The Corsica, it is not only the sun, the mountain and the sea. It is also and above all a whole heritage cultural, musical, and a breeding ground that has seen many artistes. So if you plan to travel to Corsica, don’t forget this selection of 16 songs in your suitcases.
Pieces from Corsican artists, or lovers of Corsica, that evoke the island, the South of France, the sun and invite escape.
1. Corsica – Patrick Fiori, Patrick Bruel
Let’s start with a local child: Patrick Fiori. Born to an Armenian father and a Corsican mother, the one who participated in the success of the musical Notre Dame of Paris spent part of his childhood in Marseille and the other in Ajaccio.
His interpretation of Corsica, in a duet with Patrick Bruel, is simply stunning. A torrent of emotion and a beautiful tribute to the Corsican language.
Read also: The ideal playlist for a getaway in Brittany in 22 songs
2. O Corsica island of love – Tino Rossi
No, Tino Rossi, it’s not that Small Santa, even if his canticle remains the best-selling song in history in France. Constantin Rossi, whose real name is, is above all a huge singer from Ajaccio, who shares with Elvis Presley the fact of having recorded his first song to offer it to his mother. This is how his tenor voice stood out and he became the artist we know.
A true ambassador of the Isle of Beauty, Tino Rossi will sing his love for Corsica in 1934 with O Corsica island of love, in which his high pitched voice would almost take his listener to a parallel dimension.
3. Solenzara – Tino Rossi
A nostalgia and Italian tunes beautiful to cry and that we also taste without moderation in Solenzara, a title co-composed by Enrico Macias, in which Tino Rossi is heard singing in both Corsican and French.
4. Le Tango ran – Fernandel
Funnier, more quirky too, the delicious ” Tango ran »By Fernandel (1940), who mocks the farniente and the supposed Corsican naps. “Corsican tango is a conditioned tango / Corsican tango is an organized nap / We move to make sure we don’t sleep / We relax, Corsican tango is like that” . The public loves it.
5. The Alizé – Alizée
In a completely different register, the singer Alizée was also born in Ajaccio. The one who became known with Moi… Lolita, one of the hits of the 2000s in France, is also the author of The Alizé, a title which has sold 700,000 copies and which earned it its place in this selection.
6. Javanese – Juliette Greco
Born to a father of Corsican origin, Juliette Gréco is also part of the landscape of the Isle of Beauty, even if the legendary singer and actress was born in Montpellier. His interpretation of Javanese, the hit that a still unknown Serge Gainsbourg wrote for her, is absolutely delicious.
7. The ballad of Tao – Jacques Higelin
He is not Corsican but that did not prevent him from singing the bay of Calvi in his Ballad of Tao. A title which earned Jacques Higelin the honor of becoming an honorary citizen of the city of Calvi in 1985, notes the France Inter radio website.
8. All the Corsicans of the world – Barbara Carlotti
If she grew up in Clamart, the singer-songwriter Barbara Carlotti has long been lulled by the music of Corsica, where her father is from. Nothing more normal for her than to dedicate the album “Corsica, island of love” to the territory that inspired it, and in which we find the song All the Corsicans of the world, which smells of nostalgia. “All the Corsicans in the world / Are homesick / Whether they’re at the end of the world / In New York in Paris / How far our island is / Just thinking about it / Happy names pass by / Like on a screen / Calvi, Porto, Bonifacio / Corte, Piena, Porto-Vecchio ».
9. Sintineddi – Sing It Loud
More traditional, the song Sintineddi, sung by the group Canta U Popular Corsu, is dedicated to the prehistoric site of Filitosa near Levie in southern Corsica, the atoutcorse.com website who describes him as “A true declaration of love for the heritage and history of the Corsicans”.
10. South – Nino Ferrer
Even if he doesn’t mention Corsica in particular, Nino Ferrer, with his song South, offered the public the sweetest ride in the sun.
One can easily imagine the warm and family atmosphere that reigns on the island, in this success which has sold more than a million copies. And besides, who has never hummed these words? “It’s a place that looks like Louisiana / Italy / There are laundry lying on the terrace / And it’s pretty ».
11. Lucky you – Petru Guelfucci et Francis Cabrel
Yes, Francis Cabrel also sang Corsica, and in Corsican please! In a duet with the Corsican singer Petru Guelfucci, the native of Agen sings a quiet ballad on this title that can be translated as “lucky”.
12. Island Idea – Petru Guelfucci
From the first seconds, the sound of the gentle waves of the Mediterranean promises a smooth journey on the Corsican shores. The title Island Idea of the singer Petru Guelfucci, is a poetic evocation of the island that saw him born. A singer who has the particularity of having been successful in Quebec, where he won a gold record.
13. Nustral Symphonye – Michel Fugain
Michel Fugain, too, tackled a classic of Corsican song with Nustral Symphony. A recording made during the show Friends first, broadcast on France 2 in October 2016. A title also taken, among others, by the singer and model, Baptiste Giabiconi, from a Corsican family.
14. A cant’a me – Tony Toga
And what about the wonderful A cant’a me of singer Tony Toga. A “voice” from the traditional repertoire of Corsican song that disappeared in 2014, leaving behind dozens of iconic songs.
15. Of – I Muvrini
And of course, it is impossible to evoke Corsica without thinking of the group I Muvrini, probably the best known on the island, haloed with eight gold records and two Victories of music. Known internationally, I Muvrini has performed on the biggest French stages: Olympia, Bercy, the Zenith, evolving from traditional Corsican songs to more variety. Their song Of is one of the group’s greatest hits, just like Corsican tea.
16. Terre d’oru (Fields of gold) – Sting et I Muvrini
To listen, too, the single Fields of gold, succès international performed by I Muvrini singer Jean-François Bernardini with Sting. An amazing duo but ultimately very inspired with a world star of world music whose golden fields become, in the Corsican version, Land of gold (Terre d’or).
– .
