Product Description
Everybody loves a wedding–especially a wonderful, lively and crazy ITALIAN one! That is why the nationally acclaimed, San Diego-based band, ROMAN HOLIDAY, decided to create the ultimate Italian Wedding CD, filled with lively and passionate Italian wedding favorites guaranteed to fill the reception hall with plenty of “AMORE.” As an added bonus, the CD features a 16-page “How To” booklet that takes the prospective bride and groom, wedding planner, or DJ step-by-step through an Italian American Wedding reception. The booklet describes each part of the reception itinerary and gives a history of the traditional Italian wedding songs played at each segment, which corresponds to a listing on the CD track. Recorded live in a state-of-the-art studio using up to 25 performers, the musical selections include traditional songs to accompany the Grand Entrance/ Bridal Party Processional, the First Dance, the Father-Daughter Dance, the Mother-Son Dance, the Grand March, the Tarantella, the Cake Cutting and Money Dance. In addition, Italian wedding favorites such as “That’s Amore,” the “Chicken Dance,” and “C’é La Luna Mezza Mare” are included. The CD also includes selections of swing, mambo, and tango music and even gives an outline of how to dance the Tarantella, a definite “must do” at an Italian wedding. “If you ask people what comes into mind when they think of an Italian American wedding, they’ll mention the good food and all the fun they had dancing to the music,” said Tony DiBona, band leader and producer of the Italian Wedding CD. “All the cherished Italian American traditions come together at a wedding celebration and the music is truly the heart and soul of the Italian wedding experience-after the food, of course!” The CD is a perfect choice for wedding couples of Italian American heritage who want to keep traditional customs alive but need a guide to help them along. “We packaged the CD so that the DJ in Topeka or the wedding coordinator in Baton Rouge can produce an authentic Italian American wedding– even if the closest Italian community is hundreds of miles away,” said DiBona. “If you are an Italian American and are planning a wedding reception around your heritage, this is the guide for you. And if you’re neither Italian nor planning a wedding, we bet you’ll still be moved to clap your hands and move your feet when you listen to these lively and romantic songs,” DiBona added. It is also a wonderful compilation of favorite Italian songs, performed by excellent musicians, to be enjoyed by ANYONE who loves Italian and Italian American music. The ROMAN HOLIDAY show band, now in its tenth year, has performed for festivals and corporate events in cities across the country and has appeared in several Hollywood films. Their lively and colorful show includes a wide repertoire of Italian-style music and dance.
The Italian Wedding
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- wedding songs?
Being born and raised in America with Italian parents,this cd was not for me. If I had known that some nobody was singing these great songs I would have never bought it. Where are Connie Francis, Loui Primo, Dean Martin, Rosemary Clooney, Jerry Vale? These songs where butchered by these people who can’t sing! I won’t embaress my family by playing this at my wedding.
Rating: 1 / 5
Hopefully the members of this group have day jobs!!! The people who gave great reviews to this cd do not know what real Italian music should sound like, there is no traditional sounds within these recordings, being italian american or a true italian recording this is not even close to what the sounds of italian music are. Being an Italian Canadian and a huge fan of Italian music I DO NOT recommend this CD under any circumstances. It would at least help if these singers would sing in key!!!!!! Where is the Calabrese Tarantella, Sicilian Tarantella, or Saltarello abruzzese ???????????????????
EXPLAINATION OF CRITICAL REVIEW AND OTHER SUGGESTIONS AS ASKED BY CLNV66
I’m glad you asked for other alternatives!! First, however, I would like to clarify why I gave such a negative review to The Italian Wedding CD, by Roman Holiday Ensemble. As I was searching to see what was available for Italian Wedding Music, to my surprise there was very little available on Amazon and I was disappointed at what such great reviews this Cd was given. It seems that a new world was discovered. Since this CD was specifically recorded for Italian-American Weddings, the producer should have done more research on the songs selected, not just to serve “spaghetti and meatballs”! They just selected the most popular Italian-American songs and reproduced them. I believe that Italian-Americans and Italian-Canadians deserve a lot more than just “spaghetti and meatballs” they could have at least served a “slice of pizza” by adding 5 more tracks to the CD! One of the tracks on the CD “Lauretta”, which has its popularity of been a father and daughter dance song at weddings, since they reproduced the recording they should have adjusted the lyrics to be appropriate for father and daughter. This song is meant to be a serenade to the daughter the night before her wedding. Lyrics explain that TOMORROW he will take her to the alter to get married, and there will be a great festa and so on all regarding a future tense. They could have changed the “Lauretta Mia” part to “Angelo Mio” or “Bambina Mia” not every brides name is Lauretta!!! There track “Mamma” again is not appropriate for a mother and son wedding dance, because the son is singing to his mother that he is happy that he has RETURNED to her and so on!!! Well that is somewhat of a short explanation of my criticism towards this CD…….THIS TRIGGERED ME TO PRODUCE A DOUBLE CD OF 40 SONGS (SO THE CONSUMER CAN CHOSE WHAT IS APPROPRIATE FOR THEIR EVENT) THE BEST POSSIBLE MATERIAL FOR AN ITALIAN-AMERICAN WEDDING/EVENT THAT WILL HOPEFULLY BE AVAILABLE ON AMAZON. Unfortunately, it will be in a few months, because of other projects in process.
FOR RECOMMENDATIONS: I suggest you purchase the following CD’s and make your own CD by selecting the songs that you and your family feel are appropriate for your reception. I suggest that you give your selection to your DJ in advance for them to properly balance levels since some of these recordings are not of the same quality. The following are my suggestions:
1. Patrizio Buanne
Listen to the CD “THE ITALIAN” but purchase the Italian Enhanced version and another CD “FOREVER BEGINS TONIGHT”, great voice great arrangements.
2. If you want Neapolitan music for your wedding purchase a CD By Renzo Arbore titled “NAPOLI DUE PUNTI E A CAPO”, listen to Aumma Aumma, Torna a Surriento, Passione and etc. excellent sound and excellent recordings.
3. For traditional and regional songs, purchase “CANZONI POPULARI VOL. 1 – 7″ to get a good idea listen to Vol. 6 tracks 18 -24, quality of the recordings are ok. While selecting songs from this collection consult other family members that maybe more familiar with these songs, in order to appropriately select songs that are appropriate for your reception. Some of these songs are from different regions of Italy and not everyone is Calabrese (like me!), Sicilian or Napolitano! When serching for these Cd’s Folclore Italiano: 35 Canzoni populari is also on the list do not buy this CD the songs are not complete.
4. For Italian super hits purchase 4 CD set titled “MEGA COLLEZIONE” which includes hits of the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. It also includes the song “Le Mamme” by Toto Cutugno and “Portami a Ballare” by Luca Barbarossa, these two songs ARE APPROPRIATE for the Mother and Son wedding dance. 98% of the songs are original recordings and original artists. Unfortunately for the father and daughter dance there is nothing appropriate on Amazon for this. I suggest that you use a good instrumental version of an Italian song or an appropriate English song.
5. If you are of Sicilian backround, purchase “Sicilia Cuore Mio” and “Terra di Sicilia: tarantella per fischietto il miglio Vol. 1″ recordings are a little old but unfortunately there is nothing better that is available on Amazon at the moment.
6. Another suggestions is “CANZONI POPOLARI ITALIANE” listen to track 8, 11 & 12.
7. For Calabrese songs, unfortunately not much is available on Amazon, search “LE CANZONI DELLA MAFIA” listen to track 18 “Tarantella di li Tarantelli”
8. Search for “LA MUSICA DELLA MAFIA Vol. 2 OMERTA, ONURI E SANGU”, Listen to track 11 “Tarantella Santissima” and track 21 “Tarantella Rose e Sciuri”.
The rest of the songs on these 2 calabrese Cd’s is up to you if you deem them appropriate enough.
9. For Italian Dance Music purchase “Italo Euro Hits”.
Then if you would like to throw in some “Spaghetti and meatballs” from The Italian Wedding Cd by Roman Holiday you should have a pretty good menu!!!!!!!!! I hope that I have offered some good suggestions. I would like to hear comments regarding the suggestions I have made. Ciao!!!
P.S. Please read comments regarding my original review!!
Rating: 1 / 5
Excellent for anyone with Italian blood. Can be used for many occassions. Just what I was looking for.
Rating: 5 / 5
Upon returning from a recent trip to Italy, I re-awakened my longstanding love of Italian music and decided to expand my usual repertoire of Italian music by purchasing this CD, primarily based on the rave reviews it received on Amazon and other retail music websites.
Having been on a very steady diet of Dean Martin, Jerry Vale, Al Martino, Perry Como, Mario Lanza and the likes, I was initially surprised by this CD when I first listened because at first, some of the tunes sounded foreign to me and unlike the renditions of songs that I recall listening to (with my parents) as a young Italian-American woman growing up in Providence Rhode Island.
The music on this CD is REALLY Italian festival music or “party” music and NOT mellow crooning! My mom was a HUGE Dean Martin fan (so am I) and I have fond recollections of mom singing “Let Me Go, Let Me Go, Let Me Go Lover” (and the likes) to me when I was a little girl, having listened to MANY HOURS of Italian-American crooners.
But ohhhhhh…after just a few listens…this CD is very, very ENJOYABLE, authentic and addictive! In no time at all, many additional happy, warm & sweet childhood memories came back to me, as I quickly recalled many of the songs on this CD…and I haven’t stopped smiling since!
This is TRULY a CD to be loved and not just music to enjoy only in preparation for a wedding! I always loved festive Italian music and that’s what this CD is all about! This CD will certainly not disappoint if you are purchasing it in preparation for a traditional Italian wedding. However, many of the renditions (of the old Italian songs)on this CD are among the BEST renditions I have ever heard of each song and yes…you WILL recall hearing most of the wonderful songs on this CD at Italian weddings but also at Italian festivals, feasts, parties etc. This CD is great!
Additionally, this CD is so much more than a simple compilation of popular Italian songs. I was fortunate enough to correspond with Giovanna, one of the main inspirations behind the “Roman Holiday Ensemble” and she is an incredibly gracious, warm, kind, generous, creative & compassionate soul. This CD is truly a “labor of love,” as it was conceptualized by Giovanna, her husband Tony and a few others as a way of preserving & passing along (to current & future generations) the beautiful Italian traditions of music, dance, celebration and love! Giovanna, her handsome & talented husband Tony, and many of their family members were involved in the production of the CD from the song arrangements, to the vocals to the instrumentation…all done straight from the heart!
This CD is catchy, heart-warming & uplifting! I love almost ALL of the renditions on this CD, especially the renditions of Speak Softly, C’e La Luna, Lauretta Mia, Piccolo Fiore, Tiki Ti Polka, Angelina, Chitarra Romana and the (very difficult to sing) Funiculi Funicula! And yes…I fondly recall my dad singing “Chitarra Romana” to me when I was a very little girl! Listening to that song on this CD makes me smile & brings tears to my eyes each & every time!
Please do not hesitate to purchase this wonderful CD made by these incredibly kind people…it will warm your heart & soul! You will find yourself humming & singing many of these uplifting songs even when the CD is not playing!
Toni Lee Fiore
(John Matrunich’s loving wife)
Rating: 5 / 5
This CD is more than we expected. It’s great for an Italian wedding, as it includes a great booklet to guide you through a traditional Italian wedding, but it is such a lively, fun, authentic CD, you could use it for any Italian themed event, from parties to festivals. It got my Nonna up dancing, so I know it was authentic and earned five stars!!!
Rating: 5 / 5