Vincenzo Girasoli
Talking about “folk music” as “the music that comes from the people” isn’t always fancy, people don’t like to hear about humble origins, but this means that one should willingly ignore the fact that all music came from the humble strata of society in the first place. Calabrian traditional folk music is quite alive an well these days, lots of artists compose and play it, the genre is definitely gaining momentum. The artist is the custodian of both an ancient knowledge and the regional identity. Performing traditional music the artist becomes one with society as his notes evoke the bond between the motherland and its natives: music, lyirics and tradition become one powerful expression of Calabria’s history. What are the instruments that accompany the lyrics?
The most ancient one is the zampogna a bagpipe very similar to the Great Highland bagpipe invented in Scotland and still used today by the British Military. The Calabrian bagpipe is employed to play tarantella and pastorali. There are smaller babpipes known as surduline. Other instrumets are trombette (trumpets) and flauti (flutes).
The rhythm is given by the percussions (tùmmari and tamburelli, small drums) and strings like the Calabrian lira which has bowed strings. Continue reading clicking the below button >
