I treni di Tozeur

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Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest 1984
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"Magic Oh Magic" (1985) ►

"I treni di Tozeur" ("The trains of

Alice
and Battiato.

In a studio version sung only by Battiato, the song was later to be included on his album Mondi lontanissimi (1985) and was subsequently also recorded in English and Spanish language versions as "The Trains of Tozeur" and "Los trenes de Tozeur" and featured on the albums Echoes of Sufi Dances and Ecos de Danzas Sufi respectively. In 1994 Battiato recorded an interpretation of the song with a symphony orchestra for his live album Unprotected.

Alice also recorded solo versions of the song, included on albums

London Session Orchestra, arranged and conducted by Gavyn Wright
. The original 1984 duet version of the song features on the 2005 career retrospective Studio Collection, in effect making its debut on an Alice album twenty-one years after its recording.

Lyrics and historical background

The train line referred to in the lyrics runs from Metlaoui in the north through the

French imperialism.[1]

After the bankrupt Tunisia became an autonomous republic in 1957 and the then reigning Bey from the

Metlaoui-Tozeur, often referred to as the North-African Orient Express, is again running and one of the country's greatest tourist attractions.[2]

Composition

The German language part of "I treni di Tozeur" performed by three female opera singers, doch wir wollen dir ihn zeigen / und du wirst..., is a quote from

three young boys or genii. The full sentence goes: doch wir wollen dir ihn zeigen, und du wirst mit Staunen sehn, daß er dir sein Herz geweiht; translated: "still we want to show him to you, and you will with astonishment see that he consecrates his heart to you".[3]

In 1981 Alice had won the

WoO 59, popularly known as "Für Elise
".

Despite its many atypicalities and for its genre comparatively complex structure, "I treni di Tozeur" appeared on the CD set of Winners and Classics produced to coincide with the

Congratulations
special of late 2005 as well as on the accompanying DVD.

Eurovision performance

The three classically trained

Italian flag
(however, the audience saw the wrong order with the red on where green was supposed to be and vice versa) – stood silent for two minutes and thirty-five seconds until they performed their four bars from The Magic Flute; eight seconds in all.

The studio recording of the song features American opera singer Marilyn Horne performing all three harmonies and also the string section of the La Scala orchestra in Milan. The B-side of the single, the instrumental "Le biciclette di Forlì" ("The bicycles from Forlì"), is a reference to Alice's birthplace, the town of Forlì.

The song was performed eighteenth on the night, following

Spain and Finland
, at the close of voting it had only totalled 70 points, placing it shared 5th in a field of 19.

Summary

Despite not winning the actual contest "I treni di Tozeur" proved to be a commercial hit in continental Europe.[4] The single turned out to be a Top 20 hit in Sweden, the country that won the contest with "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" – and also one of the nine countries to award the Italian entry zero points in the contest.[5] "I treni di Tozeur" is also one of the very few Italian Eurovision entries ever to become a commercial success in Italy itself: the song was a #1 hit in June 1984[6] and on the list of the best-selling singles in Italy of 1984 "I treni di Tozeur" placed as #20.[7]

Alice and Battiato have continued to work together ever since. In 2002 the two recorded the duet "Come un sigillo" for his album Fleurs 3.[8]

"I treni di Tozeur" was succeeded as Italian representative by

Magic Oh Magic
".

Cover versions

Finnish singer

Libera" in Finnish under the title "Vapaana".[10]

Appearances in other media

The original duet version of "I treni di Tozeur" with Alice and Franco Battiato features in Italian film director Nanni Moretti's award-winning 1985 comedy La messa è finita.[11][12]

Charts

Chart (1984) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[13] 30
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] 15
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15] 18
Italy (FIMI)[16] 3

References

  1. ^ Afrique Tourisme, Le Lézard Rouge Archived 2010-03-31 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Tunisiens du Monde, Le Lézard Rouge Archived 2009-11-06 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus; Campbell, Arthur; Holden, Amanda; Schikaneder, Emanuel; Richmond, Robin: The Magic Flute, London, Faber & Faber, 1990
  4. ^ Official site Eurovision.tv. History by year; 1984.
  5. ISBN 91-971894-2-1
    Chart entry Sweden "I treni di Tozeur"
  6. ^ Hit Parade Italia, chart entry "I Treni di Tozeur"
  7. ^ Hit Parade Italia, best-selling singles of 1984.
  8. ^ Franco Battiato, official site, discography entry Genesi Archived 2008-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ Swisscharts.com, Seija Simola discography entry "Juna Turkuun"
  10. ^ Swedishcharts.com, Seija Simola discography entry
  11. ^ IMDB.com, La messa è finita.
  12. ^ Curiosità su Nanni Moretti, e sui suoi film. Archived 2010-01-04 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Alice & Battiato – I treni di Tozeur" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  14. ^ "Alice & Battiato – I treni di Tozeur" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  15. ^ "Alice & Battiato – I treni di Tozeur". Swiss Singles Chart.
  16. ^ "Alice & Battiato – I treni di Tozeur". Top Digital Download.

Sources

  • Centro di Gravità permanente, Macale Maurizio, Bastogi Editrice Italiana.
  • Tecnica mista sul tappeto, Franco Pulcini, EDT publications Italy.
  • Franco Battiato. Pronipote dei padri del deserto., Luca Cozzari, Zona publications Italy.
  • Evoluzione. Evoluzione. Evoluzione., Enrico Carbone, Bonanno publications Italy.
  • Franco Battiato. Un sufi e la sua musica., Guido Guidi Guerrera, Editrice Loggia de' Lanzi.
  • Fenomenologia di Battiato, Enzo Di Mauro and Roberto Masotti, Auditorium publications Italy.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=I_treni_di_Tozeur&oldid=1210945730#Eurovision_performance"