Tag: sicilian music
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Magic In The Alley Of Sutera, Sicily
When I see this image from September 2014, I remember the tears I shed as I listened to Fratelli Mancuso performing “Bella Maria” in the alleyway of Sutera, Sicily for our small-group. I am a huge fan of Lorenzo and Enzo’s music–I feel their harmonies in every cell of my body. The fact that I…
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Bring Your Dancing Shoes
Being a musician myself, I am always seeking out other musicians while in Sicily, especially those versed in local folk music, like Ettore, Alfredo, and Totò, pictured here. I heard them first as part of a larger community ensemble in Porticello, my grandfather’s birthplace, in 2011. A couple of years later, I sought them out,…
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Friscalettu Duo
Agrigento’s annual Sagra del Mandorlo in Fiore going on this week attracts groups from all over the globe, who display their traditional costumes along with exhibiting their culture’s beloved traditional music through performances and processions through town. Photographed in 2016 at the Festival by my cousin Filippo Buttitta, these two young men are playing the…
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Experience Sicily Through Music
As a musician, I always look for ways to connect with other musicians while in Sicily. During our Savoring Sicily tour last September, we enjoyed a private concert by these gifted young men from Favara. They were all first- and second-year college students studying different fields, and so talented! We had such fun with them.…
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Friscalettu: Sicily’s Reed Flute
Sicilian music is punctuated with the sounds of the friscalettu or reed flute, pictured. Traditional tarantellas (folk dances) are colored with motives from this instrument, often hand carved by the player using the wood from fig or olive trees or the oleander shrub. Like the harmonica, a friscalettu (friscaletto, in Italian language versus Sicilian) player…
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Go Out, Go Out Maria
When we met Fratelli Mancuso in September, they gave us a mini-concert right on a “stradina” (a little street) in Sutera, their hometown. It was absolutely divine! They sang and played for us their song “Nesci Maria” (pictured here). Some of the lyrics in Sicilian, then English, to give you a glimpse, are as follows:…
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On Top of the World
We are finishing our tour tonight, but not without another amazing encounter first! This evening we spent a breathtaking two hours with the Fratelli Mancuso in Sutera, their hometown. Really, it doesn’t get better than this. I am still shaking from the emotions I felt hearing them and meeting them again–this time, in Sicily. I…
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Alfio is Meraviglioso
Words cannot describe how emotional and engaging our visit with musician and artist Alfio Antico was this morning! We stayed at his home away from home, the agriturismo Borgo Nocchiara in the shadow of Mount Etna, where we spent a glorious three hours talking about music and the inspiration from Mother Earth.
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Private Serenade
Last night, we enjoyed a private house concert by a trio of musicians from Casteldaccia who performed traditional Sicilian and Southern Italian folk songs for us on my cousin Evelina’s patio. Fiorenza, Raffaele, and Ettore were fabulous. They even were gracious enough to play three of my songs with me! As a group we enjoyed…