In Sicilian mountain towns, playing and crafting zampogna, or bagpipes, was a part of life. There aren’t too many zampogna players left–just like there aren’t too many shepherds (the livelihood most closely tied to the mountains and zampogna) either. David Marker, an american of Italian heritage, has made it his mission to keep zampogna alive….
Tag: bagpipe
Zampogna, the Italian Bagpipe
This fellow is playing a zampogna, an Italian bagpipe. Zampogne (plural for zamponga) are found throughout Italy. Sicily has a strong tradition of exploiting the droning sounds of zampogne—created from air vibrating through either a single or double reed—for its folk music, specifically from mountainous regions where sheep and goat herding are prevalent. The air…