24 - Sophia Khan

The Art 

“Unadorned Intimacy”, by Sophia Khan
Watercolor on Arches paper
Ferrandina, Italy, 
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Sophia Khan says…

I painted this in Ferrandina, Italy. Italy is more than its monuments.  More than its museums, churches, piazzas, and ruins. There is a beauty to Italy that is sometimes just around the corner from its more obvious charms. One that is found in weathered cobblestones, peeling paint, spalling stones. One that is seen where laundry hangs to dry in the sunlight outside a window. One that is heard when two women exchange pleasantries and laughs with each other, through the upper floor windows of their opposite homes. One that is observed in the dedicated hands of the barista, the violin maker, the jeweler, the farmer, each leading their simple and contented lives in the backdrop of immense beauty and history.

In celebration of all this, is an unadorned view of House No. 50 in Ferrandina, in the south of Italy.  A place like so many others in Italy where the boundaries between public and private are blurred, where outside and inside coalesce.  Where meaning lies not in knowing the history of the site, the architect, the street name, or where it lies on a map, but how it moves us. How it reminds us to see beauty in the unadorned, simple and intimate world that so often mirrors our own.

The Music

Ferrandina

Helen Davey

"Ferrandina" (for 6 voices, accordion, guitar) is a musical response to a water-colour painting, "unadorned intimacy, Ferradina, Italy" by Sophia Khan. It is part of the project "52 Sound-Paintings". More info: https://helendavey.com/blog/week-24-sophia-khan/
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  1. Ferrandina


I wondered of this painting, who might live there? A large family? Through the open doorway, I imagined families and neighbourhood friends gathering, exchanging and experiencing daily life and rites of passage together.

Due to the subtle pastels and sense of tenderness in this beautiful watercolour, I opted for a slow, gentle 3-feel to convey a folk song, using an Italian folk music palette.

For my lyric, I took the river as a metaphor for moving forward in our respective lives. Moving with it or against the currents, I wanted to allude to the choices we face amid juxtapositions, yet ultimately, life will carry us and all will be well.

With warmest thanks to Silvia Callegari and Fiona McCarthy for some extremely short notice coaching re the Italian language. Any mistakes are all mine!

Buon giorno! Wherever you are.

Helen

Ferrandina

La Fiume corre sempre 
Ci chiediamo 
Ci aggiriamo 
Qualora, sarà il fiume portarmi? 

Dee-na Deena Dee-naé Day 
Dee-na Deena Dee-na Dee.na Day 
Dee-na Deena Dee-naé Day 
Dee-na du Dee-na du Day 

La Fiume corre sempre 
Ci chiediamo 
Ci aggiriamo 
il fiume mi porterà 

The River runs always 
We wonder 
We wander 
Where will the river take me? 

The river is still flowing 
We wonder 
We wander 
Let the river carry me

Thank you Helen for this so very beautiful sound painting. I especially love the expression of ‘private’ and ‘public’ sounds, so very poetically layered one after the other, as the painting alludes to. The vocals are dreamlike, soothing, and simply delightful and the music, with nostalgic undertones, takes me back….. A true joy to be part of this project!

Sophie Khan