Album Challenge 4: A Song for Peace in the World by various artists (2002)

A Song for Peace in the World by various artists (2002)

I know what you are thinking. When I am going to write about a Rush album? Well, not yet. Today I am going to write a few words about an album that only, perhaps, 200 people in the whole world are aware of, A Song for Peace in the World.

In 1999, when I lived in Italy, I became aware of a musical competition. An Italian music producer was planning a monumental musical event that would take place in Rome, in 2000. The event would involve a number of well-known artists, but the producer opened the doors to semi-professional and amateur musicians by announcing the competition. The event was intended to raise funds in a campaign against anti-personnel landmines. Musicians from around the globe were invited to submit a song related to peace/war.

It happened that just a few years prior, I had written a song, “Fear and Hope” which juxtaposed the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina with the drug wars in the inner cities of the USA. I had written the song on acoustic guitar and needed to make a proper recording. One of the first people I spoke with was a friend (and amazing drummer) Pino Ferreri. At about the same time, I was introduced to a jazz pianist, Rob Nissim. Rob and I met a few times to work out an arrangement and he knew a great recording studio in Rome.

The time came to record. I had never set foot in a recording studio and would need a full blog to write about that experience. In the end, we recorded and mixed the song with Rob on piano and keyboard, Pino on drums, and me on acoustic guitar, bass, and vocals. Rob asked a friend of his, a violinist whose name I do not recall, to play an intro and beautiful undertones that really bond the song.

Miraculously, “Fear and Hope” was chosen together with 21 other songs by musicians from 17 countries, including DR Congo, China, New Zealand, and Barbados. The pool of entries was in the thousands and the judges included Ennio Morricone and Nicola Piovani.

Unfortunately, for reasons we never fully understood, the concert was postponed and then cancelled. During the period of uncertainty, we musicians got to know each other through email (this was in the pre-facebook era) and one of the musicians, Juergen Schroeder, took the initiative to produce a double CD album that he used to try to generate interest in alternative concert venues. Juergen also created a website with information and all the recordings: www.songcollections.com Many of us have made our songs available on amazon, soundcloud, and other online venues.

The musicians are: Jean Mastaki Bafa (DR Congo), Luis A Biojo Cortes (Colombia), Glenn Douchette (Canada), Carmen Fenech (Malta), Derek Fields (Barbados), Luigi Giordano & Giuseppe Ranieri (Italy), Carlos Gonzalez (Chile), Gian Marco Gualandi (Italy), Adam Katsantonis (Cyprus), Obafemi Lasode (Nigeria), Ray Lemond (U.K.), Jon Lukas (U.K.), Epha Maina Mbugua (Kenya), Vincent Pace (Australia), Fanya Palikruscheva (Bulgaria), Jules Riding (New Zealand), Dario Schepisi (Italy), Dirk & Gertrude Schmalenbach (Germany), Juergen M Schroeder (Germany), Renè Simonpietri (Argentina), Peter Wu Tung Ming (China), and yours truly.

Of the 22, I only met Juergen and Dario in person, but several of us are connected via social media. In the end, we all gained international friendships and a beautiful souvenir.