Santa Lucia is a well-known traditional Neapolitan song. It was transcribed by Teodoro Cottrau (1827–1879) and published by the Cottrau firm, as a "barcarolla", at Naples in 1849. Cottrau translated it from Napuletano into Italian during the first stage of the Risorgimento, the first Neapolitan song to be given Italian lyrics. Its transcriber, who is very often credited as its composer, was the son of the French-born Italian composer and collector of songs Guillaume Louis Cottrau (1797–1847). The Neapolitan lyrics of Santa Lucia celebrate the picturesque waterfront district, Borgo Santa Lucia, in the Bay of Naples, in the invitation of a boatman to take a turn in his boat, the better to enjoy the cool of the evening.
- "O dolce Napoli,
- o suol beato,
- Ove sorridere
- Volle il Creato"
- Tu sei l'impero
- Di armonia!
- Santa Lucia! Santa Lucia"
In the United States, an early edition of the song, with an English translation by Thomas Oliphant, was published by M. McCaffrey, Baltimore. Perhaps the definitive 20th century recording of the song was that of Enrico Caruso, the great Neapolitan opera singer. In Sweden, Denmark and Norway, "Santa Lucia" has been given various lyrics to accommodate it to the winter-light festival of Saint Lucy, at the darkest time of the year. The three most famous lyrics versions in Swedish are Luciasången, aka Sankta Lucia, ljusklara hägring (“Saint Lucy, bright illusion”), Natten går tunga fjät (“The night walks with heavy steps”) and the 1970s "Kindergarten" version Ute är mörkt och kallt (“Outside it’s dark and cold”).
References
- A. della Corte and G. M. Gatti, Dizionario di Musica, Torino, 1925 (dates for the Cottau family)
