Solitudo
Scene VI from The Shaman, Heretical Story of Francis of Assisi
Francis of Assisi speaks to you from a time beyond time. He has passed through matter, he has lost his name, his age, every definition. Now he is elsewhere. Within himself he has completed the alchemist’s work: he has become art.
An intense clarinet theme opens the piece. Strings, brass, and organ resonate as in the seraphic encounter on La Verna. It is a lyrical moment that cannot be explained, only listened to.
His whispered words speak of invisible nets, worlds unimaginably distant, flashes of intuition. It is the fulfillment of the alchemical work, the rubedo, absolute freedom. In the end everything is released and transformed into a folk dance, Dionysian, that fades into the birdsong and the sound of the wind.
This piece is the sixth scene from The Shaman: A Heretical Story of Francis of Assisi, a poetic and musical work that tells the life of the (not yet) saint as an initiatory journey between the worlds of the visible and the invisible.
Lyrics
Here is a possible English translation of the text for this piece. It is as faithful as possible; however, the full semantic nuances and layers of meaning in a poetic text like this cannot be fully rendered in translation. The complete text will be available in Italian in the book + CD Lo Sciamano. Storia eretica di Francesco d’Assisi, to be released later in 2026.
«There is no more pain in this solitudo
non-memory
that I am not and I do not live
memory of every time and space
glare
color of copper.
I am, all.
I hear voices of infinite mineral worlds
that weave nets of joy.»
Credits
Voice of Francis of Assisi: Alessandro Ciacci.
Clarinet: Alessio Zanovello.
Synthesizers, portative organ, and percussion: Carlo Matti.
Field recordings by Carlo Matti near a woodland close to Fortunago (PV, Italy).
Production, mixing, and mastering: Carlo Matti.