There are strong folk traditions in Friuli permeating the culture. High
on the list is song, usually performed by one of the many choirs. Two
songs stand out, which you can hear at church concerts, in restaurants
after meals, wherever people are gathered.
A word about language. These songs are written in Furlan, or Friulano
in Italian. It's a Romance language related to Ladin spoken with great
passion, a defining feature of the region, core to the Friulan sense of
identity. According to a study undertaken by ARLeF (L'Agjenzie Regjonāl
pe Lenghe Furlane) in 2015 there were about 600,000 speakers.
The first song is "O Ce Biel Cjiscjel a Udin" - "Oh what a beautiful
castle in Udine". It's an anthem for Friuli known to all Friulani. It
binds people together in the pride of homeland. It can be a rousing,
table-thumping, foot-stamping song, although it is also performed as a
more delicate close-harmony choral piece. On the demerit side, as I've
said in "Return" the castle isn't really very beautiful; in fact, it's
a palace not a castle. And what's all that malarkey about kissing an
ugly girl, the second time as a penance? That's surely going to put off
some participants. The song is repetitive, albeit in the words rather
than the music which accompanies them and varies with each repeated
line. Mind you, the repetition is also a benefit. There are fewer words
to remember. If you don't know the next verse, you can listen to the
first line and join in as it is repeated. I know, I'm missing the
point. The Friulani are lucky to have such a recognisable song with
which to celebrate their region. Unifying stuff. It was certainly the
first (and maybe only) song we learnt back then, testament to its
accessibility. Most versions have five verses, although I'm sure I have
heard more.
O Ce Biel Cjiscjel a Udin
O ce biel, o ce biel
cjiscjel a Udin
Oh what a beautiful
castle in
Udine
O ce biel, o ce biel
cjiscjel a Udin
...
O ce biel cjiscjel a
Udin
...
O ce biele zoventūt
Oh what beautiful youth
Zoventūt, zoventūt come
a Udin
Youth as in Udine
Zoventūt, zoventūt come
a Udin
...
Zoventūt come a Udin
...
'No si cjate in nissun
lūc
Can be found nowhere
else
A bussā, a bussā
fantatis
bielis
In kissing beautiful
girls
A bussā, a bussā
fantatis
bielis
...
A bussā fantatis bielis
...
'Nol č un fregul di
pecjāt
There is no trace of sin
Ind'ai bussade, ind'ai
bussade une brute
I kissed an ugly girl
Ind'ai bussade, ind'ai
bussade une brute
...
Ind'ai bussade une brute
...
E il plevąn a mi ą
cridāt
And the parish priest
shouted
at me
E mi a dāt, e mi a dāt
par
penitince
The priest gave me the
penance
E mi a dāt, e mi a dāt
par
penitince
...
E mi a dāt par penitince
...
Di bussale ancje doman
Of kissing her tomorrow
too
Here's a recording of "O Ce Biel" by Coro Alpini di Passons. Male voice choir, performing the first three verses above.
"O Ce Biel Cjiscjel a Udin" - Coro Alpini di Passons
The second song is very different, a slow elegy of loss. It tells the
story of a fallen soldier through an imaginary posthumous conversation
with his lover. The mountain edelweiss flower is used as a device which
he hopes will keep alive his memory. "Stelutis Alpinis" or "Edelweiss"
was written and composed by Arturo Zardini (1869-1923) during the First
World War, when the author, a schoolmaster of Pontebba, was living as a
refugee in Florence. It was adopted by the Friulan "Alpini" as a symbol
of the Alpine troops, then by all the people of Friuli, a land that
after World War One experienced emigration, deportation, another war
and more violence. There is extensive use of diminutives, common in
written and spoken Friulan.
Stelutis Alpinis
Se tu vens cą sł ta'
cretis
If you come here among
the rocks
lą che lōr mi ąn soterāt
where they buried me
al č un spląz plen di
stelutis
there's a meadow
covered with edelweiss
dal miņ sanc l'č stāt
bagnāt
with my blood it was
bathed
Par segnāl une crosute
As a sign a small cross
jč scolpide lģ tal cret
is carved there in the
rock
fra che' stelis 'nąs
l'erbute
among the edelweiss
small grass grows
sot di lor jo dłar cujet
I, below, rest in peace
fra che' stelis 'nąs
l'erbute
...
sot di lor jo dłar cujet
...
Ciol, su ciol, une
stelute
Pick, come on, pick an
edelweiss
che ricuardi il nestri
ben
to remind you of our
love
tu 'i darās 'ne
bussadute
you will give it a warm
kiss
e po' pląsile in tal sen
then hide it in your
breast
Quant' che a ciase tu
sźs sole
When you are alone at
home
e di cūr tu preis par me
and in your heart you
pray for me
il miņ spirt ator ti
svole
my spirit will be
floating around you
jo e la stele 'o sin
cun te
the edelweiss and I
will be with you
il miņ spirt ator ti
svole
...
jo e la stele 'o sin
cun te
...
Ma 'ne dģ quant che la
vuere
But when the war
a' sara un lontan
ricłard
is a faraway memory
tal to cūr, dulą ch'al
jere
in your heart, where
there were
stele e amōr, dut sara
muart
edelweiss and love, all
will be dead
Restarą par me che stele
That edelweiss will
stay with me
che 'l miņ sanc a lą
nudrit
fed by my blood
par che lusi simpri
biele
so that it shines
always beautiful
su l'Italie a l'infinit
above Italy forever
Here is a version of "Stelutis Alpinis" by Coro
della SAT
(Societą degli Alpinisti Tridentini). So Trento rather than Friuli, but
it is in the mountains, and about the best I can find. The last two verses above are omitted.
