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Transmutation in Blues and Greens

by Parsely

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1.
la luna amara, sorride ancora l’erba amara, cresce ancora la luna dolce, piange ancora l’erba dolce, avvelena ancora ___________________ translation: the bitter moon still smiles the bitter herb still grows the sweet moon still cries the sweet herb still poisons
2.
on yonder hill, there grow twin trees and rosemary, encircling serene cove of the moon, i dance to you, the sea; bringing me into beauty oh, the dreaming waters oh, the dreaming waters (the pine will curve down to greet the sea; moon)
3.
open your hands, let me lie down in them, entranced rain swells the branch; throats of green revealing the dance silver sunlight upon the nettle leaf upon the verdant sheath the fern rises sweet the blood pods release the husk of the violet seed and upon this earth we sleep upon this earth we sleep
4.
[excerpt from “ecco mormorar l’onde", Torquato Tasso, 1500s] ecco gia l’alba appare e si specchia nel mare e le campagne imperla e gli alti monti indora o bella e vaga Aurora ch’ogni arso cor ristaura e le campagne imperla il dolce gelo ______________________ translation by Luciano Rebay: now the dawn already appears and mirrors herself in the sea and the fields are impearled and gilds the high mountains o beautiful and gracious Aurora/Eos which revives each burnt heart and the gentle frost impearls the fields
5.
instinct 05:18
you spoke the words that came into my head a field of gold, an endless thread sailing spires, spores, spacious hands interlocking instinct with the land
6.
olive root 03:10
(say no more) water and loam, the root of the olive follows along the water and loam, the root of the olive follows how does one follow, the water of desire? the sky’s open, clouds holding water, ready to pour upon a moth’s wing the color of new cream and lace of cronewort silver-green and black of crow, above watching and blaze of white, in fog’s morning softly pulsing fiercely pull-sing water drawn through, drawn down through the roots follow, follow
7.
the mother breathes barefoot on herringbone banquettes sky’s drippings enclose cloud’s kingdom spits and little ponds sprung from the street throw back the glowing scene (the mother breathes) barefoot in summer’s banquets we ran upon brick dust and grasses the cones of banana flowers descended mimosa, peachleaf, and roses
8.
a lonely wind, a-gathering the leaves on the ground heat dies down, cypress trees rust brown la lune gris, sings’s to life shadow’s melody land impearled, reverie unfurled listen to the wise wood the scraping of leaves underfoot inquiring: what is the song of your deepest heart? what is the song of your deepest part? a name whispered scatters in the dark, velvet-burred moves through time, softly serpentine listen to the wise wood the scraping of leaves underfoot inquiring: what is the song of your deepest heart? what is the song of your deepest part?
9.
[excerpt from “Tacciono i boschi e i fiumi", Torquato Tasso, 1500s] tacciono i boschi e i fiumi e’l mar senza onda giace ne le spelonche i venti han tregua e pace e ne la notte bruna alto silenzio fa la bianca luna e noi tegnamo ascose le dolcezze amorose ________________________ translated by Luciano Robay: the woods and the rivers are silent and the waveless sea is at rest in their caves the winds are at truce and peace and in the dark night the white moon creates lofty silence and we keep hidden the sweetnesses of love
10.
pull the sunlight from the sea oyster blues and kelp greens mirrors of gold in your eyes suspended effortlessly the feeling stays with us for hours, for days, for years a song of transmutation we hold so dear

about

These are songs of place. Each one is a story pouring. I can’t speak for torquato tasso, a writer in the 1500s that penned the two italian poems, but I find a resonance in his prose. I suspect that he too wrote of places dear to his heart. He speaks of love, through the soft sensuousness of the natural world.

There’s three heart-deep wells that this album calls upon in particular, where I’ve been spending time these last few years: the coast of the adriatic sea (specifically parts of italy and albania), the swamplandss of south louisiana (where I mainly reside), and the appalachian mountains of north carolina.

Rising from these roots, there is exploration of memory, of language, of beauty, of longing. They are places of intuition and strength, the dreaming of the land, the crepuscular in-between.

Thus the songs themselves offer an invitation: to wander through, surrender, open, dream
here is sunlight slanting through an olive grove, ancestral salt shimmering

the blues and greens

Transmutation: the act of changing into another form

credits

released April 26, 2023

original music by vanessa degrassi
lyrics also except tracks 4 & 9 by torquato tasso, italy 1500s

instrumentation: flute, voice, air organ, mellotron, sounds, field recordings
cello on tracks 2, 5, 8 by sam hollier
omnichord on 10, engineering wizardy, & other sprinkings by adam keil

recorded & mixed by adam
produced by adam + vanessa
in the seventh ward, new orleans, la
over the course of the year 2022

mastered by carl saff
released by y’allstar records
26 april, 2023
listen: parsely.bandcamp.com
contact: parselymusic@gmail.com

album artwork:
cyanotypes and oakleaf-ink calligraphy by vanessa
film photographs by summer white
graphic layout by lauren hemard
lyricbook design by sean walsh

dedicated in loving kindness
to my mother noelani musicaro <3

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Parsely New Orleans, Louisiana

drawing up from the velvet wells of memory, land, flora, language, death, & beauty

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