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LA CALIFFA

from BELIEVE
Written by Ennio Morricone

The iconic film composer, Ennio Morricone, passed away on July 6, 2020, in Rome. In the course of his long and successful career, the Italian maestro collected an endless number of accolades including two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards and three Golden Globes plus several nominations. Mr. Morricone’s amazing list of scores embodied iconic soundtracks including Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables, The Mission, Nuovo Cinema Paradiso and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. 

David Foster was among the many international figures who recorded some of Mr. Morricone’s timeless music. The Hitman provided superstars like Andrea Bocelli and Josh Groban great traditional pop renditions of some of Morricone’s most loved themes from Nuovo Cinema Paradiso, Once Upon a Time in America and Malena with newly-written English and Italian lyrics.

One of the dozens of big names who celebrated Mr. Morricone’s genius, Foster was on the 2007 cd, We All Love Ennio Morricone. The Quincy Jones-led tribute saw Foster co-arranging the delicate “I Knew I Loved You” from “Deborah’s Theme” in Once Upon a Time in America with words added and sung by Celine Dion. Another Foster connection to the late composer came in 2009 when the Canadian super-producer worked with UK’s classical/crossover songbird, Katherine Jenkins. Believe was the cd that included a fabulous reworking of the main theme from the 1970 movie, La Califfa. “La Califfa,” sung by Ms. Jenkins, is the Song of the Week.

Wonderfully crafted by Foster with the great Bill Ross, “La Califfa” was a nocturnal piece of music and was the best showcase for Ms. Jenkins’ angelic voice. Chris Botti’s trademark trumpet playing was the perfect counterpart to the singer’s delicate performance. The result was an orchestral masterpiece that does full justice to Mr. Morricone’s magnificent artistry. Believe was a top ten hit in the UK where it went gold and sold well in several countries including Ireland, Belgium, Australia, Germany and Austria. In the US, the cd was in the top five on Billboard’s Classical Album chart. 


Listen

 


  • Lead Vocals: Katherine Jenkins
  • Featuring on trumpet: Chris Botti
  • Keyboards: David Foster
  • Italian Language Coach: Tony Renis
  • Orchestral Arrangement by Bill Ross & David Foster
  • Produced & Arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Tu non credere perché
Questa crudeltà di padroni
Ha visto in me
Solo una cagna che
Me mett’ anch’
io alla tua catena

Se attraverso la città
Questa ipocrita, tua città
Il corpo mio
che passa tra di voi
È un’invettiva contro la viltà

Ohhhhhh…..

Tu ritroverai con me
La più splendida proprietà
Un attimo di sole sopra noi
Alla ricerca di te