutely unsurpassable
for the profound
sentiment that he
conveyed in his
45
performances….
On the strings of his
guitar, sole and constant
companion on his
travels, sing the songs of
Life: today’s songs that
experience taught him
and those of past
centuries that he has reevoked with the
sensitivity of the soul.
They are sung by the
strings of the instrument
and modulated by the
penetrating and
persuasive voice of the
singer.
Sulle corde della sua
chitarra, compagna
sola e costante dei suoi
viaggi, cantano canzoni
della vita: quelle di
oggi che l’esperienza
gli ha insegnate, e
quelle dei secoli
passati ch’egli ha
rievocato con la
sensibilita’ dell’anima.
Le cantano le corde
dello strumento e le
modula la voce del
cantore penetrante e
suasiva.
“Il Mondo”, Roma, 5 Marzo
1926
To Italo Meschi rhapsodist and minstrel ,
the Corbello Club members are grateful,
after his concert at the Marcello Theater
on March 1 , 1925.
“Il Mondo” Daily, Rome, 5
March 1926
46
Italo Meschi in his prime
Sulle corde della sua chitarra,
compagna sola e costante dei suoi
viaggi, cantano canzoni della vita…
On the strings of his guitar, sole and
constant companion on his travels,
sing the songs of Life…
“Il Mondo” Daily, Rome, 5 March
1926
47
Il Secolo, Milano
“ Italo Meschi’s guitar renders an almost
"La chitarra di Italo Meschi da’ un
new sound that recalls the sweetness
suono quasi nuovo che ricorda la
of a violin and, at times, the softness of
dolcezza del violino ed, a volte, la
the harp.”
soavita’ dell'arpa".
“Paris Nice” January 30th, 1926
M. Italo Meschi, que le public du Lyceum a
Monsieur Italo Meschi, warmly applauded
applaudi si chaleuresement il y a quatre ans a
by the audience of the Lyceum four years
retrouve’ son succes d'alors, en interpretant
ago, repeated his success by interpreting, on
sur son instrument considereblement
his notably improved instrument, his own
perfectionne, un Nocturne et une Rapsodie
Nocturne and a Rhapsody. He also sang a
de sa composition. Il chanta egalement une
Berceuse by Bonacorsi and, in Italian,
Berceuse de Bonacorsi, et en Italien, le
Manon’s “Reve.” Monsieur Italo Meschi, as
"Reve", de Manon. M. Italo Meschi a,
we previously mentioned, has refined his
comme nous le disons plus haut,
instrument, which he calls mando-lyre and
perfectionne’ son instrument, qu'il nomme
that in reality is a hybrid of sitar, lyre, guitar,
une mando-lyre, et qui, en realite’, est un
and mandolin. This artist, who has never
compose de cythare, de lyre, de guitare et de
taken a single music lesson, proved once
mandoline. Cet artiste, qui n'a jamais fait
again how harmony is innate to the Italian
une seule etude musicale, a prouve, une fois
temperament. He was deservingly
de plus, combien l'harmonie etait chose
applauded.
innee’ dans le temperament italien. Il fut
tres justement applaudi.
48
1926
“Then Paris: Logic and rational
thought under a downpour of
colors. Truths aimed directly at
the heart. I was born a second
time in Paris when I became
acquainted with Les Halles”.
“Quindi Parigi. La logica e il
raziocinio sotto un diluvio di
colori. Verita’ che mirano
dirette al cuore. Nacqui per la
seconda volta a Parigi quando
conobbi Les Halles”.
49
Hallesism in Italo Meschi’s Words
“Trucco, L’economista, mi fu
padrino. Dalla semplice
osservazione di come si regolano
quei mercati, aveva scoperto il
modo di strappare di mano ai
potenti l'arma che rende schiavi.
Aveva ridotto l’economia a un puro
esercizio di scambi, eliminando
monete e barriere”.
“Trucco, the economist was my
godfather. From the simple
observation on how markets are
regulated, Trucco had discovered a
way to wrest from the hands of the
powerful the weapon that enslaves the
rest. He had reduced economics to a
pure exchange exercise, eliminating
currencies and barriers”.
[Italo] an innovator also in economics, followed a socio-economic project
named “Hallesism”…. Based on mathematical postulates, Hallesism called
for a new system to regulate international trade in a more equitable and
efficient manner for the entire world community. With some friends, he
founded an entity called “The Fiduciaria” (Trust Company) advocating it
among many fans around the world. The Fiduciaria was responsible for the
construction of the Carmine Market in Lucca. [ His brother Mario].
50
Hallesism in Italo Meschi’s Words
Bastava dare ad ogni oggetto il
suo valore, ed attraverso le
"halles", che sostituivano a tutti
gli effetti il danaro, fare gli
acquisti.
Con pochi centesimi si puo spedire
una lettera molto lontano, per
convenzione internazionale.
Ebbene: il principio e’ lo stesso,
purche’ ognuno accetti la
creazione come bene comune e
consideri di tutte le cose create, a
partire dal momento in cui si
rende percepibile...»
Le ultime parole le disse in piedi,
come un profeta.
Just give each item its value and
through the “Halles” make
purchases. “The Halles” - that for all
purposes would replace money.
With a few pennies, one can
forward a letter very far, through
international agreement.
Well, the principle is the same as
long as everyone accepts production
as a common good and
acknowledges all things produced,
from the moment they become
available….”
The last words he said standing up
like a prophet.
51
In his 1928 book “The Fear to Enrich” Agostino Trucco foretold:
“Without a great happening capable of creating a new economic and financial order, fatally
and at the latest in 1938-39, the greatest world war, presently in gestation, will break out.”
We Hallesists
acknowledge that:
operators residing in all
geographical areas, the
problem, in practice , is
solved by improving such
contracts or by inventing
new ones.
The economic problem
of job security and
highest remuneration
can be solved by
improving and
integrating the system
for the circulation of
wealth and its symbols.
But because wealth and
its symbols circulate
through the stipulation
of exchange contracts
entered among
Opposed by both capitalists
and socialists,
he was confined by the Fascists
in a mental institution.
He died in 1940.
The aim is to facilitate
certain buying, selling and
investment operations,
that otherwise, cannot be
carried out in today’s
environment. Though this
one avoids that social
dysfunction referred to in
very generic terms as:
“Crisis”.
52
La Verita’ Economica/The Economic Truth
The [solution] lies in the establishment of a
“contractual” entity operating in the same
environment where international trade takes place…..
An autonomous body that, though lacking any
powers, retains like any other contracting party, only
the right to refuse the fulfillment of its obligations
toward a defaulting contracting party.
The operational autonomy of the new body, gave
Agostino Trucco the idea of the separation of
“Economics and State” , effectively highlighting the
difference between his and any other economic
doctrine.
…[Trucco’s] idea calls also for appropriate reforms to
ensure salary justice….in contrast with those in favor
of brute free market forces…[and in contrast with the
Socialists] by making it impossible for the State to
enact such reforms through the exercise of “power”.
53
The Essence of Hallesism
from an interview of Hallesist Giorgio Di Domenico,
La Verita’ Economica 16 Sept. 1953.
The failure of classical economics brought about the “government control” that today rules the
world; known in its highest manifestation as Bolshevism. It has also spawned accusations aimed
at capitalism, the economic system considered the standard of selfishness of the owner class;
the alleged exploiter of the proletariat.
Human self-interest cannot be repressed, let alone suppressed by force. If one cannot deny that
self-interest is the source of great evils, neither can one deny that it is the source of every
knowledge and achievement. Accordingly, one should not try to fight self-interest, but channel
and guide it toward the attainment of the maximum common good.
The first and real cause behind our plight lies in the disorganization of the market layout. As a
result of the disarray, the immense potential for production cannot find an outlet. Products do
not reach consumers residing in the less developed parts of the world. These potential
consumers cannot afford imported products due to the inability to sell their own products.
54
Masses living in the world’s
more backward regions are
unable to obtain the
currencies required for
purchasing their basic
needs. Nor can they sell, in
the form of investment
titles, future production
goods. This is because
investors fear the serious
risks inherent to production
abroad.
The cause of economic
disarray lies in the chaotic
capital formation process .
In one region, marvelous
productive potential
languishes for lack of
financing, while elsewhere
savings lie almost idle.
One region runs into poverty
for lack of production, while
the other for a surplus of
production.
If this is the case, the remedy
is most simple:
Economics, being the science
of exchange, should set up
exchanges in a manner that
all goods produced may be
sold.
And if currently-produced
goods can be sold, so can
future-produced goods,
represented by the symbols
of capital. The key is to make
future production sellable in
the right quantity so as to
maintain an equilibrium
between demand and
supply of products and labor.
Accordingly, a new symbol of
capital must be placed into
circulation, with assurance
and liquidity guarantees for
overcoming savers’ fears and
reluctance .
A new symbol of capital is
needed that guarantees the
placement of goods theoretically unlimited and
practically limited - in
accordance with the
principles of economic
equilibrium.
This capital symbol known as
“Cartella Hallesint” is the
invention of Agostino Trucco.
55
Having described Hallesism….
…. he invited us to
climb up some
disjointed, but regal
stairway.
Poi ci invito’ a salire
per una scala
sconnessa, ma
regale nel suo
morbido
rivestimento.
We came out from
a sort of trapdoor in
his bedroom.
Da una specie di
botola sbucammo
nella camera da
letto.
Giu’ penombre,
chiazze d’umido
sulle pareti,
incrostazioni di
fumo sui travi.
Below, semidarkness,
moldy walls, and
smoke stains on the
cross beams.
The “beams” undergoing renovation
In January 2007. Photo by R. Sarti
56
Sopra il sole,
che penetrava
da mezzogiorno
e da ponente
per tre finestre
da cui si
abbracciava la
valle.
Above, the sun
penetrating
from the south
and the west
through three
windows that
overlooked the
valley.
January 19th , 2007 - The Valley’s view from Italo’s bedroom.
57
«Un mare di
olivi per una
capanna...»
“A sea of olive
trees around a
hut…”
«Un sogno...»
“A dream…”
«... Per una
capanna in cui
abita un uomo
gia’ molto
ricco».
“…Around a
hut where an
already very
rich man lives”.
Cosi dicendo
sfioro’ su di una
piccola mensola
gli unici libri di
quella stanza: il
Vangelo e il
Trattato
sull'Hallesismo
di Trucco.
January 19, 2007
From “La Provincia di Lucca”, Apr.-Jun. 1973, Year XIII Pages 100-106
While saying
this, he slightly
touched on
top of a small
shelf, the only
books in that
room: the
“Gospel” and
Trucco’s
“Treatise on
Hallesism”.
58
Italo continues his story on his second stay in America from the late 20’s to 1937
“Da Parigi giungendo in America, mi ero convinto che “From Paris arriving in America, I had realized that
bisognava lottare con l’esempio e la parola per il
bene comune. E siccome io creavo solo della musica e
viveva nella citta’ moltissima gente a cui era
impedito di partecipare ai beni della creazione, dal
giorno che sbarcai a New York feci concerti per nulla.
one had to struggle with words and deeds for the
common good. And because I created only music and
in the city lived many people to whom the goods of
creation were denied, from the day I set foot ashore
in New York I gave free concerts.
Un’obolo l’accettavo, per il pane. Ma i biglietti
d’ingresso furono banditi dai teatri dove mi
presentai. A porte spalancate, senza balzelli, ai
privilegiati venne finalmente tolto il potere. Minatori,
politici, scienziati, mafiosi, negri e donnette.
An offer I would accept, for buying bread. But
entrance tickets were banished from the theaters
where I showed up. Open doors, with no charges;
power had finally been taken away from the
privileged. Miners, politicians, scientists, mafiosi,
negroes and ordinary women.
Tutti a sentire uno strimpellatore di chitarra. Senza
applausi, perche’ la volgarita’ delle mani mai
dovrebbe turbare lo spirito dei Grandi. Uno
strimpellatore che arrivava di notte e ripartiva la
mattina all’alba, per un’altra citta’, per un altro
Stato.
E di Stato in Stato mi portai dietro la disperazione
degli affamati, degli sbandati, di chi voleva tornare a
casa e non aveva piu’ soldi. Facevo ormai piu’ comizi
che concerti quand’ebbi l’ordine di estradizione. La
notizia mi colse a San Francisco”.
Every one to listen to a guitar player. Without
applause, because the vulgarity of the hands should
never perturb the spirit of the Great composers. A
guitar player who arrived at night and departed
again at sunrise, for another city, for another State.
And from State to State, I carried along the despair
of the hungry, of the drifters, of those who wished to
return home and had run out of money. By then, I
was holding more rallies than concerts, when I
received the extradition order. The notice of
59
extradition found me in San Francisco”.
Under “Classical guitar” in Wikipedia
History of early (pre 1945) guitar recordings
There exists a recording of Italo Meschi from 1929[31].
In this period Italo made some
recordings that I was never able to
obtain , notwithstanding persistent
requests made by my sister and
some relatives, who lived in San
Francisco. ……Italo also played the
character of Nicodemus in a movie
filmed in Lucca. entitled “Il Volto
Santo” or “The Holy Face”.
His brother Mario Meschi
60
The San Francisco Chronicle
January 11, 1937
61
Italo Meschi with his niece Lidia
and nephew Al, in Berkeley
California in 1937. Lidia passed
away in 2008 in her 90’s. Her
brother Al lives in Bend, Oregon.
“I was only seven or nine years old
when Italo visited us in Berkeley.
What I do recall is his extraordinary
appearance and his beautiful
instrument, which appeared to me to
be very large.
I remember his playing sounding
very lovely and Bach like. I have no
recollection of hearing him sing.
I think he was with us for only a few
days.
My parents said that there were some
recordings of Italo's at the Sherman
and Clay Company in San Francisco.
We were never able to access them”.
Al Braccini
July 2009 62
From one of Lidia’s last letters to her
brother Al, before she passed away in 2008,
in her 90’s.
….I knew [Uncle] Italo quite well when I
was in Italy in 1938. We used to go on walks
together. I was up in his tower several
times. 100 steps up from the street. He was
a very friendly and sociable person. When he was
troubadoring thru the Italian and Swiss Alps he
used to send me cards, very picturesque.
I have almost a dozen of them.
Unfortunately I only heard his music a few times
(harp-guitar). It was very subtle and melodious.
When he visited Berkeley on Derby St., I played a
piece on the piano for him. He even sent me some
medication for my stomach problems. He was very
health conscious. He was a handsome and
intelligent person.
One of a kind!
63
Italo in Berkeley, California in 1937.
64
“ I sing best standing up”.
He worked in the fields, in California
orchards….But he has since sung and
played his way from Lucca to Paris,
London, Geneva, New York and San
Francisco. Italian folk music and Italian
classics, music by Mozart, Schubert,
Wagner and Alvarez.
He has arranged for his guitar an
especially built instrument with four
extra strings, the whole mounted on a
wooden stand so as to give extra tone to
the instrument and permit the player to
stand while he sings his own
accompaniments.
For, says, Mr. Meschi, “ I sing best
standing up”.
“The San Francisco News”,
Monday, January 4, 1937
65
Today, after an absence of 23 years, Italo Meschi has
returned to San Francisco as a wandering minstrel with an
especially built guitar to play and sing in the Scottish Rite
Auditorium next Sunday evening.
A friend in Italy had written me of meeting and hearing
Italo Meschi, whom he praised in glowing terms and
described as having a beard which outbeards the best ever
seen in Oberammergau.
It is true that his hirsute adornment is startling, and
Mr. Meschi admits (in fact, almost boasts), that it has
complicated the problem of passports and visas and
entangled him in the red-tape of custom and immigration
officialdom and caused him to be subjected to all manner
of indignities. But he does not choose to part with it.
Apparently Mr. Meschi has artistic attributes quite as
impressive as his appearance. Gaetano Merola heard him
and stated in writing:
“I enjoyed immensely Mr. Meschi’s playing and
Conductor and Founder
of the
San Francisco Opera
singing. His interpretation of the Italian classics of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries was a
revelation to me.”
The San Francisco News, January 4, 1937
66
PROGRAM
Unknown 1300
Laude alla Vergine
Falconieri 1500
Villanella O bellissimi
capelli
Caccini 1500 Madrigale “Amarilli”
Pergolesi 1700 Siciliana (Nina)
Pergolesi
Arietta “Se tu m’ami”
Alvarez
La Partida
Falconieri
“Begl’occhi lucenti”
Sor
Preludes
Bach 1600
Preghiera
Mozart
Minuetto (Originally for
Violin and Cembalo)
Schubert
Navone
Wagner
Unknown
Tarrega
Serenade
Rhapsody
Tannhauser “Evening Star”
Jota
Tango
Music arranged for Guitar by Italo Meschi
67
“Le tolsi a San
Francisco dalla
"sua" chitarra,
ridotta in bricioli da
alcuni teppisti il
giorno che, dopo
l’ ultimo concerto,
fu costretto a
lasciare l’ America”.
In San Francisco, “ I
removed the strings
from “his” guitar. It
had been torn up to
pieces by some thugs,
the day when, after
his last concert, he
was forced to leave
America”.
The Scottish Rite Hall at the corner of Sutter and
Vanness Streets in S. Francisco in 2005.
A fellow Tuscan immigrant
Close-up of one
of Italo’s guitars
in 2007
68
Quotes by Carlo Ragghianti, author and art
historian and friend of Italo’s first cousin,
Alfredo Meschi, the painter.
The Fascist power structure set up and
headed by outsiders…..and other political
gangsters of the time, had taken over Lucca,
at first in its defense, and then hand in glove
with the city’s financial and political
elite,….turning away the opposition.
A dark….[political] climate prevailed; at times
tragic, such as when Porciani, a peasant from
Ponte a Moriano, was murdered…and the
beating “crusades” ordered by [political
secretary] Scorza and usually carried out by
the so-called “Giannotti gang”, of which I was
twice a victim, in 1924 and 1926.
Carlo Ragghianti in my studio, 1928
Painting by Alfredo Meschi.
69
AND TO ESCAPE HARRASSMENT
…Long walks… at times in the sluggish and sunny
afternoon hours, leading to meeting spots among
the poplar groves, evenly spread out along the
river, on this side of the embankments. As time
went by, these walks became part of “ meeting
guidelines” for those that Fascism had
marginalized.
It was because of his [Italo Meschi’s] evocations of
freedom of life in Switzerland and Paris that the
passionate desire to see those countries
awakened in me…..and at Place de La Concorde,
I was left breathless realizing that the entire city
of Lucca could fit in the esplanade between the
Square and Les Tuileries.
Carlo Ragghianti
I remember Arturo Daniele, symbolist and
divisionist painter, and along with his friends, a
passionate supporter of Hallesism.
I recall the best known Lucchese anarchist,
Ferruccio Arrighi,…. and others who, out in the
open air, in the autumnal softness of the Serchio
river banks, sought an escape from the attentive,
almost repressive, watch exercised by the local
government on behalf of the ruling [Fascist] party.
Even [Alfredo] Meschi was ostracized and…. found
refuge in places between earth and sky….in the
countryside.
Over Lucca, there laid a sepulchral veil under
which Alfredo Meschi and I ….found ourselves.
Poplars on the River Serchio
Painting by Alfredo Meschi, 1931
70
It was during the years of Fascism It is told, that in the summer
evenings the sound of mandolins would spread, audible for
kilometers. A hefty group of musicians traveled all along Lucca’s
valley playing opera arias and popular songs…gathering lots of
people. These were the musicians of the “Unione Mandolinistica
Lucchese”, founded in 1922 by a Silvio Meschi.
Umberto Meschi,
Italo’s first cousin, sculptor
and amateur musician.
…It became a prominent orchestra…mandolins, mandolas, guitars,
double-bass, harps etc.
The musicians were amateurs….but they were fancy amateurs, so
much that at times an exceptional guitarist would join them; a
guitarist admired (it seems) even by Segovia. It was Italo Meschi,
also known as “Lucca’s Christ” for his flowing beard and long hair.
From “Mandolini Scomparsi”
Trasciatti Editore
71
MESCHI VS. FASCISM
LOCAL FASCIST GROUP
“Mirio Ferrari”
NATIONAL FASCIST PARTY
FEDERATION OF THE FASCIST COMBATTANTS
LUCCA
Porta Elisa, Lucca, January 22, XVIII
The continuous as much as futile summons, urge me to
Appeal to that sense of duty, of fascist discipline and
civil education, that each patriotic Italian should possess, urging
to hold under different consideration the summons received
from this Local Fascist Group.
You are, therefore, once again, summoned to appear on Jan. 24, 1940 2-2, 1940 from 18
hours to 19 hours, or at least provide
a plausible justification.
The Trustee
72
Alberto Baccili
Count Galeazzo Ciano,
Foreign Minister and
Mussolini’s son in law.
The story goes that Galeazzo Ciano, following one of Italo’s concerts came up to congratulate him for the
great performance. When Ciano noticed the extra six strings of the harp guitar, he began showing off his
great sense of humor in the presence of ladies. He asked Italo whether in addition to his hands, he also used
his feet to handle all those strings. Feeling insulted, Italo snapped: “Toh…tiro fuori il ----- e partiamo
subito!”. There… I will pull out my ---- and we can take off immediately!”.
On another occasion - my grandmother Assunta recounted - high ranking fascist officials arrived twenty
minutes late at his concert. As they entered the concert hall, Italo got up and left.
And finally, he showed a cool demeanor when cornered by four thugs ready to “teach” him a lesson: “I am
ready to take you one at a time, but don’t you think it’s unfair, four against one? Something clicked ,and
they let him go.
Riccardo Sarti
73
Some contacts with foes were inevitable in an environment rather poor of intellectuals.
In periods of truce there were some exchanges with exponents of the Fascist cultural establishment.
Carlo Ragghianti
Italo Meschi
74
Ci stava dinanzi un uomo che
aveva barba e capelli lunghi e un
vestito assai diverse dal nostro.
In front of us stood a man with a long
beard and hair, and clothes that were
quite different from ours.
Mi venne da pensare se "Cristo"
era un appellativo dovuto all'abito
che si era imposto, o al fatto di aver
rinunziato per convinzione a quello
che portiamo.
There came into my mind whether
“Christ” was a name attributed to his
self-imposed clothes or whether it was
due to the fact that he had renounced,
wearing normal clothes because of his
beliefs.
E quando, sulla soglia di casa,
accenno’ a certe olive "preferite",
in quella sua lingua che non si
privava di accogliere Ie esperienze
di lontani paesi e della parlata d'un
tempo, trovai forse la soluzione del
mistero.
Meschi respingeva concetti e
convinzioni che lui sapeva
contingenti, per non rinunciare
all'universale, all'etemo, alla
speranza, al misterioso sapore delle
cose.
Istituto Luce
Perhaps, I had found the key to the
mystery, when on the threshold of his
house he mentioned certain “favorite”
olives. He used words that embraced
experiences in far away countries and
the parlance of past eras.
Meschi rejected concepts and beliefs
that he knew were subjective, in order
not to renounce to the Universal, to the
eternal, to hope, to the mysterious
savor of things.
75
76
Fu a questo punto che mi
torno’ scolpita in ogni dettaglio
la figura del Meschi, conosciuta
quand'ero ragazzo.
Mio padre gli aveva organizzato
un concerto e il teatro
l'attendeva con Ie sue luci.
Ceno’ da noi. Mia madre aveva
preparato Ie braciole fritte.
Accetto una tazza di latte, pane
arrostito e burro; poi, un cesto
d'insalata e un'arancia. Bevve
solamente acqua.
Da quella sera la parola
"vegetariano" ebbe per me il
volto dell'uomo che non
mangia carni per amore degli
animali e che rifiuta il vino per
aver lucida la mente nel cercare
Ie melodie di una tastiera che
sembra la scala del paradiso.
It was at this point that the
Meschi I had know in my teenage
years, returned in my mind,
engraved in every detail.
My father had organized a concert
and a lit theater was waiting for
his performance.
He had dinner with us.
My mother had prepared chops.
He accepted a cup of milk, toasted
bread and butter; later some
salad and an orange. He drank
only water.
From that evening the word
“vegetarian” for me took the face
of a man who does not eat meat
for the love of animals. A man
who turns down wine to keep a
clear mind for searching melodies
in a keyboard that resembles the
ladder to Heaven.
77
Guglielmo Lera
«Ed ora mettetevi qui, seduti
con me sull'erba, che voglio
raccontarvi delle storie...».
“And now, come here, sit down with
me on the grass, that I have some
stories to tell you…”
Una fetta di pane, un piatto con
dell'olio, sale, basilico e aceto.
A slice of bread, a dish with some olive oil,
salt, basil and vinegar.
«... Mangiare, ragazzi. Per me il
fiasco della sorgente; per voi anche
un goccio di vino. Mangiate e
levatevi la sete, ragazzi...».
“….Eat, guys. For me the flask with spring
water; for you even a drop of wine. Eat and
relieve your thirst, boys and girls….”.
Ci stava trattando come Ie galline e
i colombi. E noi buoni, felici, con la
bocca affondata nel pane e il naso
nella fragranza dell'olio.
«Ditemi se non e grazia di Dio...»,
He was treating us like hens and pigeons.
And there we were, good and happy, with
our mouths sunk in the bread and the nose
in the midst of the olive oil’s fragrance.
“ Tell me if this is not God’s grace….”,
e intanto ci serviva con un
cucchiaio qualche goccia sul pane;
and in the meanwhile with a spoon he
poured for us some olive oil drops on the
bread.
«Ditemi se possiamo permetterci di
fame cadere nemmeno una stilla.
“…. Tell me if we can allow ourselves to let
78
even one drop fall to waste.”
“Ma nel settembre del
quarantaquattro gli uomini
impazzirono...
Verso quest'ora arrivano due in
divisa militare.
“But in September 1944
men went crazy…
Around this time of the day two men in
military uniform showed up in this exact
place.
"Tu afere olio... noi requisire...".
"Ne ho una mezza damigianina
per me. L'altro tutto
all'ammasso".
"Tu dare olio".
"Ne ho solo mezza damigianina".
"Tu dare olio, o noi kaputt tu e
casa".
Li portai dietro il paravento
dov'ho sempre tenuto la dispensa.
Si aspettavano di trovare anche
del vino e non sapevano ch'ero
astemio. In due sollevarono la
damigianina come un fuscello.
Feci la mossa del capo come per
dire: “Avete Visto?
“You have olive oil….we confiscate…”
“I have a half small demijohn for myself.
The other is all in stockpile”
“You give oil”
“I have only one small demijohn”.
“You give oil, or we kaput you and
house”.
From a painting by Alfredo Meschi
I led them behind the screening, where I
always kept my pantry. They were
expecting to find also some wine, unaware
that I was abstemious. Both soldiers
lifted the demijohn as they were lifting a
feather. I nodded my head as if to say:
79
“See?”
La posarono. Poi uno la riprese con
arroganza, ma a due passi dalla porta
inciampo’ nel tappeto. La damigiana
sbatte sulla soglia e s'incrino. Comincio’ a
versare.
"Fermi, fermi" gridai, "non la toccate. Si
puo recuperare quasi tutto".
E li a darmi da fare con pentole e imbuti.
Ma quelli, visto che con la loro bestialita’
non potevano competere, se la ripresero
con la damigiana fessa e la
frantumarono"».
Era divenuto paonazzo. Nervoso il
sobbalzare dei riccioli. II volto ferino. Gli
occhi di fiamma.
They placed the demijohn down. Then
one of them lifted it up again with
arrogance, but two steps from the door he
tripped on the rug. The demijohn knocked
against the doorstep and cracked. The oil
began to spill.
“Stop, stop” I yelled “Don’t touch it. We
can salvage almost all of it”.
And there I was, busy with pots and
funnels. But the soldiers, realizing that
with their brutality they could not
compete, again turned their anger on the
cracked demijohn , shattering it”.
In recounting the story Meschi had turned
purple: Tense, hair curled up, enraged,
flaming eyes.
80
«E non e’ finita» aggiunse.
“And that was not over”, he added.
«Passarono due giorni tranquilli. Un settembre fitto di
trasparenze, che rendevano carnose le foglie e
luminosi i tronchi... In un poggio dietro casa avevo
due solchi di fagioli, maturati quell'anno alla
perfezione. Ne sentivo la fragranza solo a guardarli.
Piu’ frutti che foglie; e i chicchi ridevano, candidi
dentini in giovani bocche.
“Two quiet days went by. A September
full of transparencies, that made the leaves appear
fleshy and the tree trunks bright.. In a hillock behind
the house, my two rows of beans had ripened to
perfection that year. I could smell their fragrance,
just by looking at them. More fruits than leaves; and
the beans smiled: Snow-white teeth in young mouths.
Mentre li mangiavo con gli occhi –di olio non ne avevo While I was eating them with my eyes – my oil was
gone – two guys who were not German arrived.
piu- arrivano due che non erano tedeschi.
“What are you doing little man?”
"Che fate quell’ omino?"
“I’m staring at my beans”.
"Guardo i miei fagioli“.
"Miei non si deve piu dire: la proprieta’ e’ un furto!“ “My must no longer be said: Property is a theft!”
Quello che risposi non e’ riferibile.
Domineddio mi perdoni.
My reply to them is unmentionable.
May the Lord God forgive me.
Quand'ebbi preso la forca vidi pero’ che ritrovarono As I grabbed the pitchfork, I saw that they had
nelle loro gambe d'italiani bastardi Caporetto e l’otto rediscovered, in their bastard Italian legs , Caporetto*
settembre".
and the 8th of September*.
*Caporetto:
*September 8, 1943:
Hasty Italian retreat in World War I.81
Italian World War II surrender.
Nel piatto della panzanella non c’era piu’ olio.
In the bread salad dish there was no more oil.
“Mangiate ragazzi, che il discorso non e’ finito…”
“Eat kids, that my story is not over yet…”
E cosi dicendo verso da un ampolla un
lunghissimo filo d’oro su nuove fette di pane.
And so saying he poured from a cruet the longest
golden thread of olive oil on new bread slices.
«Quella sera, come non bastasse, spunta sotto
casa anche un giovanottone tutto barba, occhi e
paura. Lo intravidi mentre fingeva di non aver
notato alcuni fichi un po' sciupacchiati, posti da
me a seccare”.
Meschi aveva grano, fagioli, uova, pesche, noci
funghi e del sale. II Vangelo e i libri di Trucco. Una
sorgente per togliersi la sete, e la chitarra.
II ragazzo stava li’, dove siete ora voi, con il
desiderio di due fichi per meta’ mangiati dalle
vespe e la paura di chiederli, come fosse stato un
delitto. Abbozzo’ anche un gesto di scusa. Lo
invitai ad entrare, ma non si mosse. Voleva
parlare, aveva fame: ma preferiva scusarsi e
ripartire
“That evening, as if it were not enough, an all bearded ,
wide eyed, scared, tall young man showed up. I caught
a glimpse of him while he pretended not having noticed
some rather spoilt figs, that I had laid down to dry up”.
Meschi had wheat, beans, eggs, peaches, walnuts,
mushrooms and some salt; the Gospel and Trucco’s
book; a spring to relieve his thirst and the guitar.
“The young man was standing in your exact spot,
craving two figs half eaten by wasps and fearful to ask
for them, as if asking were a crime. He even made an
apologetic gesture. I invited him inside, but he stood
there motionless. He wanted to talk, he was hungry, but
kept apologizing and trying to leave.
82
Gli sfiorai con una mano la
barba, assai piu giovane e
fresca della mia.
«Vedi? sono anch'io come
te» gli dissi. «Aspettami
qui».
Entrai in casa e ritornai con
del pane.
Ne tagliai una fetta e notai
nei suoi occhi l’affascinante
scoperta che il coltello serve
anche per tagliare il pane.
Non ricordo se lo porto’
prima alla bocca o al petto.
Ebbi pero’ impressione che
lo baciasse”.
I lightly touched his beard,
a younger and fresher
beard than mine.
“See? I ‘m also like you”,
I told him.
“Wait for me here”.
I went inside and returned
with some bread.
Cutting a slice, I noticed in
his eyes the fascinating
discovery that the knife
also serves to slice bread.
I don’t remember whether
he brought the bread first
to his mouth or to his chest.
But I was left with the
impression that he had
83
kissed it”.
Wartime Story: Flames rain down…..
“Gli olivi improwisano trame e la notte “The olive trees improvise plots and the night
wraps itself around them. The sky is damaskvi si avvolge. II cielo e’ un damasco;
rose colored; The stars rocky crystals.
Le stelle cristalli di rocca.
Le orditure dei rami d'improvviso si
spezzano e la notte si sveglia.
Piovono fiamme. Globi di fuoco
rispondono a comete incandescenti.
Poi tutto cessa.
Suddenly , tree branches split
and the night awakens.
Flames rain down. Fireballs counter
incandescent comets.
Then everything ceases.
S'e arreso chi nel teatro dell’ universo
aveva tentato di offuscare le stelle e di
sfiorarle coi suoi pallini di morte.
Whoever, in the theater of the universe, had
attempted to obscure the stars and graze
them with the projectiles of death has
surrendered.
La notte ridiscende tra le braccia degli
olivi e i cristalli tornano a brillare”.
The night falls again among the arms of the
olive trees and the crystals return to shine
again”.
84
Dal lato sentimentale, ebbe
pochissime avventure, s’innamoro’ di
una ragazza di Petrognano con un
fidanzamento lungo, ma senza
conclusioni.
Ammirato e desiderato da tante belle
donne, ma immerso nella sua
atmosfera musicale, le apprezzo’ ben
poco.
In quel tempo era molto bello, alto,
slanciato, elegante per natura con
capelli biondo oro e zazzera, vestito
come in seguito furono gli hippies, ma
sempre pulito e ordinato.
From the romantic side, he had very few
relationships. He fell in love with a girl from
the town of Petrognano with a long but
inconclusive engagement.
Admired and coveted by many beautiful
women, yet always absorbed in his musical
environment, he appreciated them
precious little.
In those days he was very handsome: Tall,
slender, naturally elegant with a golden
blond mop of hair, dressed as later were
the hippies, but always clean and neat.
Mario Meschi
[his brother]
85
Italo’s note to Carla - 24 August 1943
Come’era bello il cielo! Un azzurro delicato con nubi bianche svolazzanti verso le cime dell’Appennino e le
creste delle Panie. Tu andavi a casa carica di pacchi ed un po’ stanca e melancolica della vita che ti pesava
e della solitudine. Quante cose volevo dirti!... Ma, quando ti son vicino, dimentico tutto, ti guardo e ti
sento che mi fa tanto bene. Oh com’e’ dolce esserti vicino sotto il bel cielo azzurro!
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
How beautiful was the sky! A delicate blue with white clouds fluttering toward the summits of the
Apennines and the ridges of the Panie. You were heading home loaded with packages, a little tired and
sad of life weighing on you and of the loneliness. How many things I wanted to tell you!...But when I’m
next to you, I forget everything, I watch and listen to you, and that does me so good. Oh how sweet is
86
being next to you under the blue sky!
“Iddio mi ha dato una moglie di legno…/God has given me a wooden wife….”
“E’ la prima volta che ti scrivo una
lettera. Prima di tutto scusa questi
miei scritti e perdonami se
approfitto della tua bonta’.
“It is the first time that I’m writing you
a letter. First of all, excuse me for
these writings of mine, and forgive me
if I take advantage of your goodness.
Voglio sperare che tu sarai
pienamente felice e soddisfatta nei
tuoi desideri; e per questo lo
scrivo di cuore perche’ ho la
fortuna di non essere troppo
egoista, eppoi ho sempre detto
che, Iddio mi ha dato una moglie
di legno, la mia chitarra.
I would like to hope that you will be
entirely happy and satisfied in your
desires; and I’m writing this with my all
my heart because fortunately I am not
too selfish, and then I have always
said, that God has given me a wooden
wife: my guitar.
Later on, you will tell the difference
between the character of an artist and
that of a soldier. After I got to know
you, my art and my lonely little house
had filled themselves with a great,
sweet hope.
T’accorgerai della differenza in
seguito tra il carattere d’un artista
e quello di un soldato. Dopo la tua
conoscenza, l’arte mia e la mia
casetta solitaria s’erano riempite
d’una grande, dolce speranza.
Page 1 of 3
87
Now everything is empty, worn out,
desperate. Yesterday I held out rather
well at the news, but once I arrived at this
little house that you know, I was unable to
control myself and I cried and sobbed for
many hours…
Adesso, tutto vuoto, accasciato
disperato. Ieri resistetti assai
bene alla tua notizia, ma giunto in
questa casetta che tu conosci, non
mi sono potuto trattenere ed ho
pianto e singhiozzato per tante
ore…
Then, towards the evening, I wrote the
following half poem that I bathed in tears.
Poi, verso sera, ho scritto quella
mezza poesia qui unita che ho
bagnato di lagrime.
So sweet is your smile
and so gentle your look
that I would stay in front of you
on my knees.
E’ cosi dolce il tuo sorriso
e tanto soave la tua espressione
che starei davanti a te
inginocchione.
And then my old mother came over to
greet me and she cried over my grief”.
E’ venuta poi la mia vecchia
mamma a salutarmi ed ha pianto
del mio dolore”.
Page 2 of 3
88
Forse, anco tu, Carla avrai provato
davanti a me quell’impressione d’essere
davanti a Gesu’. Io non sono Gesu’,
quantunque ci sia chi l’ha creduto;
riconosco Gesu’ un grandissimo
Maestro, e cerco d’applicare a tutti gli
atti della mia vita i suoi meravigliosi
insegnamenti, e grazie a Dio, ho potuto
in parte viver da Cristiano.
Perhaps, you too, Carla, may have had
that impression of being in front of Jesus,
I am not Jesus although there were some
who have believed it. I recognize in
Jesus one of the greatest of teachers and
I try to follow his marvelous teachings in
my life, and I thank God for having been
able to a certain extent to live as a
Christian.
A parte l’aspetto mio singolare, io sono
un povero artista che aveva conosciuto
in te, o Carla, la donna che appagava in
pieno tutti i desideri dell’anima mia che
mai sono soddisfatti. Carla pieta! Io non
sono un giovane che posso consolarmi
nel tempo futuro, neppure un libertino
in cerca di piacere. Sono un uomo
perduto. Anni, poverta’, solitudine,
erano nulla per me; adesso mi straziano
il cuore. Carla! Perdonami; non posso
fare a meno di scriverlo: non
m’abbandonare. No! e’ meglio morire, si
soffre una volta sola.
Notwithstanding my peculiar
appearance, I am a poor artist who had
found in you, Carla, the woman who
fulfilled all my soul’s desires… desires
that are never satisfied. Carla have
mercy! I’m no longer a youth who can
find comfort in the future, nor a libertine
in search of pleasure. I’m a lost man.
Growing old, poverty, solitude, were
nothing to me; now they tear my heart
apart. Carla! Forgive me; I cannot help
but write this: Do not abandon me. No! it
is better to die, for one suffers once.
Page 3 of 3
89
La cassa armonica della sua chitarra
era un'ala dalle piume vivaci che si
snodava come voluta di acanto da un
vaso orientale. Sei corde correvano
sulla tastiera, sei fuori.
The body of his guitar was a wing with
lively feathers that loosened itself like a
spiral of acanthus flowers in an oriental
vase. Six strings ran from the guitar board,
six on the outside.
Prima di suonare deponeva un panno
sulle ginocchia, poi con la barba si
accostava allo strumento. Le note
uscivano da un controllato gioco di
dita che rispondeva ad un calcolo
esatto. La loro vivacita’ segnava il
guizzo bizzarro dell’ingegno;
L’intensita’ il battito del cuore.
Before beginning to play he placed a cloth
on his knees, than with his beard he drew
close to the instrument. The notes came out
from a controlled finger play that responded
to a precise count. Their liveliness marked
the bizarre stroke of imagination; their
intensity the beating of the heart.
Quanto suono’: quella sera? Mozart,
Bach, Palestrina, Chuman, Catalani: un
mare che dilago’ e dissolse le barriere
del sensibile. Infine una melodia che,
sul filo di poche note, da ninna-nanna
si trasformo’ in struggente colloquio.
Lo vedemmo estraniarsi con i suoi piu
lontani ricordi. Poi le mani non
ressero e la chitarra ammutoli’. E la
figura della madre, da lui dolcemente
evocata, scomparendo gli lascio’ negli
occhi il segno di due lacrime.
Istituto Luce
How much did he play that evening! Mozart,
Bach, Palestrina, Shuman, Catalani: a sea of
music that spilled over, dissolving the
barriers of the perceptible. And at the end: A
melody, that on the thread of a few notes,
from a lullaby morphed into a yearning
dialogue.
We saw him estrange himself in his most
distant memories. Then his hands did not
hold out and the guitar fell into silence. And
the figure of his mother, by him gently
evoked, in disappearing, it left in his eyes
90
the sign of two tears.
….Si compro’ la chitarra,
e se la fece modificare a
suo modo: strumento ,
vedi voce unico al
mondo. E che voce!
E che anima!
Ha girato il mondo e
continua a girarlo.
E‘stato altre due volte in
America, in Francia, in
Spagna, in Austria, in
Germania.
Ora si limita a girare
l’Italia. Quattro mesi fa
era a Napoli, tre mesi fa
a Roma, il mese scorso in
Alto Adige. Arriva in un
posto cerca un albergo,
si siede, imbraccia la
chitarra, suona e canta.
….He bought a guitar and
had it modified in his own
way: An instrument, that
is to say, a voice unique to
the world. And what a
voice! And what a soul!
He toured the world and
continues to tour it. He
has been two more times
in America, and in France,
Spain, Austria and
Germany.
Now he limits himself to
touring Italy. Four months
ago he was in Naples,
three months ago in
Rome, and last month in
Alto Adige (N.E. Alps). He
arrives in a location, looks
for a hotel, sits down,
embraces the guitar, plays
and sings.
91
All'offensiva della musica
moderna, ormai infiltratasi
dappertutto, Italo Meschi
continua ad opporre
un'accanita e valida
resistenza.
Meschi attacks modern music, by
now infiltrated everywhere. He
continues to put up a fierce and
valiant resistance against it.
When he is done playing, he takes
what they give him. He is proud
for never having asked anything
from anyone.
Quando ha finito, prende
quel che gli danno. Si vanta di
non aver mai chiesto nulla a
nessuno.
Ecco perche ha vissuto e vive
felice, lassu, in cima a quegli
ottantasei scalini
trecenteschi; che, certo,
cominciano ad essere molti...
Ma, per ora, va. E domani e‘
un altro giomo.
Istituto Luce
II Cronista Errante
"II Mattino dell'Italia Centrale",
Venerdi 26 settembre 1951
That is why he has lived and lives
happily, up there, on top of the
13th century stairway of the San
Gervasio Tower. Surely, the 86
steps are becoming too many to
climb for the aging Meschi, but
for now that is the way it is, and
tomorrow will be another day.
92
Relations between Church and Meschi
People recounted that one day italo had gone
into a grove near a convent and had begun to
play his guitar in the sweet solitude of the
evening.
A novice attracted by those celestial harmonies
began to follow them and when she ran into
him, she almost fell in a swoon, convinced that
she was witnessing a miraculous apparition.
“Oh Jesus” she exclaimed lifting her eyes
toward heaven. But Italo, who did not like being
disturbed in those moments of sublime
communication, sprung up, stared at her with a
severe frown and curtly mumbled:
“Jesus yes, but…”
and added one of those epithets that the young
nun may still be crossing herself to this day.
A Translation of Marco Pedonesi’s account.
My grandmother recalled Italo’s
irreverence when two guards showed
up at his doorstep on top of the Saint
Gervasio’s tower.
He had just been accused by the nuns
from the convent below of obscene
behavior in public; actually for
sunbathing naked on the rooftop, in the
middle of winter, by the way!
Infuriated Meschi asked the guards to
tell those [expletive deleted] to cast
their eyes downward in prayer, instead
of lusting by peeping upward at a naked
man.
Riccardo Sarti
93
The War over
and here
we find
Italo Meschi
in
Saint Peter’s Square
in
August 1948
at age 61.
94
Per Girolamo Savonarola
For Girolamo Savonarola*
Caro Fratello,
Dear Brother:
A leggere il racconto del tuo martirio ho
pianto per il tuo immenso dolore, per l’infame
ingiustizia e ho pure amaramente pianto
sull’umana stoltezza di uomini della citta’ piu’
civile dell’epoca.
On reading the story of your martyrdom,
I cried for your immense pain, for
the infamous injustice, and I cried
bitterly at the human stupidity shown by the
men of the most civilized city* of that historical
period.
Perdonami se io, povero musico ignorante, ho
voluto rivestire di note le tue parole quando ti
tolsero le vesti; son tanto accorato, tristissimo.
Bastano queste poche parole per
intendere il tuo profondo senso religioso.
Perdonami fratello in Cristo,
ed abbi pieta’ di me.
Forgive me, if I, a poor ignorant musician, has
wanted to dress up with musical notes your last
words when they removed your garments; I’m
heartbroken for you, so sad. Just a few words to
understand your deep religious fervor. Forgive me
brother in Christ, and have mercy upon me.
Lucca, 21 March 1953
Vescovo: “Io ti separo dalla
Chiesa militante e trionfante”.
Savonarola: “Solo dalla
militante, l'altro non sta a te”.
Bishop : "I separate you from the
Church militant and triumphant!“
Savonarola "From the Church
militant, yes, but from the Church
triumphant, no, that is not yours to do.“
* Tortured and burned at the
stake by the Inquisition in 95
Florence in 1498.
Gli anni passarono ed Italo Meschi,
incalzato dall’ anemia e dal bisogno
di avere una casa calda ed asciutta,
fece ritorno in citta’.
The years went by and Italo Meschi
affected by anemia and by the need of
finding a warm and dry place,
returned to the city.
I medici gli ordinarono di mangiare
carne: «Quando potevo l’ho
rifiutata» diceva; e di bere vino,
«Come faccio? Mi brucia la gola».
The doctors had ordered him to eat
meat: “Any time I could, I would turn
it down” he said; and drinking wine,
“How can I? It burns my throat”.
Aveva perso l’antica energia e non
poteva piu’ reggere alla fatica di
suonare.
He has lost the old energy and could
no longer keep up with playing music.
During the warm season, the friar who
rode his bicycle down the road to
attend the first morning mass at the
nunnery, would run into Italo when
everyone else was still asleep.
II frate che scendeva in bicicletta
per la prima messa dalle suore,
nella buona stagione lo incontrava
quando ancora tutti dormivano.
“ What kind of day are we going to
have today?”
“ A good one”, replied Meschi.
“Are you certain”?
“This is my wish”.
«Che giorno avremo oggi»?
«Buono», rispondeva Meschi.
«Ne siete sicuro»?
«Questo e’ il mio augurio».
E il frate, ogni volta che lo
incontrava, portava all’altare quel
viatico di serenita’.
From a painting by Alfredo Meschi.
And the friar, each time they met, took
to the altar that viaticum of serenity.
96
But aside from that, he was a
normal man, who wore a long
beard and hair and a different
attire than those that other
people wear, perhaps because he
could not afford buying new
clothes.
Per il resto era un uomo
normale, che si limitava a
portare barba e capelli lunghi e
un vestito diverso da quello degli
altri, forse perche’ non poteva
comprarne uno nuovo.
Per curarsi la malattia gli
avevano ordinato una casa in
collina, davanti al mare. Mesi e
mesi prego’ gli amici di aiutarlo:
gli bastava un "tirasotto" come
alla Cappella, od anche una
capanna. Cosi’ credeva e sentiva
che sarebbe rinato.
A un certo momento cercare la
capanna della salute fu da molti
interpretato come un pretesto
per attaccare discorso.
Italo Meschi
in his last years.
To cure his illness, doctors had
recommended a house in the hill
country by the sea. For months,
Meschi had asked for some help
from friends. All he needed was
a cabin like the one he had at La
Cappella ,or even a hut. So he
thought, and felt that there he
would be reborn.
At a certain point, looking for the
“hut of health” was by many
interpreted as his pretext to
engage in a conversation. 97
Italo in his mid-sixties in the early 50’s in his favorite place, the olive grove.
Visiting Italian-American Angelina (Angie) Battistini is pictured next to Meschi.
98
Ormai lo trovavi nei caffe,
specie nella stagione
fredda, seduto vicino allo
sporto a guardare i
passanti. Non beveva,
parlava.
«Credevo che la gente
fosse perfida»
By now you found him
in coffee bars, particularly in
the cold season……
e si carezzava la barba;
«che non avesse cuore e ti
facesse morire come un
cane in mezzo alla strada.
Ti da invece un letto,
bistecche dal macellaio,
scatole di pasta e
quant'altro vuoi, senza
bisogno di chiedere.
E se pretendi un indirizzo
per ringraziare ti senti
rispondere: non c'e
bisogno, e’ la
Provvidenza...»
Sorrideva...
By now you found him in
coffee bars, especially during
the cold season, seated near
the entrance staring at
passerby's. He did not drink,
he talked.
“I was under the impression
that people were
treacherous”
and he stroked his beard;
Paiinting by Alfredo Meschi
“that people would not have
a heart and that they would
let you die like a dog in the
middle of a street. Instead,
they give you a bed, steaks
from the butcher, boxes of
pasta and what ever you like,
without need to ask for help.
And if you insist for an
address where to send a
thank you note, you get this
reply: “ Don’t bother, it is a
gift from Divine Providence.”
99
He kept smiling…
This letter to my dearest friend Alfredo Andreini, medical
attendant who with so much love took care of my illness.
Likewise, may he implement my last will expressed on this
single sheet.
Italo Meschi
100
Lucca, the 19th of March 1953
I’m bedridden and cannot leave the house, Notary
E. Micheloni is late and I will like to state my
last will as follows:
I name executor of my will Mr. Alfredo Andreini ,
medical attendant resident of Lucca at Piazza San
Francesco . I leave him three watches (one being an
antique watch) the rings of the Fiduciaria di Lucca
(value at over 20,000 * liras) , all the certificates
pertaining to my membership in the Fondazione
Universale Hallesint left to me by A. M Trucco, any
currency that may be found in my home, Mr. Andreini
will pay on my behalf 14,000 liras to Professor
Virgilio Luciani , residing at Vicolo del Pescatore 6 P
4 Lucca.
I also leave Mr. Andreini all my personal and
household linen and all my clothes.
I leave to the brotherhood of Saint Vincent of the
Parish Santa Maria Forisportam a most beautiful
blanket handmade by my mother, and two large
unused tablecloths, with a heartfelt thank you for the
help given me.
I also leave Mr. Andreini all the documents proving
my innocence during my perjury trial.
* $ 32 in 1953
I leave Mrs. Giorgia Bandoni of the Cappella all my
belongings, that on September 1950 I left in storage
at La Cappella in the cellar of Amerigo Panzanelli,
tenant farmer of A. Giurlani; that is the following:
Firewood, 4 wooden floors, a glass door, a window,
two small windows, a door, and all the agricultural
tools and all knick knacks not worth mentioning.
I thank Lucca’s City Hall for the free of charge
Medications , and I leave it all my furniture with
the small Library, the little poems that I wrote,
15 small compositions for song and Guitar, all
my musical transcriptions, a G. Guadagnini guitar,
one by Mattei and a Mozzani asking the Town Hall
to safe keep them, and all the Music that belongs to
me with the eventual copyrights that may derive
from publishing, performances, etc.
To my sister Marianna Meschi Bedini the mirror,
should it be sold.
To my father and brothers, I renew my Forgiveness,
yet to be accepted, although granted many years
ago. Anyhow, should they insist in being offended
and harmed by me, then I’m the one who asks them
for Forgiveness with the hope that it will be sincerely
granted to me.
___________________________________
Faithfully and I believe in full mental lucidity.
102
Italo Meschi
Una mattina che andavo a Firenze lo vedo
giungere all’auto con un biglietto.
One morning, on my way to Florence I saw
him come up to my car with a piece of
paper.
Ci era scritto: “ Domanda se sono in
vendita e a che prezzo le Corde per
Chitarra Marca Pisastro Etichetta Gialla,
e se e’ possibile trovare corde per
chitarra fabbricate di Naylon o meglio di
Orlov”.
It read: ” Ask if they are still sold and at
what price, guitar strings of the Pisastro
Yellow Label brand and, if it is possible, find
guitar strings made of Naylon or better of
Orlov”.
“Meschi riprende a suonare?”
E lui come avesse capito, giu’ nella strada,
sotto l'auto, a farmi cenni di saluto e a
ringraziarmi.
Come puo’ con quelle mani divenute un
soffio di vento?
Gli dissi di si, che avrei proweduto.
E lui a sorridere, a ringraziarmi.
“Meschi takes up music again?”, I thought.
And Meschi, as if he had just read my mind,
from down the road kept waving and
nodding in appreciation.
How can he take up music again with those
ghostly hands?
I told him yes, that I would have taken care
of it . And he kept smiling and thanking me.
103
«Corde per chitarra marca Pisastro...»
«Esaurite anche le ultime scorte. Provi in un'altra
citta’...»
«Corde per chitarra marca...»
«Per chi cerca queste corde?»
«Per un musicista di Lucca...»
«Italo Meschi...»
«Come fa a saperlo?»
«E’ il piu grande suonatore di chitarra vivente,
capace di commuovere sovrani e rivenditori di
frutta...»
«... Senza mai chiedere un centesimo».
«Vorrebbe averla, lei, la sua ricchezza?», e cosi
dicendo lo strano rivenditore di oggetti musicali
mi rivolse un sorriso.
“Strings for guitar Pisastro brand…”
“Ran out of stock. Try another town…”
“Strings for guitar Pisastro…”
“Who is looking for these strings?
“ A musician from Lucca…”
“Italo Meschi….”
“How do you know?”
“He is the greatest living guitarist, capable of evoking
emotions in kings as well as in fruit vendors…”
“…Without ever asking for a penny”. I added
“ Would you be so lucky to have his wealth? And so
saying the strange vendor of musical articles smiled at
me.
«Quella di artista o di rivoluzionario?»
«Di uomo...»
«Di uomo ormai ridotto a un larva...»
“The wealth of an artist or that of a revolutionary?”
I asked.
“Of a man…” the vendor answered.
“Of a man who is a former shadow of himself…” I
replied.
Fui di una leggerezza imperdonabile. Fissandomi
negli occhi vi cerco’ inutilmente una smentita e
non trovandola l’uomo si curvo’ nelle piccole
spalle. Poi mi chiese di attendere un attimo.
Torno’ con una splendida chitarra che depose sul
tavolo. Privato in pochi minuti delle dodici corde,
lo strumento rimase con la bocca rotonda aperta.
I had shown unforgivable insensitivity . Staring into my
eyes the vendor sought in vain a denial and not having
found one, he arched his small shoulders. He then
asked me to wait a moment. The man returned with a
splendid guitar that he laid on the table. Deprived
within a few minutes of its twelve strings, the
instrument was left with its round mouth open. 104
«Sono marca Pisastro, Etichetta Gialla. Le
tolsi a San Francisco dalla "sua" chitarra,
ridotta in bricioli da alcuni teppisti il giorno
che, dopo l’ ultimo concerto, fu costretto a
lasciare l’ America.
“These are the Pisastro Brand, Yellow Label.
I removed them in San Francisco from “his”
guitar, torn to pieces by some thugs, the day
when after his last concert he was forced to
leave America.
Avevano resistito, nemmeno una si era
spezzata, ed io le posi qui, in attesa di
risentirle palpitare sotto le sue dita.
The strings held out, not one snapped, and I
placed them in here, waiting to hear them
again throb under his fingers.
Ora gliele sistemo come fossero uscite di
fabbrica. Meschi non si accorgera di
niente. Lei dira’ che si vendono ancora;
lontano, ma che si vendono ancora. Forse
non suoneranno piu’. Ma io continuero’ a
sentire la loro voce…”
Now I will arrange them for you as if they
just came out of the factory. Meschi will not
even notice. Just tell him that these strings
are still sold; far away, but that they are still
sold. Perhaps they will never play again. But I
will continue to hear their voice…”
Quando giunsi a Lucca la notte stava
calando sulla citta’.
When I reached Lucca, the night was falling
over the city.
From “The Provincia di Lucca”, April-June 1973, Year XIII, N. 2, p. 100106
105
And it was around the time of the poignant “Pisastro strings episode” that my father had taken
me along on a family visit to Lucca. It was precisely 1956, the year before Italo died. I have still
a blur in my memory, of a dark, late afternoon as we crossed St. Michele Square on our way to
my grandmother’s home. My father, suddenly, left me in the care of his sister and mother and
ran to greet Uncle Italo, striding across the square. I remember, vaguely in the distance, a
silhouette of an unusual man with a long beard; but what I do recall vividly were my father’s
dismay and words as he rejoined us: “Come si e’ ridotto” he sadly commented, the English
equivalent of “He is a former shadow of himself”. Riccardo Sarti
Via dei Borghi 1956
Painting by Alfredo Meschi
106
“La Nazione” Tuesday, October 15th 1957
Lutti
Italo Meschi
Obituaries
Italo Meschi
Martedi sera Italo Meschi, il
famoso chitarrista lucchese ed
una delle figure piu’ simpatiche
e rappresentative della nostra’
citta’, e’ deceduto
improvvisamente.
Tuesday evening, Italo Meschi,
the famous Lucchese guitarist
and one of the nicest notable
characters representative of
our city, died unexpectedly.
Nonostante alcune malattie che
lo costringevano ad un continuo
riposo, sembrava che la forte
fibra dell’ormai settantenne
Meschi dovesse ancora resistere
a lungo. Invece, quasi
improvvisamente, e’ avvenuto il
decesso.
Italo poised for this
sculpture by his first
cousin Umberto Meschi
In spite of a series of illnesses
that forced him into continuous
rest, it seemed that the strong
fiber of the already 70-year old
Meschi would still last a while.
Instead, almost suddenly, he
passed away.
107
Italo Meschi, tempra di giramondo
musicista, attaccato alla natura
quanto agli uomini, con quel suo
spirito fra anarchico e mistico nello
stesso tempo, cultore di svariate
civilta’ e conoscitore profondo di
varie lingue, aveva passato la sua vita
come musicista nomade in tutti i
continenti ed in ogni dove aveva
raccolto i piu’ grandi e sentiti successi.
Bach, Chopin, Beethoven ed i piu’
grandi maestri della sinfonia erano gli
autori suoi preferiti.
Nelle baite che piu’ volte lo
accoglievano in cima a qualche
montagna, ed ultimamente nel
torrione della Porta San Gervasio,
residue delle dugentesche mura di
Lucca, ultimo suo alloggio, il
Meschi trascriveva per chitarra tutti
quegli spartiti nati per decine e decine
di strumenti. Cosicche’ le sue
esecuzioni apparivano di grande
assieme, come eseguite da una intera
orchestra.
Italo Meschi, the globe-trotting
musician, bound to nature as well
as to mankind, with his spirit inbetween anarchism and mysticism.
A linguist and connoisseur of
various cultures, had spent his life
as a wandering musician in all
continents, where he gathered the
greatest and most heartfelt
successes.
Bach, Chopin, Beethoven and the
greatest symphony masters were
his favorite composers.
In mountain shelters and, recently
in his last residence,
- the tower of Porta San Gervasio,
a remnant of Lucca’s 12-century
walls, - Meschi adapted for the
guitar pieces intended for dozens
of instruments. Accordingly, his
musical executions appeared as a
great ensemble, as if performed by
an entire orchestra.
108
But the sincere and unyielding spirit of
“Maestro Italo”, as everyone called him to
honor his art , his wise old sage look, his
long thick beard, and his Nazarene-style
hair reaching his neck, did not allow him to
conform to the demands of our modern
consumer society….
Ma lo spirito sincero e incorruttibile del
"maestro Italo" come tutti lo chiamavano
per onorare la sua arte e quel suo aspetto
di saggio vegliardo, che la lunga e folta
barba ed i capelli cadenti alla nazarena sul
collo gli donavano, quel suo spirito non gli
permetteva di adeguarsi alle esigenze
commerciali moderne.....
… Meschi never lowered himself by
commercializing his music, though fully
aware that it would have provided him
with the material wellbeing that he would
not have otherwise been able to enjoy.
...il Meschi non si piego’ mai ad un basso
strumento commerciale, pur sapendo che
tale situazione gli avrebbe procurato quel
benessere che non poteva godersi
nell'altro caso.
E continuo’ cosi, giramondo, poeta,
fautore di dottrine economiche e seguace
dell'hallesismo, contro corrente, nei
ricordi dei tempi trascorsi che lo videro
anche concertista alla Corte d 'Inghilterra,
in America e in altri infiniti ed importanti
posti.
E cosi’, nella sua integrita’ spirituale e
sincerita’, e’ morto.
Died and buried
In Carignano, Lucca
And he moved along through life as a
globe-trotter, poet, supporter of
economic doctrines and follower of
Hallesism . Marching to his own beat, he
delved into his past that saw him as a
performer at the Royal Court of England,
in America and in other infinite and
important places.
And so he died, in his spiritual integrity
and sincerity.
109