Two arrangements: a simple TTBB version and a richer SAATBB version of the great song by Gorni Kramer.
The arrangement is basic for the STBB voices: there is one voice for the main melody (Sopran) and three voices emulating the armonic infrastructure (Tenor, Baritone, Bass) and the accompainment. Vocal music accompainment id made of an easy bass line and two voices for the chords, playing upbeat in the first measures of most of the phrases, (pretending to be guitars or trumpets) and turning to a straight beat in the final measures.
The tempo is fast, so singing those upbeat at the right speed can be challenging: bear in mind slowing them down produces a global slowdown of the entire song, so Tenor2 and Baritone should drink a lot of coffee before singing…
SAA voices, (Soprano, the lead, Alto and Contralto), coming from a Pasquale Amico (thank You!) arrangement make a very good melody harmonization.
To add movement to an otherwise funny but quite simple song, I made also some bars not present in the original work. You’ll find it at bar 79 (“F” mark). In that section, pay attention to well synchronize the four voices.
Some background information about the song: written in 1939 under the fascist regime, Kramer was accused of making fun of the fascist hierarch Achille Starace, who used to walk upright in a black shirt, arousing the hilarity of the population. The song thus had to face the censorship of the regime, given that the allusion appeared quite clear.
Many years after the composition, Gorni Kramer declared that the piece was inspired not by Starace but by the maestro Pippo Barzizza, with whom, in 1939, Kramer had had an argument during a performance at the Kursaal in Viareggio.
You can find the arrangements at these links:
Pippo non lo sa
16/07/2023 Posted in Various