The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1915-08-13
sKl{s u R0NE )OlII6
the uM Nth lUsIn|l
WHILE SOLDIERS ARE FIGHT.
ING POPCLACE At HOME EN-
TERTAINED BY MUSICIANS.


ROME, August 12.-Mconlight In
Rome. the sound of a guitar. sing
er's voice declaiming deeds Of war.
,of love. Of partiEgs. Of promised re-
turns. In ancient palaces heads are
'silhouetted against yellow squares Of
light. In the Piazza crowd gathers
about the singer.
Rome and the singer is no medieval
troubador. But he is quite as pictur-
esque, quite as romance-laden as
though he had lived hundreds OF
Years ago. For he is an improyisa-
tor and he represents a custom as
;old as the ancient palaces under
whose broad portals he is singing.
His name is Sor Capanna and he
lis known from one enc of Rome to
the other for is he not the compos-
err of that modern satirical song
Big William" He is singing 1t
|now and for one Soda you may buy
the same poetic narration of the
iimprovisator's estimation of the
kaiser.
Scr Capanna is one of many i'm
lprovisatores in Rome today for the
entrance of Italy into the war has
brought them all out again like
Mushrooms perhaps one should
| say flowers after rain. They sing.
most of them, songs OF love, fare
wells of soldiers departing to the
war, admonishing their sweethearts
10 be brave and true during their
absence. Many of them sing the
compositions of Sor Capanna, peer
of improvisatores but the majority CT
them improvise. All improvise the
music so that the words you hear
sung under your window at night
may be the same you heard the morn
ing in the piazza but the music is al
together different.
Sometimes group of improvisa-
torres. with harp and violin and a
singer. recount the sorrows and the
yearnings of the departing soldiers.
But Rome stops to listen. The SER
want girl brushing a tear from her
eye surreptitiously buys 4 cory ct
the touching ballad for penny.
Others crowd forward TO listen to
tic words. From morning until
night you may run across thcm. these
singers in the squares. beside the
| spanish st.ps, near the churches,
some of the improvisatores strum-
ming their plaintive tunes on the
guitars use ballads of other days
brought up to date. And ii the i'm
Irovisators collect a couple ef lire
from one concert and sale of nbret-
tcs they are more than satisfied.
One of the songs heard most fire.
quently in Rome has a highly eu-
genie flavor-even in its dialect.
"Lo scarto di yittoric non 10
yoglic
"Quando rivis il milo amora me
10 piglic"
Which is to say.
Those refused by Victor En-
| manuel | do not want,
when my love returns from the
war | will marry him."
Other famous songs beloved OF
improyisators and popnlaee are
| 'Addio. mia bella addio,' when
unpoetieally translated from poetic
Italian ballads of the people is
Good by, my love, good by, The
army is departing aud if did not
depart | would be a villain. But
am not leaving YOU alone, | leave
you u little SON who Will console
you. the son of our first love
So thar Italy is commemorative
its war-babies in ballad form,
| Another ballad which brings
tears TO the eyes of the gir.s left
behind is III salute. amorosa mia. :
i salute you my love, | am go
ing away but will return. When
! return | Will bring YOU a flower,
Long live love. When | return |
bring you flower. Long Live love
and he who knows how to love.
II is needless to say that this
song is enc of the hits of the day
and always gets many a damp eye
from the listening throng.
And there are many Others quite
too tragic and love laden to de
grade through inferior translation.
AS for the improvisators, they rear
their small harvest OF the loves
and SORROWS of soldiers sweet
hearts.
nn Ia,~a,xa