In the weeks before writing the song “Ode to a Nightingale,” Bruce Sudano was deeply captivated by the poetry of Pier Paolo Pasolini. Following Pasolini’s references to the nightingale bird, Sudano began writing his own story around the tiny taupe-colored bird often symbolic of melody and beauty.
Videos by American Songwriter
“I later discovered that the nightingale is actually a small scruffy little bird that possesses the unique gift of singing beautiful melodies in the dark of night,” says Sudano. “I interpreted these melodies to be songs of hope and light in the darkness and this became my inspiration for the song.”
The title track of Sudano’s new album, “Ode to a Nightingale” is a soulful homage to the more beautiful moments in life, often captured after hardships. Singing The nightingale is singing / The healing has begun / The bells of freedom ringing / Welcoming the dawn, Sudano is a champion for better times ahead.
Directed by Italian visual artist Furio Ganz, with enhanced effects by Claudio Bellini, the video captures the singer and songwriter in several cinematic phases.
“It’s more of a performance piece filmed inside a photography studio in the center of Milan,” says Sudano of the video. “Furio set up a light scheme of varying colors and shot me performing the song from multiple angles. It was then in post-production that Bellini worked his digital magic adding a further sense of mystery and modernity to the piece. This combination of diverse elements added up to an interesting and different visual look for me, one that compliments the song extremely well.”
Sudano, who recently toured with the 1960s rock band The Zombies and is continuing performances, including a show at Rockwood Music Hall in New York on May 10, hopes “Ode to a Nightingale” is a song that can be one of renewal and recovery during trying times.
“The song of the nightingale in the darkness that leads us to the dawn,” shares Sudano. “A Florence nightingale that nurtures us back to wholeness. It’s a sigh of relief after stepping back from the precipice along with its message of renewed hope for tomorrow.”
Photo: Amy Waters / Fiona Bloom (PR)
