Album Notes

ITALIAN AMERICANS AND FEDERAL HILL, The Soundtrack
Soundtrack selections from the award winning film

The film ITALIAN AMERICANS AND FEDERAL HILL recounts the history of Italian Americans from their immigrant roots to modern times with a backdrop of Rhode Islands’ Little Italy, Federal Hill. The traditional folk tunes recorded for the film were brought from Italy by immigrants seeking a better life for themselves and their children in the New World.

Singer Guitarist Lino Del Signore arrived in the New World in 1962. He is one of the last remaining traditional troubadours. Lino sings in various Italian dialects. Most of the songs are in Neapolitan dialect reflecting the preponderance of immigrants arriving from the area around Naples . The opening song Vitti Na Crozza is in Sicilian dialect.

La mia Nuova Casa sul ‘Colletto’ (My New Home on Federal Hill), an original song, is sung in modern Italian. It captures the day in the life of Italian immigrants who worked hard to make ends meet, often in less than ideal conditions.

Three of the traditional pieces are instrumental. Two are performed by the Pandora Mandolin Trio (Josh Bell, Sarah Bell and Mark Armstrong) and one is a solo piece performed by Joshua Bell on mandolin.

All selections included in this soundtrack were recorded live at Budlong Studios.

The film ITALIAN AMERICANS AND FEDERAL HILL won First Place , Audience Choice Award for Best Documentary, at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in 2007. More information can be found on the films website at www.italianamericansandfederalhill.com

Produced by Jonathan D. Raben
Sound production by John Gulino
Associate Producer: Cynthia Roberge
Mastered by Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital
Graphic design by ib@creativeinteractive.com
Front cover photo by Kent Crossley

© 2009 Seven Fishes Productions LLC

www.italianamericansandfederalhill.com
866-734-7437