Con Te Partiro

“When I’m alone, I dream on the horizon and words fail;

yes, I know there is no light 

in a room where the sun is absent,

if you are not with me…”

So begins one of the most romantic Italian pop ballads of all time, and even if you don’t speak Italian… the second you hear the lush orchestration of “Con te partiro”, you know your heart is in for an emotional ride. 

 

Written by Italian composer Francesco Sartori with lyrics penned by Lucio Quarantotto, Con te partiro was debuted by superstar Andrea Bocelli at the 1995 Sanremo Music Festival. It was recorded the very same year for inclusion on Andrea’s aptly-titled album “Bocelli”, serving as an A-side single with “Vivere”. Although the song’s original single release by Polydor Records wasn’t a commercial success in Italy, where it received a bare minimum of radio play, the rest of Europe soon became absolutely smitten with the song.

To say Con te partiro exploded in popularity is an understatement. It became an absolute phenomenon, topping the charts in France and swiftly becoming a massive hit in Switzerland. The single topped charts for six weeks straight, earning a triple gold sales award for its efforts. Within weeks, the moving nature of this ballad had inspired all of Belgium to declare Bocelli their new muse: Con te partiro became the biggest hit of all-time for the country while spending twelve weeks at No. 1.

But the song refused to let the ebb and flow of musical popularity slow down its journey across Europe and beyond. A second version of the song was released the following year with partial English lyrics. The catch? This time Bocelli would not have to deliver its powerful lyrics alone. British soprano Sarah Brightman (of Phantom of the Opera fame) was recruited to contextualize Bocelli’s Italian lyrics with English verses of her own. This added a dimension to the song’s meaning that previously could not have been realized. Nor could the original composers of this piece predict what was to come next.

The new version of Con te Partiro, re-titled as “Time to Say Goodbye”, achieved even greater success to that of its predecessor. It topped charts all across Europe. Germany couldn’t get enough of this new version, and they joined the ranks of Belgium in honoring it as the biggest-selling single in their history. Brightman and Bocelli were happy to continue to experiment with the different ways in which Quarantott’s melody could create “all the feels” in audiences worldwide. They produced an altered version of Time to Say Goodbye, made available on the CD of the same name, with Brightman singing in German and Bocelli in Italian. At present, that version alone has sold more than twelve million copies around the world, establishing it as one of the best-selling singles ever recorded.

Though Brightman would bow out at this point in the song’s development, Bocelli was determined to test whether audiences worldwide would embrace yet another version. So he recorded a full Spanish version of the song in 1997, titled “Por ti volaré” (“For You I Will Fly”). And, wouldn’t you know it, he struck gold again. Out of all three versions (four if you count the German/Italian duet rendition) this song encountered even greater popularity in Europe. Today, Con te Partiro (in the guise of Por ti volaré) is considered Bocelli’s signature song.

Con te partiro’s magic lies in its ability to move each of us in a special way, to reach across time and conjure those passionate and meaningful memories we hold for those we will always cherish. The song melts away all regrets of the heart to reveal that it is love for those who matter to you which matters most in the end.

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