Corde Oblique

With I Maestri Del Colore, Corde Oblique—led by Riccardo Prencipe—extends its tradition of genre-blurring chamber folk to embrace both Mediterranean roots and painterly abstraction. Conceived as a musical palette referencing the famed Fabbri art monograph series and featuring artwork by Franco Fontana, the album moves fluidly between folk, neoclassical, and progressive idioms. Each track echoes the emotional subtleties and textural richness found in the visual arts, using harmony and rhythm to summon vibrant, multisensory scenes.​ Opening with the lively instrumental “Suono su Tela,” the album frames music as a form of painting, with dynamic guitar and violin lines that evoke brushstrokes on canvas. Vocals alternately soar and recede, weaving stories of place and memory across pieces such as “I Sassi di Matera,” which pays homage to Southern Italian stone cities through solemn folk melodies and haunting choral refrains. Highlights include “Il Cretto Nero,” a lyrical meditation on the fertile but tragic history of southern Italy, and “A Fondo Oro,” a medieval Spanish canto rendered with authentic period instruments and atmospheric arrangements reminiscent of Dead Can Dance.​

The album’s real strength lies in its collaborative ethos. Prencipe gathers an ensemble of musicians—violinists, percussionists, singers—from diverse backgrounds, enriching each composition with layers of detail and emotional nuance. Track after track reveals new colors and moods, from the dramatic percussive rush of “Urlo Rosso” to the ethereal stillness of “Papavero e Memoria.” These arrangements showcase not only technical skill but a commitment to lived experience and historical continuity; Corde Oblique’s songwriting is always in dialogue with the past, yet never bound by it.