ISTITUTO ISTRUZIONE SECONDARIA SUPERIORE POLO di Cutro I.T.C.- I. P.S. A. A. I. P. S. S. A. R. Traditional Music and Dances Comenius 2009-2010 - 2009-1-TR1-COM06-05563-4 -
Music in Calabria Calabrian instrumental music is an oral tradition and is passed downfrom older to younger players through listening and imitation. The music is performed on a number of folk instruments, including the fischiettu (cane flute), zampogna (bagpipes), tambourine, coupa coupa (friction drum), and Jew's harp. Other instruments include the organetto (button accordion), which is the most modern of the instruments; the concertina; the triccaballacche, a percussion instrument of Neapolitan origin, consisting of three prongs with small metal cymbals attached to its two movable hammers; and the chitarra battente, a sixteenth-century precursor to the modern guitar, which is used for both harmonic and percussive accompaniment. The traditional Calabrian music is a dance. It is the tarantella and it was very popular in the past. During religious or civil celebrations, the young and the old, men and women, dressed in their best clothes, enjoyed feast days playing, dancing and singing.
Songs The Calabrian vocal repertoire includes Easter carols, cantastorie (ballads), lullabies, ritual songs, love songs, and serenades. Texts reflect a unified and cultivated folk poetry tradition. In general, the vocal style is distinguished from that of northern Italy by its long phrases, drawn out cadences, and an often mournful quality. Both men and women generally sing in a highly resonant and high-pitched style. To achieve this delivery, performers often cup their hand around their ear as they sing in order to heighten the resonance.our traditional song is Calabrisella. It is a shepherd s love song.
Tarantella The tarantella is a traditional, southern Italian dance of 6/8 or 4/4 time, characterised by the rapid whirling of couples. There are several local variations of this dance, including the widespread Neapolitan (from Naples) and Sicilian varieties, and others including the Apulian and Calabrian tarantellas. This dance is a staple of some oldfashioned Southern Italian weddings. It resembles contra dance in that it is led by a caller (central singer/speaker) and may share similar figures[citation needed]. A tarantella is also a song that can be played by instrumentalists. Sometimes the word used for the song is taranta ("tarantella" is in fact a diminutive dialectal form for "tarantula", a common kind of spider). The tarantella is named after city of Taranto in southern Italy, and is popularly associated with the large local wolf spider or "tarantula" spider (Lycosa tarantula) whose bite was allegedly deadly and could be cured only by frenetic dancing (see tarantism). One variation of the legend said the dancer must dance the most joyous dance of her life or she would die, another says the dancer will go in to the most joyous dance of her life before she dies. In actual fact the spider's venom is not dangerous enough to cause any severe effects. The spiders, far from being aggressive, avoid human contact.
Dancing the tarantella alone was said to be unlucky, and thus it was always a couples dance, involving either a man and a woman, or two women. The tarantella is a circle dance, performed clockwise until the music in the set changes to become faster, after which everyone changes direction. This cycle occurs several times, eventually becoming so fast that it is very difficult to keep up with the beat. The music is generally led by a mandolin.
Spiders and Dance The tarantella can be traced back to the Middle Ages, and may have evolved from an even older dance. According to legend, an epidemic of tarantula poisonings spread through the town of Taranto. The victims (tarantata) were typically farm women or others whose daily life might reasonably bring them into contact with the kinds of spiders that run in the fields. These supposed victims of spider bites would dance while villagers played mandolins or tambourines. Various rhythms were used until one worked, vigorous dancing ensued, and eventually the tarantata was cured. Many people have suggested that the whole business was a deceit to evade religious proscriptions against dancing. Others state that it was a metaphor regarding female sexual desires and that by dancing frenetically these subsided and avoided problems in an era and area of Europe where sexual freedom wasn't particularly encouraged
Despite some speculative accounts, there are no arachnids known to have hallucinogenic venom. Instances of dancing mania however, have been explained as ergot intoxication, or ergotism, known in the Middle Ages as "St. Anthony's Fire" which is caused by eating rye infected with Claviceps purpurea, a small fungus that contains toxic and psychoactive chemicals (alkaloids), including lysergic acid (used in modern times to synthesize LSD). Whether unusual psychological states caused by these or other agents were sometimes mistaken for the effects of spider bites is unknown.
The Folk Dance Folk dance is a term used to describe a large number of dances, mostly of European origin, that tend to share the following attributes: They were originally danced in about the 19th century or earlier (or are, in any case, not currently copyrighted); Their performance is dominated by an inherited tradition rather than by innovation; They were danced by common people and not exclusively by aristocracy; They have been developed spontaneously and there is no governing body that has final say over what "the dance" is or who is authorized to teach it. This also means that no one has the final say over the definition of folk dance or the minimum age for such dances. Folk dances are traditionally performed during social events by people with little or no professional training. New dancers often learn informally by observing others and/or receiving help from others. Folk dancing is viewed as more of a social activity rather than competitive, although there are professional and semi-professional folk dance groups, and occasional folk dance competitions.
The term "folk dance" is sometimes applied to certain dances of historical importance in European culture and history; typically originated before 20th century. For other cultures the terms "ethnic dance" or "traditional dance" are sometimes used, although the latter terms may encompass ceremonial dances. There are a number of modern dances, such as hip hop dance, that evolve spontaneously, but the term "folk dance" is generally not applied to them, and the terms "street dance" or "vernacular dance" are used instead. The term "folk dance" is reserved for dances which are to a significant degree bound by European tradition and originated in the times when the distinction existed between the dances of "common folk" and the dances of the "high society". A number of modern ballroom dances originated from folk ones.
The terms "ethnic" and "traditional" are used when it is required to emphasize the cultural roots of the dance. In this sense, nearly all folk dances are ethnic ones. If some dances, such as polka, cross ethnic boundaries and even cross the boundary between "folk" and "ballroom dance", ethnic differences are often considerable enough to mention, e.g., Czech polka vs. German polka. Not all ethnic dances are folk dances; for example, ritual dances or dances of ritual origin are not considered to be folk dances.ritual dances are usually called "Religious dances" because of their purpose.