It had been a long time since the disease had brought Franco Battiato away from music, snatching him from the notes and words that made him the venerable master, the “special being”, the poet capable of reaching the soul of the listeners with a soft voice, never too high and never too narrow, and the verses clear, simple, defined with a clarity that over time has become its trademark. Today, Tuesday 18 May, it is death, however, that knocks on his door and takes him away: Battiato dies just over a month after his 76th birthday, giving Italian music, which is waiting to restart safely with the lives and concerts blocked by the pandemic, a profound jolt, which will be difficult to fully digest.
Music loses its “permanent center of gravity”, but also the one who, in the darkest and most uncertain years, gave us masterpieces such as The song of old lovers, It was in May, An ocean of silence, Between sex and chastity, and especially, The cure, his most refined piece, the one that touches chords capable of melting even the hardest hearts. Born on 23 March 1945 in Riposto, in the province of Catania, Francesco Battiato moved to Milan opening the shows of Jannacci, Lauzi and Pozzetto until he attracted the attention of a certain Giorgo Gaber, who became his Pygmalion. After Love has departed, his first single, Battiato inaugurates a production linked to experimentalism and linguistic research, which will allow him to make his first record deals and to appear on TV for the first time in the program Let’s talk about you, conducted by Gaber and Caterina Caselli. The kind of protest that had characterized his first songs gradually gave way to more romantic and soft themes, allowing him to experiment with sounds and to attract the attention of more and more fans.
Strengthened by international experiences with Brian Eno, Magma and others, Franco Battiato converts to an even more intellectual and intimate avant-garde form marked by the most extreme minimalism and new collaborations, including the one with Right Pio, one of the most solid and durable. A further change of register led him to great success in the eighties, thanks to songs such as The master’s voice e Permanent center of gravity, which become little catchphrases. The public is interested in him, the critics are intrigued, but Battiato takes advantage of the hustle and bustle to continue to get involved and to search, explore, understand the right paths to follow based on the suggestions that inhabit him. The success of Physiognomy, the verses of Poor homeland, the partnership with Manlio Sgalambro, the participation in Sanremo together with the young Pierdavide Carone, the last concert at the Roman Theater of Catania in 2017 and, finally, the homage of Colapesce and Dimartino, again at the Ariston, in 2021: a life illuminated by success that today makes us all feel a little orphaned.
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