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Archive Santa Lucia mountain dulcimer tablature arrangement in the 1-3-5 tuning
Santa Lucia
Words & Music: Traditional Italian
Arranged by: Merv Rowley
 There
is a coastal district in the city of Napoli (Naples),
Italy called Santa Lucia. It was named in honor
of a religious martyr who died in Syracuse, Sicily on
December 16, about 350 A.D. In the early Christian
Church of Rome she became revered as the patron saint of
light, and of the blind.
In
1835, Italian verses were first written as merely the
thoughts of a
boatman, describing the beauty of the night scenery of
this Neopolitan area, and of the moon reflected upon the
sea. We also hear of the magic feelings experienced from
watching the boats, softly sailing before the gentle
breezes.
These
lyrics were set to a traditional Italian folk tune
written many years earlier. The song was eventually sung
and recorded by the famous Italian tenor, Enrico Caruso,
and its popularity soon spread worldwide. Today, the
song is loved and sung in several languages, including
Italian, English, Swedish and German. Many Americans
recall this beautiful song from music classes in grammar
school and from hearing it performed by vocal groups,
even today.
♫♫♫
 Those
of German, Swedish or Norwegian ancestry can recall that
Saint Lucy Day has long been observed in Europe to
commemorate the day of the winter solstice and the
beginning of longer days of sunshine. This celebration
later became a religious observance similar to that of
Christmas.
Ordinarily, there might be no connection whatsoever
between Santa Lucia Day and our song selection, other
than the name of Santa Lucia (or “Saint Lucy”).
Apparently, however, both the Germans and the Swedish
eventually composed verses for songs in honor of this
“patron saint of Light”, using the exact music of the
Italian song! More can be read of this short history
from the links posted below.
http://www.italiamerica.org/SantaLucia.htm
http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/lucia.htm
http://www.serve.com/shea/germusa/lucylied.htm
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Santa Lucia.pdf Santa
Lucia.JPG
Santa Lucia.MID
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