Le Orme
Encyclopedia
Le Orme is an Italian
progressive rock
band formed in 1966
in Marghera
, a frazione
of Venice
. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock
scene in the 1970s
. They are one of few Italian bands to have success outside their own country, having played concerts across North America and Europe, and releasing an album in English
at the height of their success.
, they ultimately decided on the similar sounding Le Orme. The band's early work evoked a feel somewhere between beat
and psychedelic rock
, similar to what was coming out of the United Kingdom
at the time. One of their first major performances was June 2, 1966, when they and other local bands accompanied a British beat group, The Rokes, at the Teatre Corso in Mestre
.
In 1967, the day after recording their first single, "Fiori e Colori", for Milan
's CAR Juke Box label (having been rejected by EMI
), Rebeschini left for the military. He was quickly replaced by Michi Dei Rossi of the dissolved Hopopi. The following year, their second single, "Senti l'estate che torna", was chosen to participate in Un disco per l'estate, a televised music competition organised by the Italian Phonographic Association and RAI
. It was at this time that Tony Pagliuca (formerly of Hopopi and Delfini) joined the group on keyboards. Later in the same year, the band began recording its first album, Ad gloriam
, to be released in 1969. Soon Galieti left for the military as well, leaving Tagliapietra to cover on bass guitar. Not long later Smeraldi left as well, leaving the trio that would be at the core of the band for its most successful era. An evolution in their sound towards more richness and complexity can already be heard in a non-album single the band would publish in 1970, "Il Profumo delle Viole / I Ricordi Più Belli".
. Thanks to its promotion through the RAI
radio program Per voi giovani, the album was quickly successful, earning a top 10 placing in the Italian charts. This was followed up with Uomo di pezza
in 1972, which topped the Italian charts. Uomo di pezza also generated a hit single, "Gioco di bimba", and the band toured Italy in December 1972 with Peter Hammill
of Van der Graaf Generator
(VdGG being on hiatus at the time). It was with their next album however, Felona e Sorona
, considered to be one of the "finest examples of Italian progressive rock", that Le Orme truly gained prominence beyond their home country. At the request of Tony Stratton-Smith
, Le Orme recorded an English version of Felona e Sorona for Charisma Records
, with translation provided by Peter Hammill. The band toured the United Kingdom in support of the album, including dates at the Marquee Club
and the Commonwealth Institute
.
In January 1974, Le Orme recorded their first live album, In concerto at the Teatro Brancaccio in Rome. Later in the year a further studio album, Contrappunti, followed. It also was successful, charting in the top ten, but failed to reach the lofty heights achieved by Felona e Sorona. In 1975 Neil Kempfer-Stocker's Cosmos imprint issued Beyond Leng, a largely instrumental compilation to introduce the band to a wider American audience. The band then headed to Los Angeles
to record their next album. At the same time, they hired a guitarist, Tolo Marton, bringing the group to four members. The resulting Smogmagica, boasting a cover by Paul Whitehead
, was significantly more commercially-oriented than their previous work, and was largely viewed as a disappointment by fans. Marton left soon after the album was completed, and Germano Serafin was recruited in his stead. The following album, however, Verità nascoste, was a return to form and would prove to be a high point as the band would soon suffer from the downturn in progressive rock's popularity.
than rock. The album was critically acclaimed, winning an Italian Music Critics' Award. They followed up with Piccola rapsodia dell'ape, which, although stylistically similar was not nearly as successful. Reverting to their classic trio formation, the band attempted to return to the mainstream with a straight-pop
effort, Venerdì
. This album was also unsuccessful, and the band split amiably following its release.
, where it finished seventeenth. Though concentrating their efforts on concerts, the band released another studio album, titled simply Orme in 1990. Another pop effort, the disc went largely unnoticed. In 1992, Pagliuca ended more than two decades with the band to be replaced by Michele Bon. Later the same year the band added Francesco Sartori on piano.
in Los Angeles
, Quebec City
and Mexico City
, followed. Two further albums were released, Elementi in 2001 and L'infinito in 2004, completing with Il fiume a trilogy around the concept of the "becoming" of the human being. Le Orme have since headlined NEARFest 2005
, and recently returned to a trio formation. They continue to play concerts both inside and outside of Italy.
At the end of 2009, Aldo Tagliapietra left the band.
Compilations
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band formed in 1966
1966 in music
-Events:*January 3 – Hullabaloo shows promotional videos of The Beatles songs "Day Tripper" and "We Can Work it Out".*January 8 – Shindig! airs for the last time on ABC, with musical guests the Kinks and the Who...
in Marghera
Marghera
Marghera is a frazione of the comune of Venice, Italy. It includes the industrial area known as Porto Marghera or Venezia Porto Marghera....
, a frazione
Frazione
A frazione , in Italy, is the name given in administrative law to a type of territorial subdivision of a comune; for other administrative divisions, see municipio, circoscrizione, quartiere...
of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. The band was one of the major groups of the Italian progressive rock
Italian progressive rock
The Italian progressive rock scene was born in the early 70s, mostly inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but with certain features of its own that makes some sources mention it as a separate musical genre....
scene in the 1970s
1970s in music
For music from a year in the 1970s, go to 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 75 | 76 | 77 | 78 | 79This article includes an overview of the major events and trends in popular music in the 1970s....
. They are one of few Italian bands to have success outside their own country, having played concerts across North America and Europe, and releasing an album in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
at the height of their success.
Beginnings (1966-1970)
Le Orme was founded in 1966 in Venice by Aldo Tagliapietra (vocals, guitar), Marino Rebeschini (drums), Nino Smeraldi (lead guitar) and Claudio Galieti (bass guitar). Originally intending to name themselves Le Ombre, a literal translation of The ShadowsThe Shadows
The Shadows are a British pop group with a total of 69 UK hit-charted singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and the Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s. Cliff Richard in casual conversation with the British rock press frequently refers to the Shadows by their nickname: 'The Shads'...
, they ultimately decided on the similar sounding Le Orme. The band's early work evoked a feel somewhere between beat
Beat music
Beat music, British beat, or Merseybeat is a pop and rock music genre that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1960s. Beat music is a fusion of rock and roll, doo wop, skiffle, R&B and soul...
and psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, similar to what was coming out of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
at the time. One of their first major performances was June 2, 1966, when they and other local bands accompanied a British beat group, The Rokes, at the Teatre Corso in Mestre
Mestre
Mestre is a city part of the comune of Venice, in Veneto, northern Italy.The city is connected to Venice by a large rail and road bridge, called Ponte della Libertà ....
.
In 1967, the day after recording their first single, "Fiori e Colori", for Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
's CAR Juke Box label (having been rejected by EMI
EMI
The EMI Group, also known as EMI Music or simply EMI, is a multinational music company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry and one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major...
), Rebeschini left for the military. He was quickly replaced by Michi Dei Rossi of the dissolved Hopopi. The following year, their second single, "Senti l'estate che torna", was chosen to participate in Un disco per l'estate, a televised music competition organised by the Italian Phonographic Association and RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
. It was at this time that Tony Pagliuca (formerly of Hopopi and Delfini) joined the group on keyboards. Later in the same year, the band began recording its first album, Ad gloriam
Ad Gloriam
Ad gloriam is the first album by the Italian rock band Le Orme. Released in 1969, the album's sound differs significantly from the progressive rock that Le Orme would become known for, having more of a beat and psychedelic rock feel...
, to be released in 1969. Soon Galieti left for the military as well, leaving Tagliapietra to cover on bass guitar. Not long later Smeraldi left as well, leaving the trio that would be at the core of the band for its most successful era. An evolution in their sound towards more richness and complexity can already be heard in a non-album single the band would publish in 1970, "Il Profumo delle Viole / I Ricordi Più Belli".
Mainstream success (1970-1977)
In the spring of 1971 Le Orme recorded their second studio album, CollageCollage
A collage is a work of formal art, primarily in the visual arts, made from an assemblage of different forms, thus creating a new whole....
. Thanks to its promotion through the RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
radio program Per voi giovani, the album was quickly successful, earning a top 10 placing in the Italian charts. This was followed up with Uomo di pezza
Uomo di pezza
Uomo di pezza is an album by the Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It was released in 1972 and was one of their best selling works, which won an Italian award disco d'oro. The title Uomo di pezza means "Rag doll man" in English...
in 1972, which topped the Italian charts. Uomo di pezza also generated a hit single, "Gioco di bimba", and the band toured Italy in December 1972 with Peter Hammill
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English singer-songwriter, and a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano...
of Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester. They were the first act signed to Charisma Records. The band achieved considerable success in Italy during the 1970s...
(VdGG being on hiatus at the time). It was with their next album however, Felona e Sorona
Felona e Sorona
Felona e Sorona is an album by the Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It was released in 1973.Named one of the "finest examples of Italian progressive rock", it is a concept album pivoting on the story of two planets which revolve one around the other, without ever coming in contact...
, considered to be one of the "finest examples of Italian progressive rock", that Le Orme truly gained prominence beyond their home country. At the request of Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith
Tony Stratton-Smith was an English rock music manager, and entrepreneur. He was best known as founder of London based independent record label Charisma Records which he began in 1969. Groups he managed included The Nice , Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator...
, Le Orme recorded an English version of Felona e Sorona for Charisma Records
Charisma Records
Charisma was a record label founded by former journalist Tony Stratton-Smith in 1969. Manager for The Nice, the Bonzo Dog Band and Van der Graaf Generator at the time, Stratton-Smith was unable to find a record company willing to release an album by one of his favourite groups so he founded his own...
, with translation provided by Peter Hammill. The band toured the United Kingdom in support of the album, including dates at the Marquee Club
Marquee Club
The Marquee was a music club first located at 165 Oxford Street, London, England when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts.It was also the location of the first ever live performance by The Rolling Stones on 12 July 1962....
and the Commonwealth Institute
Commonwealth Institute
The Commonwealth Institute was an educational charity connected with the Commonwealth of Nations, and the name of a building in West London formerly owned by the Institute...
.
In January 1974, Le Orme recorded their first live album, In concerto at the Teatro Brancaccio in Rome. Later in the year a further studio album, Contrappunti, followed. It also was successful, charting in the top ten, but failed to reach the lofty heights achieved by Felona e Sorona. In 1975 Neil Kempfer-Stocker's Cosmos imprint issued Beyond Leng, a largely instrumental compilation to introduce the band to a wider American audience. The band then headed to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
to record their next album. At the same time, they hired a guitarist, Tolo Marton, bringing the group to four members. The resulting Smogmagica, boasting a cover by Paul Whitehead
Paul Whitehead
Paul Whitehead is a painter and graphic artist known for his surrealistic album covers for artists on the Charisma Records label in the 1970s, such as Genesis and Van der Graaf Generator.-England: Liberty Records and Charisma Records:...
, was significantly more commercially-oriented than their previous work, and was largely viewed as a disappointment by fans. Marton left soon after the album was completed, and Germano Serafin was recruited in his stead. The following album, however, Verità nascoste, was a return to form and would prove to be a high point as the band would soon suffer from the downturn in progressive rock's popularity.
Changes in direction (1977-1982)
Following the release of their eight studio album, Storia o leggenda, Le Orme retired from touring to focus on exploring new directions for their music. The result was 1979's Florian in which the band members traded in their electric instruments for classical ones, emerging with a sound more akin to chamber musicChamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
than rock. The album was critically acclaimed, winning an Italian Music Critics' Award. They followed up with Piccola rapsodia dell'ape, which, although stylistically similar was not nearly as successful. Reverting to their classic trio formation, the band attempted to return to the mainstream with a straight-pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
effort, Venerdì
Venerdì
Il Venerdì is a weekly issue of la Repubblica....
. This album was also unsuccessful, and the band split amiably following its release.
Reformation (1986-1992)
Le Orme would reform in 1986, intending to play concerts only. They were soon persuaded to enter a single, "Dimmi che cos'è", at the 37th annual Sanremo Music FestivalFestival della canzone italiana
The Festival della canzone italiana di Sanremo is a popular Italian song contest, held annually in the city of Sanremo, in Italy, and consisting of a competition amongst previously unreleased songs...
, where it finished seventeenth. Though concentrating their efforts on concerts, the band released another studio album, titled simply Orme in 1990. Another pop effort, the disc went largely unnoticed. In 1992, Pagliuca ended more than two decades with the band to be replaced by Michele Bon. Later the same year the band added Francesco Sartori on piano.
Return to form (1992-present)
Encouraged by the success of their concerts and strong sales of their 1970-1980 anthology, the band returned to the recording studio. The resulting product, 1995's Il fiume, a "triumphant return" to the sound that made them famous more than twenty years before. A string of concerts, culminating in appearances at progressive rock festivalsMusic festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
and Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, followed. Two further albums were released, Elementi in 2001 and L'infinito in 2004, completing with Il fiume a trilogy around the concept of the "becoming" of the human being. Le Orme have since headlined NEARFest 2005
NEARfest
The North East Art Rock Festival, or NEARfest for short, is a multi-day event celebrating the resurgence of progressive and eclectic music in the United States and around the world. The event is held annually in early summer in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, approximately one hour north of Philadelphia...
, and recently returned to a trio formation. They continue to play concerts both inside and outside of Italy.
At the end of 2009, Aldo Tagliapietra left the band.
Discography
Studio and live- Ad gloriamAd GloriamAd gloriam is the first album by the Italian rock band Le Orme. Released in 1969, the album's sound differs significantly from the progressive rock that Le Orme would become known for, having more of a beat and psychedelic rock feel...
(1969) - CollageCollage (Le Orme album)Collage is an album by the Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It was released in 1971. It is the first progressive-like album by the band, who had previously recorded only the beat-oriented Ad Gloriam of 1968.-Songs:...
(1971) - Uomo di pezzaUomo di pezzaUomo di pezza is an album by the Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It was released in 1972 and was one of their best selling works, which won an Italian award disco d'oro. The title Uomo di pezza means "Rag doll man" in English...
(1972) - Felona e SoronaFelona e SoronaFelona e Sorona is an album by the Italian progressive rock band Le Orme. It was released in 1973.Named one of the "finest examples of Italian progressive rock", it is a concept album pivoting on the story of two planets which revolve one around the other, without ever coming in contact...
(1973)
Later re-recorded in English and released in the UK as Felona and Sorona. - Contrappunti (1974)
- In Concerto (1974, live)
- Smogmagica (1975)
- Verità nascoste (1976)
- Storia o leggenda (1977)
- Florian (1979)
- Piccola rapsodia dell'ape (1980)
- Venerdì (1982)
- Orme (1990)
- Il fiume (1996)
- Amico di ieri (1997)
- Elementi (2001)
- L'infinito (2004)
- La Via Della Seta (2011)
Compilations
- Beyond Leng (1976)