Tag: folk music
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Stealing from Old Men in the Village
Calling upon the traditional work songs and sacred music they heard growing up in the small town of Sutera in the province of Caltanissetta, Lorenzo and Enzo Mancuso create “new-traditional” Sicilian roots music. Known internationally as Fratelli Mancuso, the duo mixes elements from Gregorian chant, Christian liturgical laments, Arabic and Byzantine lyrical prayers, and the…
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Dancing in the Street
Musicians and dancers from Santa Flavia’s Gruppo Folk Soluntum perform traditional Sicilian folks songs–here on tamburello (frame drum/tambourine), friscalettu (reed flute), and fisarmonica (accordion)–for a crowd of onlookers in Porticello.
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Bagherese Cart Drivers’ Songs
The singer on this cart is performing a traditional cart driver’s song (for a contemporary celebration). This photo was taken in Santa Flavia, near Bagheria. Bagheria is not only renowned for its tradition of building intricately decorated carts, but also for the tradition of virtuosic singing employed by the cart drivers. The drivers’ songs…
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Marranzano: Sicily’s Jaw Harp
This musical instrument is played throughout the world. It’s known as a jew’s harp, jaw harp, mouth harp, or in Sicily, as a marranzano or marranzanu. Marranzano is played using breath, one’s oral cavity (mouth, teeth, lips, jaw), and a finger to pluck the reed that sits within the frame. The reed, in this case,…