Echoes of a past buried is an awe that flows from the vision of the profile of Vesuvius, determined from the knowledge that the "volcano of the" not yet tamed, is closed by a plug of rock, ash and dust that have accumulated since 1944, the date of its last eruption to date.
Vesuvius is first and foremost a symbol that represents the soul of this place full of mysteries related to the initiatory death and rebirth, and who speaks through the people and events.
Around it arose and spread the cult of Dionysus and Cibalia, the goddess with the drum before, and Madonna, later. A land populated by myths and legends, rich in history and culture, which finds its most important evidence in the remains of the city of Pompeii. Here time has stood almost 2000 years ago , the moment when the Vesuvius unleashed its most violent eruption, tying up every thing, animate or not, it were on the trajectory of his uncontrollable rage.
Among the ruins of palaces and villas, narrow streets paved with basalt, frescoes and mosaics, and looking at the casts of the bodies of the unfortunate people, the atmosphere is surreal, almost otherworldly.
The peculiarity and the mystical charm of this site have undoubtedly contributed to the success of one of the music (and film) plus successful in the history of pop music. At the dawn of the seventies, four young Londoners responding to the name of Pink Floyd received the offer to shoot a concert film, a practice quite common at that time, a group of worldwide success. But Floyd's music was the most unconventional exist at the time in the landscape of rock and, in agreement with director Adrian Maben , they made a choice at the height of their fame, both as concerned the location, both for what related to the execution.
The film, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, registered in the amphitheater of the city-museum is still a memorable passage (and only) the history of rock. Done megalithic era concert with thousands of spectators, but has the distinction of being performed in a vacuum, without result, except that of the silent buildings of Pompeii, in order to achieve maximum purity of sound allowed.
The sublime music of Pink Floyd, director of the futuristic Maben and the magical beauty of the area make this concert a kaleidoscope of sounds and evocative imagery.
We can not remain impassive in the face of such a visionary power. The words are lost in the wind as hot steam escaping from the earth, the sounds, now gentle, now sharp crack as enveloping as lava and lapilli, the skins of the drums shook wildly recall the voice of the volcano, and ash falls slowly on the surface of things, accompanying the end credits.
The lineup of songs: Echoes Part I, Careful With That Axe Eugene, A Saucerful of Secrets, Us and Them, One of These Days (I'm Going to Cut You), Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, Brain Damage, Mademoiselle Nobbs, Echoes Part II.
David Battaglia
