A widow said a song released in her husband’s honor with the help of top musicians was “absolutely beautiful”.
Riccardo Criscenti, from Bedfordshire, died of a heart attack in January shortly after contracting Covid-19.
The 45-year-old professional singer and musician has never released his own song, he is too much a “perfectionist” for that, said his wife Zdena.
One of his demos recorded in his shed was completed thanks to other music stars and his little daughter Valentina.
The track – The Sea Carries Away My Tears – became a reality when Martin Sutton of the songwriting academy where Mr. Criscenti studied agreed to produce it.
He said a “superstar” cast worked on it for two weeks, including Pam Sheyne on backing vocals that Genie In A Bottle wrote for Christina Aguilera and Eliza Carthy on violin.
Ms Criscenti told Justin Dealey on BBC Three Counties Radio that despite her husband’s career, he had not released any material of his own – although he wanted his music to be heard.
His vocals and guitar for the song had been recorded in the studio in his shed at their home in Dunstable, but it never saw the light of day.
“He used to say, ‘I just need one song,'” Ms. Criscenti said.
“It’s really difficult to talk about. Rick has spent so much time in his studio putting things together and you can hear his heart and soul in this song.
“Every time I listen, I just wait for him to come back from his shed.”
She said during the pandemic he sang to his neighbors in his garden and “everyone loved it”.
“That was just Rick, he was just trying to cheer everyone up,” she said.
Ms Criscenti said the release of the song “wouldn’t have happened” without Mr Sutton and his team, adding she was “so grateful – it’s so powerful and emotional and absolutely beautiful”.
The track has been released on various online platforms including Spotify and YouTube.
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