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Music by La Rionda group in Italy - includes a song by Andrea Cereghino.
Contract Andrea made with his sons in 1884.   He gives his sons permission to sell his songs for an annual fee. English Translation - Enlarge Images
 

Cereghino Songs

Home of Andrea Cereghino in Castello

Andreas (Andrea) Cereghino was born 14 May 1814 in Castello, Genova, Italy. His birth was registered, and can still be found, at the local parish in Favale di Malvaro. He had a great talent for writing poetry and songs, and for playing the violin. He, and some of his family, would work as farmers during the spring, summer and fall. When winter set in, Andrea would make sure his family had enough food and provisions for the winter, then he and some family members would take their violins, song tracts and travel to the Piedmonte area of northern Italy. They would sing, play music and sell tracts of their songs.     When the first signs of spring arrived, they would go back to their homes and family in Castello and resume heir professions as farmers. When in Castello, they played at the local Catholic parish in Favale di Malvaro.

A CD with Cereghino Folk Songs on it.
In 1884, Andrea knew he was no longer physically able to travel to the Peidmonte area to sell his songs. He drafted a contract that his sons, who remained in Castello, would have the right to sell his songs for an annual fee they would pay Andrea.     A collection of Andrea’s songs can be found, written in Italian, in the book “alla Ricerca dei Cereghino Cantastorie in Favale”.   A folk singing group in Italy called La Rionda have included one of Andrea’s songs on their music CD “Incantatrice”.  The song is titled  “Vita e morte di Pierina”.  Another musical group made a CD titled “Tanti van in Merica” (Many go to America).  It has several Cereghino songs on their CD.  Thank you to both of these groups that allows us to enjoy this music over 150 years later.

Ballads of Andrea Cereghino & Sons & Other Cereghino Cousins

     We are delighted to be able to bring you several of the Cereghino ballads in an English translation.  I appreciate the work and great care each translator gave to the ballads.  Much of my correspondence with the translators was via email, which greatly accelerated the process and our ablility to offer these translations to you.

      First and foremost, you must remember these ballads were written about the social and religious conditions of Italy in the mid 19th century.  These ballads are typical of folk music from this time and place, and it would be unreasonable to make judgements based on our American culture of the 21st century.

      The translations of these ballads, from Italian and Genovese dialect to English, sometimes created a problem of the flow and understanding of the text.  Therefore, it was necessary to edit them, occasionally using a thesaurus to choose meanings that would be more understandable for our time and culture.

CEREGHINO SONGS - English Translations:

The Duties of a Good Christian and a Civilized People
New Little Song about Bequines and False Devoted People
The Lamentation of Eight Poor Daughters
A Prayer to the Most Holy God
Amazing Story of Two Faithful Lovers Martino and Ninetta
The Complaint of the Husband Against The Lazy Wife
Story of the Beautiful Candida
The Life and Death of Pierina
The Poor in Purgatory and the Rich in Paradise
Dear Me, You Want a Husband...
Dear Me, You Want a Husband  (second song)
A Young Mountain Man is Ambitious to Find a Wife in the City
Song about California, the Priests in the City and in the Mountain