Giuseppe Sanfratello
Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche, Department Member
- Ethnomusicology, Byzantine Music, Music History, Anthropology of Music, Byzantine Liturgy, Greek Music, and 19 moreCretan Music, Medieval Studies, Medieval musicology, Popular Music Studies, Greek, Byzantine, Ottoman music, Historical Ethnomusicology, Applied Ethnomusicology, World music-Ethnomusicology, Ethnomusicology and Identity, Urban Ethnomusicology, Ethnomusicology, Anthropology of music, Organology, Anthropology, Popular Music, Ethnographic fieldwork, Byzantine Musicology, Liturgical Chant, Oral Transmission, Sicilian-Albanian chant tradition, and Neumatologyedit
- Giuseppe Sanfratello (1985) is an ethnomusicologist and a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Humanities (Univer... moreGiuseppe Sanfratello (1985) is an ethnomusicologist and a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Humanities (University of Catania). He has earned a PhD in Musicology (University of Copenhagen, 2017) and a PhD in Sciences of Cultural Heritage and Production (University of Catania, 2023). He has worked and published on Cretan vocal music, the Sicilian-Albanian liturgical chant repertoire, and more recently on the multipart singing repertoires of the Ionian Islands. His research interests concern multipart music and the relationship between music and the sacred. His second doctoral thesis, entitled ‘Kùrdhisma. Cantare ad accordo nelle isole Ionie: interpreti e contesti esecutivi', has received the ‘Giovanni Morelli’ prize awarded by the Ugo and Olga Levi Foundation in Venice. He has taught Ethnomusicology at the University of Copenhagen and the Ionian University (Corfu); since 2020, he has been a lecturer in the seminars of ‘Introduction to Ethnomusicology’ and ‘Popular Music’ at the University of Catania. He has published in national and international journals and has participated in conferences and seminars in Italy and abroad. In addition, he is a member of the editorial board of the journal «Musica Docta» and the «Bollettino di studi belliniani».edit
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate” society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will... more
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate” society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will examine some achievements in research fields both dealing with literary studies and musicological enquiry. Taking into account some instances of oral musical traditions gathered during ethnomusicological fieldwork, e.g. the singing of mandinàdhes (couplets of improvised rhymed verses) from Crete and the Byzantine liturgical chant of the Albanians of Sicily, I will analyse the process both of (re)writing a poetic-formulaic tradition by adapting itself to the modern multimedia technology (i.e. the “media literate poets” case on Crete) and developing techniques of oral safeguarding without the usage of musical notation (i.e. the case of the Sicilian-Albanian community). This very last example will show how one can talk about “aliterate” performers, who choose, on purpose, not to write down their own singing tradition, although they do know how to read and write. These cases might seem a bit more complicated to look at if one just considers that, in the so-called Facebook Era, it has become increasingly difficult to define a clear border between orality and literacy. Indeed, we should observe the striking switch from the relationship of “writers and readers” to that one of “bloggers and followers”. Finally, by studying such musical phenomena, it is possible to deduce that – since the systems of oral performance have significantly changed over the last century – we can still find a relevant bond between techniques of oral musical transmission and written safeguard in a (post-) literate society.
Research Interests:
In this paper we introduce a preliminary study on the presence and influence of musical ritualities over the historical development of the festive celebration of St Agatha of Sicily. The aim of our enquiry is to observe how the form of... more
In this paper we introduce a preliminary study on the presence and influence of musical ritualities over the historical development of the festive celebration of St Agatha of Sicily. The aim of our enquiry is to observe how the form of the city of Catania has been improved and reorganized over the centuries according to the configuration of the feast, which employs various types of symbolic and ritual – not exclusively musical – practices revolving around the celebration of the patron saint. Among these, the procession with the relics of St Agatha throughout the city has to some extent reshaped the town plan. Also, ecclesiastical chant and instrumental music may have played an important role in the (re-)construction of an ideal place for such collective rituality, not to mention that two massive earthquakes (in 1169 and in 1693) and the massive eruption of 1669 have caused crucial actions to reconstruct the city. By trying to answer a few questions on the rearrangement of the feast ...
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The Ionian Islands (especially Corfu, Kefalonia and Zakynthos) have played a crucial role in the Mediterranean Sea due to their geographical position throughout history. Among the various dominations that have ruled there, the influence... more
The Ionian Islands (especially Corfu, Kefalonia and Zakynthos) have played a crucial role in the Mediterranean Sea due to their geographical position throughout history. Among the various dominations that have ruled there, the influence of Italian culture is still predominant today.
“Ionian” secular musical practices are nowadays mainly represented by the urban vocal repertoire of kantàdes (transmitted in all three islands), the arekies of Zakynthos and the ariettes of Kefalonia. These repertoires are featured by a homophonic chordal idiom, developed by ear from three or four vocal parts, unlike the monodic vocal repertoires found in the rest of Greece. The same occurs in the case of the Byzantine liturgical repertoire.
In reviewing the state of the art, an important scientific gap has been noted, since research in the academic field had so far focused on the analysis of the spread of Italian opera (in Corfu, in particular) in the 18th-19th centuries. Some notable works – exclusively in Greek – have been carried out in the field of “Ionian” Byzantine chant, while only a couple of non-academic Greek publications concern the urban vocal repertoire of Corfu and Zakynthos only.
This essay thus offers the first results of an ethnomusicological investigation conducted on all three of the aforementioned major islands of the Heptanese. The audiovisual material collected in the field, i.e. musical performances and interviews, is partly presented here in order to provide a preliminary analysis of the ritual spaces, contextual occasions, socio-symbolic functions, and the singers’ behaviour, all elements characterising their musical practice today.
“Ionian” secular musical practices are nowadays mainly represented by the urban vocal repertoire of kantàdes (transmitted in all three islands), the arekies of Zakynthos and the ariettes of Kefalonia. These repertoires are featured by a homophonic chordal idiom, developed by ear from three or four vocal parts, unlike the monodic vocal repertoires found in the rest of Greece. The same occurs in the case of the Byzantine liturgical repertoire.
In reviewing the state of the art, an important scientific gap has been noted, since research in the academic field had so far focused on the analysis of the spread of Italian opera (in Corfu, in particular) in the 18th-19th centuries. Some notable works – exclusively in Greek – have been carried out in the field of “Ionian” Byzantine chant, while only a couple of non-academic Greek publications concern the urban vocal repertoire of Corfu and Zakynthos only.
This essay thus offers the first results of an ethnomusicological investigation conducted on all three of the aforementioned major islands of the Heptanese. The audiovisual material collected in the field, i.e. musical performances and interviews, is partly presented here in order to provide a preliminary analysis of the ritual spaces, contextual occasions, socio-symbolic functions, and the singers’ behaviour, all elements characterising their musical practice today.
Research Interests:
Sounds play a crucial role in the transmission of information needed to understand urban landscapes, as well as in the establishment of social spaces and processes that create collective identities. This role is also evident in the... more
Sounds play a crucial role in the transmission of information needed to understand urban landscapes, as well as in the establishment of social spaces and processes that create collective identities. This role is also evident in the "sounding" of ceremonial spaces, a process that employs various expressive languages (e.g., ritual, artistic, etc.), mechanisms of construction and transmission of imaginaries and cultural memory. For this reason, "sounds" work as forms of knowledge about places and contexts and tell us more about the role of music in the description of urban space and in the elaboration of the concept of "sense of place". The contemporary debate on historical soundscape studies focuses on the reconstruction of urban soundscapes, outlining the deep relationships between sounds and the city by adopting an interdisciplinary approach based on the investigation of archival documents and iconographic-musical material. This contribution offers an account of the results achieved by a research project focused on the history of an ancient district of Catania (San Berillo). In so doing it aims to restore a " sense of place" through visual, literary, sonic and performative stratifications of the urban space.
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Il Sabato di Lazzaro è una delle celebrazioni più significative dell’anno liturgico di tutto il mondo ortodosso, e specialmente delle chiese di tradizione bizantina. Lo scopo di questo contributo è, dunque, quello di descrivere quale sia... more
Il Sabato di Lazzaro è una delle celebrazioni più significative dell’anno liturgico di tutto il mondo ortodosso, e specialmente delle chiese di tradizione bizantina. Lo scopo di questo contributo è, dunque, quello di descrivere quale sia lo stato della diffusione e della persistenza della paraliturgia di Lazzaro, non solo su territorio greco ma anche in alcuni paesi dei Balcani occidentali. Pertanto, data l’assenza di un lavoro accademico di ambito internazionale che raccolga in un solo studio tutte le varianti del rito del Lazzaro in ogni sua forma, sono state qui riportate sia notizie relative alla pratica del Lazzaro ancora in uso ai nostri giorni sia informazioni storiche sulle sue origini pre-cristiane, ossia sulla sua connessione ai riti primaverili della fertilità e della “risurrezione” della terra. In particolare, dopo aver accennato brevemente al contesto liturgico, verrà offerto un quadro generale sulle tradizioni etnomusicali legate alla memoria calendariale bizantina della risurrezione di Lazzaro in Albania, Serbia, Macedonia e Grecia, richiamando di tanto in tanto la tradizione arbëreshe di Sicilia.
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Echoing the famous statement of the British social anthropologist and ethnomusicologist John Blacking (1973), who defined music as ‘the humanly organised sound’, this short essay attempts to delineate the basic coordinates of the... more
Echoing the famous statement of the British social anthropologist and ethnomusicologist John Blacking (1973), who defined music as ‘the humanly organised sound’, this short essay attempts to delineate the basic coordinates of the relationship occurring between the ‘art of sounds’ and wellbeing. This will be done by reinterpreting some of the most influential studies oriented towards the observation of socio-psychological issues of music, with a particular focus on the power of emotional representation in the experience of choral music. I will present the case study of the musical practice of ‘multipart singing’, based on forms of improvised harmonisation, which can be found in some regions of the Mediterranean and, more specifically, it is spread over three of the Ionian Islands: Corfu, Zakynthos and Kefalonia. Traditional singers usually gather in groups by means of performative processes and by activating musical behaviours that make them achieve a strong symbolic representation of identity. The ‘collective resonance’, ‘harmony’ or the ‘koùrdhisma’ (i.e. tuning) – as they say – reached through their choral singing are basic concepts to enter the logic behind this unique oral musical tradition, which – while gathering people in the same place – give them the chance to improve their well-being by making music together.
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When a group of doctoral students at the Department of Humanities (University of Catania) began to take their first steps towards the organisation of a conference on cultural heritage, they perhaps did not absolutely think that they would... more
When a group of doctoral students at the Department of Humanities (University of Catania) began to take their first steps towards the organisation of a conference on cultural heritage, they perhaps did not absolutely think that they would get at the establishment of an interdisciplinary network with an international scope, namely the 'CHAIN' (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network). The 'CHAIN' project was thus launched in 2020 in order to create a thought-provoking interdisciplinary environment where young scholars (and not only) would have the chance to reflect on the role of their studies on cultural heritage and their social impact worldwide. The aim then was the achievement of a fruitful discussion about up-to-date research topics revolving around the cultural heritage seen as an alive entity, as well as the interaction between academia and nonacademic cultural institutions and cultural workers. Bearing such issues in mind, the first 'CHAIN' team individuated the binomial ‘cultural heritage-well/being’ as an ideal topic, embracing both public practices and the recognition of their social and economic potential. The result of this internal interdisciplinary debate was the call for an international conference on 'WellBeing and Cultural Heritage/ BenEssere e Patrimonio Culturale'.
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In questo contributo si propone una riflessione sulle modalità di reazione all’emergenza sanitaria degli ultimi due anni, con particolare riferimento alle dinamiche di resilienza messe in atto dai devoti di Sant’Agata, durante lo... more
In questo contributo si propone una riflessione sulle modalità di reazione all’emergenza sanitaria degli ultimi due anni, con particolare riferimento alle dinamiche di resilienza messe in atto dai devoti di Sant’Agata, durante lo svolgimento ‘virtuale’ della celebre festa della Santa Patrona di Catania.
L’indagine si avvale di un’intervista qualitativa ad alcuni devoti del quartiere storico della Civita, al fine di analizzare il passaggio dallo svolgimento della festa reale e ‘in presenza’ ad alcune forme virtuali e private di culto, per far fronte all’assenza di gesti, simboli e consuetudini proibite a causa del perdurare della pandemia.
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-7.pdf
L’indagine si avvale di un’intervista qualitativa ad alcuni devoti del quartiere storico della Civita, al fine di analizzare il passaggio dallo svolgimento della festa reale e ‘in presenza’ ad alcune forme virtuali e private di culto, per far fronte all’assenza di gesti, simboli e consuetudini proibite a causa del perdurare della pandemia.
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-7.pdf
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Per fronteggiare il grave disagio socio-culturale, nel 2010 il Rotary Club Catania ha lanciato il progetto ‘MusicaInsieme a Librino’, vòlto allo sviluppo di percorsi musicali basati su strategie di cooperative learning, al fine di... more
Per fronteggiare il grave disagio socio-culturale, nel 2010 il Rotary Club Catania ha lanciato il progetto ‘MusicaInsieme a Librino’, vòlto allo sviluppo di percorsi musicali basati su strategie di cooperative learning, al fine di favorire tra i giovani non solo l’educazione alla musica ma anche quella alla cittadinanza. Sul ‘modello Abreu’, è così che si costituiscono un coro polifonico e diverse classi di strumento (violino, viola, violoncello, chitarra classica, flauto traverso, tromba e percussioni), per contrastare la dispersione scolastica. Nonostante le condizioni dettate dall’emergenza sanitaria, il progetto ‘MusicaInsieme’ non si è mai arrestato.
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The symbolic representation of identity in traditional musical contexts is achieved through the activation of performers’ behaviour gathering in a group, by means of performative processes typical of ‘musicking’ (e.g. ‘know how to make... more
The symbolic representation of identity in traditional musical contexts is achieved through the activation of performers’ behaviour gathering in a group, by means of performative processes typical of ‘musicking’ (e.g. ‘know how to make music together’). Two case studies are presented to explore the power of emotional representation, by employing ‘heterophonic melodies of homophonic ideas’ (Cretan rizìtiko), or a traditional polyphonic language (Zakynthian arekies), respectively. In either case, performers show common psychological conditions through the search for a ‘collective resonance’.
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To the memory of His Excellency Sotir Ferrara, Bishop Emeritus of Piana degli Albanesi of blessed memory (5 December 1937 – 25 November 2017). The publication of fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo’s “Chants of the Byzantine Rite” as a Subsidium of... more
To the memory of His Excellency Sotir Ferrara, Bishop Emeritus of Piana degli Albanesi of blessed memory (5 December 1937 – 25 November 2017).
The publication of fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo’s “Chants of the Byzantine Rite” as a Subsidium of the Danish editorial series Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae (2016) is an outstanding piece of evidence of the presence, survival, and development of Byzantine chant on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire. For the first time, this volume offers transcriptions of the full repertoire of orally transmitted hymns for the celebration of the Byzantine Rite in Sicily.
This chant tradition has been cultivated by the Albanian-speaking minority in Sicily since their ancestors arrived as refugees from the Balkans in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Hence, chanting was performed without musical notation until around 1900, when local connoisseurs of the tradition started to write down a selection of the melodies in staff notation.
Bearing such a background in mind, this paper offers a introductory description of the melodic and modal organisation of the repertoire, as well as a discussion of some of the challenges entailed in the analysis of an oral liturgical chant tradition developed and handed down to the present day.
Clavibus unitis, no. 4/2020 (ISSN 1803-7747)
The publication of fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo’s “Chants of the Byzantine Rite” as a Subsidium of the Danish editorial series Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae (2016) is an outstanding piece of evidence of the presence, survival, and development of Byzantine chant on the fringes of the Byzantine Empire. For the first time, this volume offers transcriptions of the full repertoire of orally transmitted hymns for the celebration of the Byzantine Rite in Sicily.
This chant tradition has been cultivated by the Albanian-speaking minority in Sicily since their ancestors arrived as refugees from the Balkans in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Hence, chanting was performed without musical notation until around 1900, when local connoisseurs of the tradition started to write down a selection of the melodies in staff notation.
Bearing such a background in mind, this paper offers a introductory description of the melodic and modal organisation of the repertoire, as well as a discussion of some of the challenges entailed in the analysis of an oral liturgical chant tradition developed and handed down to the present day.
Clavibus unitis, no. 4/2020 (ISSN 1803-7747)
Research Interests:
In this paper we introduce a preliminary study on the presence and influence of musical ritualities over the historical development of the festive celebration of St Agatha of Sicily. The aim of our enquiry is to observe how the form of... more
In this paper we introduce a preliminary study on the presence and influence of musical ritualities over the historical development of the festive celebration of St Agatha of Sicily.
The aim of our enquiry is to observe how the form of the city of Catania has been improved and reorganized over the centuries according to the configuration of the feast, which employs various types of symbolic and ritual-not exclusively musical-practices revolving around the celebration of the patron saint. Among these, the procession with the relics of St Agatha throughout the city has to some extent reshaped the town plan. Also, ecclesiastical chant and instrumental music may have played an important role in the (re-)construction of an ideal place for such collective rituality, not to mention that two massive earthquakes (in 1169 and in 1693) and the massive eruption of 1669 have caused crucial actions to reconstruct the city. By trying to answer a few questions on the rearrangement of the feast to the ceremonial space (or viceversa) over the centuries, this paper represents the most up-to-date (ethno-)musicological work on the subject of the feast of St Agatha in Catania, as a city at the centre of the Mediterranean.
The aim of our enquiry is to observe how the form of the city of Catania has been improved and reorganized over the centuries according to the configuration of the feast, which employs various types of symbolic and ritual-not exclusively musical-practices revolving around the celebration of the patron saint. Among these, the procession with the relics of St Agatha throughout the city has to some extent reshaped the town plan. Also, ecclesiastical chant and instrumental music may have played an important role in the (re-)construction of an ideal place for such collective rituality, not to mention that two massive earthquakes (in 1169 and in 1693) and the massive eruption of 1669 have caused crucial actions to reconstruct the city. By trying to answer a few questions on the rearrangement of the feast to the ceremonial space (or viceversa) over the centuries, this paper represents the most up-to-date (ethno-)musicological work on the subject of the feast of St Agatha in Catania, as a city at the centre of the Mediterranean.
Research Interests:
The study of the Kekragarion chant tradition has over time become an important aspect of Byzantine musicology, especially regarding the development of “simple psalmody”. Simple psalmody describes the functional side of Byzantine “psalm... more
The study of the Kekragarion chant tradition has over time become an important aspect of Byzantine musicology, especially regarding the development of “simple psalmody”. Simple psalmody describes the functional side of Byzantine “psalm tones”, pointing out a set of recurrent behaviours in the adaptation of psalm verses to simple melodic lines, producing a sort of “skeleton” that eventually would form the background for more
developed, “ornate” or “embellished”, psalm settings. Specifically regarding the Kekragaria, the present paper expands on a diachronic study published by Svetlana Kujumdzieva, primarily dealing with the rubrics reported in late Byzantine written musical manuscripts, and a contribution by Annette Jung, presenting a synchronic analysis of the fifteenth-century manuscript Sinai gr. 1255 – with focus on the modal intonations.
The possibility of using the melodic profiles of such simple chant tradition to trace the development of the Kekragarion up to the latest settings composed in the nineteenth century has not been pursued until now. This paper presents the results of a diachronic, comparative analysis through the eight modes. Fourteen manuscripts have been studied, but for the actual analysis two manuscripts representing the Kekragaria versions contained in the whole group of manuscripts were selected for transcription.
My survey shows how the melodic tradition of the late medieval Kekragarion has been partly maintained and partly developed over four centuries, and it also demonstrates how specific melodic features relate to the arrangement of the text.
developed, “ornate” or “embellished”, psalm settings. Specifically regarding the Kekragaria, the present paper expands on a diachronic study published by Svetlana Kujumdzieva, primarily dealing with the rubrics reported in late Byzantine written musical manuscripts, and a contribution by Annette Jung, presenting a synchronic analysis of the fifteenth-century manuscript Sinai gr. 1255 – with focus on the modal intonations.
The possibility of using the melodic profiles of such simple chant tradition to trace the development of the Kekragarion up to the latest settings composed in the nineteenth century has not been pursued until now. This paper presents the results of a diachronic, comparative analysis through the eight modes. Fourteen manuscripts have been studied, but for the actual analysis two manuscripts representing the Kekragaria versions contained in the whole group of manuscripts were selected for transcription.
My survey shows how the melodic tradition of the late medieval Kekragarion has been partly maintained and partly developed over four centuries, and it also demonstrates how specific melodic features relate to the arrangement of the text.
Research Interests:
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the collaboration between a collector of the Byzantine chant tradition of Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo) in Sicily, fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo, and the editorial board of the Monumenta Musicae... more
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the collaboration between a collector of the Byzantine chant tradition of Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo) in Sicily, fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo, and the editorial board of the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae, i.e. an institution under the aegis of the University of Copenhagen.
Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916-1986), a Catholic monk of Byzantine Rite, gathered between 1950-1960 the most complete collection of this late-medieval and still living musical tradition, handed down over the last five centuries only by means of the oral transmission. In the same decade, fr. Di Salvo got in contact with the MMB, and eventually they agreed to publish the critical edition of this collection.
After more than fifty years, the updated and revised version of the edition of this meaningful collection is finally being published by the MMB.
Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916-1986), a Catholic monk of Byzantine Rite, gathered between 1950-1960 the most complete collection of this late-medieval and still living musical tradition, handed down over the last five centuries only by means of the oral transmission. In the same decade, fr. Di Salvo got in contact with the MMB, and eventually they agreed to publish the critical edition of this collection.
After more than fifty years, the updated and revised version of the edition of this meaningful collection is finally being published by the MMB.
Research Interests:
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate” society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will... more
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is
it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate”
society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will examine
some achievements in research fields both dealing with literary studies and
musicological enquiry. Taking into account some instances of oral musical
traditions gathered during ethnomusicological fieldwork, e.g. the singing of
mandinàdhes (couplets of improvised rhymed verses) from Crete and the
Byzantine liturgical chant of the Albanians of Sicily, I will analyse the process
both of (re)writing a poetic-formulaic tradition by adapting itself to the modern
multimedia technology (i.e. the “media literate poets” case on Crete) and
developing techniques of oral safeguarding without the usage of musical
notation (i.e. the case of the Sicilian-Albanian community). This very last
example will show how one can talk about “aliterate” performers, who choose,
on purpose, not to write down their own singing tradition, although they do
know how to read and write.
These cases might seem a bit more complicated to look at if one just
considers that, in the so-called Facebook Era, it has become increasingly
difficult to define a clear border between orality and literacy. Indeed, we should
observe the striking switch from the relationship of “writers and readers” to
that one of “bloggers and followers”.
Finally, by studying such musical phenomena, it is possible to deduce that
– since the systems of oral performance have significantly changed over the
last century – we can still find a relevant bond between techniques of oral
musical transmission and written safeguard in a (post-) literate society.
it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate”
society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will examine
some achievements in research fields both dealing with literary studies and
musicological enquiry. Taking into account some instances of oral musical
traditions gathered during ethnomusicological fieldwork, e.g. the singing of
mandinàdhes (couplets of improvised rhymed verses) from Crete and the
Byzantine liturgical chant of the Albanians of Sicily, I will analyse the process
both of (re)writing a poetic-formulaic tradition by adapting itself to the modern
multimedia technology (i.e. the “media literate poets” case on Crete) and
developing techniques of oral safeguarding without the usage of musical
notation (i.e. the case of the Sicilian-Albanian community). This very last
example will show how one can talk about “aliterate” performers, who choose,
on purpose, not to write down their own singing tradition, although they do
know how to read and write.
These cases might seem a bit more complicated to look at if one just
considers that, in the so-called Facebook Era, it has become increasingly
difficult to define a clear border between orality and literacy. Indeed, we should
observe the striking switch from the relationship of “writers and readers” to
that one of “bloggers and followers”.
Finally, by studying such musical phenomena, it is possible to deduce that
– since the systems of oral performance have significantly changed over the
last century – we can still find a relevant bond between techniques of oral
musical transmission and written safeguard in a (post-) literate society.
Research Interests:
The present paper gives an account of the current state of the Byzantine chant tradition in the Sicilian-Albanian community of Piana degli Albanesi, by focusing on some particular performative techniques on the basis of preliminary... more
The present paper gives an account of the current state of the Byzantine chant tradition in the Sicilian-Albanian community of Piana degli Albanesi, by focusing on some particular performative techniques on the basis of preliminary analyses produced during the very early stages of my PhD project (2015). Moreover, this study does not take into account only ethnomusicological surveys such as have been done so far concerning such musical traditions, but also introduces
a new methodological approach through the observation of specific melodic formulae whose mechanisms of adaptation and relationship with the text can also be traced in some late mediaeval musical manuscripts.
a new methodological approach through the observation of specific melodic formulae whose mechanisms of adaptation and relationship with the text can also be traced in some late mediaeval musical manuscripts.
Research Interests:
VIENNA SERIES IN ETHNOMUSICOLOGY
Michael Hagleitner & André Holzapfel (eds.), p. 339-384, ISBN: 978-3-9502866-5-6, ISSN: 2077-3315
Michael Hagleitner & André Holzapfel (eds.), p. 339-384, ISBN: 978-3-9502866-5-6, ISSN: 2077-3315
Research Interests:
This contribution is based on the results gathered through interviews and video recordings of musical performances (e.g., the so-called "arekies") during my fieldwork in Zakynthos (2021), thanks also to the active participation of... more
This contribution is based on the results gathered through interviews and video recordings of musical performances (e.g., the so-called "arekies") during my fieldwork in Zakynthos (2021), thanks also to the active participation of Panagiotis Marinos, a local cantor and musician who helped me in answering the following questions: What’s the source of this music? How does its historical border-crossing development aff ect the current status of musical practices? What is the role of historical sound recordings, transcription or “transnotation” in the transmission and administration of such an oral musical tradition? How are both sacred and urban traditional music taught? How did these communities continue to make their music together during the recent global pandemic?
Research Interests:
ISBN: 978-972-789-782-7
Research Interests:
Re-envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age | Siena – Accademia Musicale Chigiana, 10-12 December 2020 Sounds play a crucial role in the transmission of information to understand urban landscapes, as well as in the establishment... more
Re-envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age | Siena – Accademia Musicale Chigiana, 10-12 December 2020
Sounds play a crucial role in the transmission of information to understand urban landscapes, as well as in the establishment of social spaces and processes creating collective identities. Such a role is relevant also in the ‘sounding’ of ceremonial spaces employing various expressive languages (e.g. ritual, artistic, etc.), by means of mechanisms of construction and transmission of imaginaries and cultural memory. For this reason ‘sounds’ work as forms of knowledge about places and contexts, and tell us more about the role of music in the description of urban space and in the elaboration of sound ‘maps’.
The contemporary debate on the historical soundscape studies focuses on the reconstruction of urban soundscapes, by means of an interdisciplinary approach through the investigation of archival documents and iconographic-musical material in order to outline the deep relationships between sounds and the city. Moreover, analysing the interconnection between images, visual storytelling and performing arts contributes to the safeguarding and the enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and needs to aim – today more than ever – at promoting new forms of ethical, responsible and sustainable innovation (see Horizon Europe 2021-2027 programme).
This paper offers some preliminary remarks on the results achieved by the OPHeLiA (Organizing Photo Heritage in Literature and Arts) project carried out at the University of Catania. More specifically, the project aims at reconstructing a map pertaining to the cultural landscape of a historic district of Catania (i.e. San Berillo), based on an enquiry that highlights the ‘sense of place’ through the visual, literary, musical and performative layers of the urban space. The digital and multimedia analysis of textual, sonic and photographic documents enables to verify how the up-todate digital instruments can be helpful to recover, reconstruct and – if needed – reenvisage soundscapes in the visual age, by “mapping” the city through sounds and images.
Sounds play a crucial role in the transmission of information to understand urban landscapes, as well as in the establishment of social spaces and processes creating collective identities. Such a role is relevant also in the ‘sounding’ of ceremonial spaces employing various expressive languages (e.g. ritual, artistic, etc.), by means of mechanisms of construction and transmission of imaginaries and cultural memory. For this reason ‘sounds’ work as forms of knowledge about places and contexts, and tell us more about the role of music in the description of urban space and in the elaboration of sound ‘maps’.
The contemporary debate on the historical soundscape studies focuses on the reconstruction of urban soundscapes, by means of an interdisciplinary approach through the investigation of archival documents and iconographic-musical material in order to outline the deep relationships between sounds and the city. Moreover, analysing the interconnection between images, visual storytelling and performing arts contributes to the safeguarding and the enhancement of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, and needs to aim – today more than ever – at promoting new forms of ethical, responsible and sustainable innovation (see Horizon Europe 2021-2027 programme).
This paper offers some preliminary remarks on the results achieved by the OPHeLiA (Organizing Photo Heritage in Literature and Arts) project carried out at the University of Catania. More specifically, the project aims at reconstructing a map pertaining to the cultural landscape of a historic district of Catania (i.e. San Berillo), based on an enquiry that highlights the ‘sense of place’ through the visual, literary, musical and performative layers of the urban space. The digital and multimedia analysis of textual, sonic and photographic documents enables to verify how the up-todate digital instruments can be helpful to recover, reconstruct and – if needed – reenvisage soundscapes in the visual age, by “mapping” the city through sounds and images.
Research Interests:
Music and images, seeing and hearing have always been inextricably linked. Even when more autonomous concepts of music developed at various times through the centuries, they arguably served to keep at bay the ever-present visual... more
Music and images, seeing and hearing have always been inextricably linked. Even when more autonomous concepts of music developed at various times through the centuries, they arguably served to keep at bay the ever-present visual dimensions of the act of listening. When we listen to music, do we just listen? When we see a painting, or anything else, do we just watch?
The last few decades, however, have witnessed the advent of an ever more pervasive visuality. From the development of technology to social media to special effects, seeing is foregrounded like never before. What does this mean for music? How do music’s materialities answer to the materialities of visual objects and arts? Do these new developments affect our listening and performance experiences? What categories are particularly useful to explain the connections between musical and visual domains? How are different musical traditions, from “classical” music and opera to jazz, popular and folk music being re- envisaged?
The aim of the conference Re-envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age is to explore the new scenarios created by these questions and how they inevitably change the dimension of spectatorship, the way we associate music with sites of performance, how the bodies of the performers act, the act of listening, and how we understand traditions and moving images.
The program is available at the following link: https://journal.chigiana.org/conference2020/
Pre-recorded videos of the individual papers are available on CHIGIANA DIGITAL, the digital platform of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana.
Access to CHIGIANA DIGITAL is free but it is necessary to register at the following link: https://digital.chigiana.org/sign-up-chigiana-conference-2020/
The live sessions will take place on Zoom and will include discussions with the authors of the papers and the presentation of the keynote speaker. It will be possible to post questions in advance. The live discussions will also be accessible from the CHIGIANA DIGITAL.
The last few decades, however, have witnessed the advent of an ever more pervasive visuality. From the development of technology to social media to special effects, seeing is foregrounded like never before. What does this mean for music? How do music’s materialities answer to the materialities of visual objects and arts? Do these new developments affect our listening and performance experiences? What categories are particularly useful to explain the connections between musical and visual domains? How are different musical traditions, from “classical” music and opera to jazz, popular and folk music being re- envisaged?
The aim of the conference Re-envisaging Music: Listening in the Visual Age is to explore the new scenarios created by these questions and how they inevitably change the dimension of spectatorship, the way we associate music with sites of performance, how the bodies of the performers act, the act of listening, and how we understand traditions and moving images.
The program is available at the following link: https://journal.chigiana.org/conference2020/
Pre-recorded videos of the individual papers are available on CHIGIANA DIGITAL, the digital platform of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana.
Access to CHIGIANA DIGITAL is free but it is necessary to register at the following link: https://digital.chigiana.org/sign-up-chigiana-conference-2020/
The live sessions will take place on Zoom and will include discussions with the authors of the papers and the presentation of the keynote speaker. It will be possible to post questions in advance. The live discussions will also be accessible from the CHIGIANA DIGITAL.
Research Interests:
1st International Musicological e-Symposium “Melismatic Chant Repertories", IMS Study Group ‘Music of the Christian East and Orient’.
School of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 12/06/2020 – 14/06/2020
School of Music Studies, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 12/06/2020 – 14/06/2020
Research Interests:
Convegno internazionale ‘Bessarione e la musica. Concezione, fonti teoriche e stili’, organizzato da Luisa Zanoncelli e Giorgio Busetto, Fondazione Ugo e Olga Levi.
Venezia, 10/11/2018 – 11/11/2018
Venezia, 10/11/2018 – 11/11/2018
Research Interests:
‘Board meeting of the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae’, organizzato da Christian Troelsgård.
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 22/10/2018 – 23/10/2018
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 22/10/2018 – 23/10/2018
Research Interests:
International Musicological Conference ‘Musicology (in)action: Past Musics, Present Practices, Future Prospects', chair: Maria Alexandru. Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Music Studies, Thessaloniki (Grecia), 09/02/2018 –... more
International Musicological Conference ‘Musicology (in)action: Past Musics, Present Practices, Future Prospects', chair: Maria Alexandru.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Music Studies, Thessaloniki (Grecia), 09/02/2018 – 11/02/2018
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, School of Music Studies, Thessaloniki (Grecia), 09/02/2018 – 11/02/2018
Research Interests:
Panel ‘Oktōēchos and Multipart Modality: The mainstream Byzantine theory of the Papadikē and the oral traditions of Italo-Albanian communities in Sicily and Calabria’, chair: Maria Alexandru. International Musicological Conference:... more
Panel ‘Oktōēchos and Multipart Modality: The mainstream Byzantine theory of the Papadikē and the oral traditions of Italo-Albanian communities in Sicily and Calabria’, chair: Maria Alexandru.
International Musicological Conference: Modus-Modi-Modality, European University Cyprus – Department of Arts, IMS Regional Association for the Study of Music in the Balkans with the support of the Cyprus Centre for the Research and Study of Music (C.C.R.S.M.).
European University Cyprus – Department of Arts (Nicosia, Cipro), 06/09/2017 – 10/09/2017
International Musicological Conference: Modus-Modi-Modality, European University Cyprus – Department of Arts, IMS Regional Association for the Study of Music in the Balkans with the support of the Cyprus Centre for the Research and Study of Music (C.C.R.S.M.).
European University Cyprus – Department of Arts (Nicosia, Cipro), 06/09/2017 – 10/09/2017
Research Interests:
Panel ‘Aspects of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox Traditions of Sacred Music (II)’, chair: Haig Utidjian, 45th Medieval and Renaissance Music Conference.
Convent of St Agnes - Prague, Czech Republic, 04/07/2017 – 08/07/2017
Convent of St Agnes - Prague, Czech Republic, 04/07/2017 – 08/07/2017
Research Interests:
“Presentazione del Volume ‘Padre Bartolomeo Di Salvo. Canti ecclesiastici della tradizione italo-albanese in Sicilia’, a cura di Girolamo Garofalo e Christian Troelsgård con la collaborazione di Giuseppe Sanfratello”. Piana degli Albanesi... more
“Presentazione del Volume ‘Padre Bartolomeo Di Salvo. Canti ecclesiastici della tradizione italo-albanese in Sicilia’, a cura di Girolamo Garofalo e Christian Troelsgård con la collaborazione di Giuseppe Sanfratello”.
Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo), 21/04/2017
Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo), 21/04/2017
Research Interests:
The liturgical repertoire of the Albanian, or rather Arbëreshe communities in Sicily has been mainly administered by means of oral transmission, since the time of the diaspora (ca. 1480) up to the end of the 19th century, and it is... more
The liturgical repertoire of the Albanian, or rather Arbëreshe communities in Sicily has been mainly administered by means of oral transmission, since the time of the diaspora (ca. 1480) up to the end of the 19th century, and it is considered to belong to the “Byzantine chant tradition”. This last statement was made for the very first time in 1952 by the Sicilian monk Father Bartolomeo Di Salvo (Piana degli Albanesi, Palermo).
In the last two decades, the studies carried out by Garofalo (2006) and Ahmedaja (2007), and recently by Gerlach (2015), offer a description of the cultural identity, key players, and an analysis of the ecclesiastical musical tradition of the Arbëreshë in Southern Italy. Nevertheless, little is still said on the internal features of such ‘transhumant repertoire’, and more specifically on some traces of archaisms that might be possible to find in the Sicilian-Albanian tradition.
The aim of this paper is to give an account of a study (2015) conducted within the framework of my PhD project as yet, i.e. on the basis of extensive fieldwork I have carried out over the last two years, and of a methodological approach, which includes a comparison with the characteristics of the broader Byzantine late-medieval written tradition. This analysis is also meant to give an outline of some fundamental elements, such as the presence of melodic and textual patterns, the development of recurring melodic formulae – and their adaptation to diverse texts, etc., that actually constitute the ‘principles’ or ‘mechanisms’ observed by actual cantors in Piana degli Albanesi.
Lastly, I will shortly refer to a study undertaken by Christian Troelsgaard and myself (2016) based on the most complete collection of musical transcriptions of such repertoire, provided by Fr. Di Salvo in 1950’s, by also pointing out the features of its performing practice.
In the last two decades, the studies carried out by Garofalo (2006) and Ahmedaja (2007), and recently by Gerlach (2015), offer a description of the cultural identity, key players, and an analysis of the ecclesiastical musical tradition of the Arbëreshë in Southern Italy. Nevertheless, little is still said on the internal features of such ‘transhumant repertoire’, and more specifically on some traces of archaisms that might be possible to find in the Sicilian-Albanian tradition.
The aim of this paper is to give an account of a study (2015) conducted within the framework of my PhD project as yet, i.e. on the basis of extensive fieldwork I have carried out over the last two years, and of a methodological approach, which includes a comparison with the characteristics of the broader Byzantine late-medieval written tradition. This analysis is also meant to give an outline of some fundamental elements, such as the presence of melodic and textual patterns, the development of recurring melodic formulae – and their adaptation to diverse texts, etc., that actually constitute the ‘principles’ or ‘mechanisms’ observed by actual cantors in Piana degli Albanesi.
Lastly, I will shortly refer to a study undertaken by Christian Troelsgaard and myself (2016) based on the most complete collection of musical transcriptions of such repertoire, provided by Fr. Di Salvo in 1950’s, by also pointing out the features of its performing practice.
Research Interests:
At the end of the 15th century, a group of Albanian refugees found shelter on Sicily in among other places “Piana degli Albanesi” (Province of Palermo). During five centuries, the Arbëreshe minority in Sicily have maintained a distinct... more
At the end of the 15th century, a group of Albanian refugees found shelter on Sicily in among other places “Piana degli Albanesi” (Province of Palermo). During five centuries, the Arbëreshe minority in Sicily have maintained a distinct cultural identity and a complete liturgical repertory according to the Byzantine Rite. Chanting has been administered without musical notation until around 1900, when local conoisseurs of the tradition started to write down a selection of the melodies in staff notation, followed by few publications of limited contents and/or circulation (Stassi 1924, Falsone 1936, Tardo 1938). Subsequently, ethnomusicological fieldwork has been undertaken by Tiby (1952-1953), Garofalo (2001-2006), and Sanfratello 2014-15).
On the occasion of the publication of the so far most complete collection of transcriptions together with a selection of historical recordings from the early 1950’s (Bartolomeo di Salvo (✝): Chants of the Byzantine Rite, The Italo-Albanian Tradition in Sicily, edited by G. Garofalo & C. Troelsgård with assistance by G. Sanfratello, MMB, Subsidia 5.1, Copenhagen 2015), we shall here try to:
• outline the current status of research in the chant tradition
• describe elements of its melodic and modal organization
• discuss the challenge of editing and analysing a chant tradition with multiple versions
• draw a sketch of possible roots and intrinsic dynamics of this orally/aurally transmitted chant repertory.
On the occasion of the publication of the so far most complete collection of transcriptions together with a selection of historical recordings from the early 1950’s (Bartolomeo di Salvo (✝): Chants of the Byzantine Rite, The Italo-Albanian Tradition in Sicily, edited by G. Garofalo & C. Troelsgård with assistance by G. Sanfratello, MMB, Subsidia 5.1, Copenhagen 2015), we shall here try to:
• outline the current status of research in the chant tradition
• describe elements of its melodic and modal organization
• discuss the challenge of editing and analysing a chant tradition with multiple versions
• draw a sketch of possible roots and intrinsic dynamics of this orally/aurally transmitted chant repertory.
Research Interests:
Paper read in Greek, at the conference on “The rizìtiko song”, organised by Centre for Cretan Literature.
Lakkoi – Karanou, Chania, Crete, 02/07/2016 – 03/07/2016
Lakkoi – Karanou, Chania, Crete, 02/07/2016 – 03/07/2016
Research Interests:
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate” society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will... more
The attempt of the present paper is to introduce the following question: How is it possible to still talk about “oral performances” in a literate, indeed “postliterate” society? In order to stress the relevance of such a topic, I will examine some achievements in research fields both dealing with literary studies and musicological enquiry.
Taking into account some instances of oral musical traditions gathered during ethnomusicological fieldwork, e.g. the singing of mandinàdhes (couplets of improvised rhymed verses) from Crete and the Byzantine liturgical chant of the Albanians of Sicily, I will analyse the process
both of (re)writing a poetic-formulaic tradition by adapting itself to the modern multimedia technology (i.e. the “media literate poets” case on Crete) and developing techniques of oral safeguarding without the usage of musical notation (i.e. the case of the Sicilian-Albanian community). This very last example will show how one can talk about “aliterate” performers, who choose, on purpose, not to write down their own singing tradition, although they do know how to read and write.
[...]
Taking into account some instances of oral musical traditions gathered during ethnomusicological fieldwork, e.g. the singing of mandinàdhes (couplets of improvised rhymed verses) from Crete and the Byzantine liturgical chant of the Albanians of Sicily, I will analyse the process
both of (re)writing a poetic-formulaic tradition by adapting itself to the modern multimedia technology (i.e. the “media literate poets” case on Crete) and developing techniques of oral safeguarding without the usage of musical notation (i.e. the case of the Sicilian-Albanian community). This very last example will show how one can talk about “aliterate” performers, who choose, on purpose, not to write down their own singing tradition, although they do know how to read and write.
[...]
Research Interests:
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the collaboration between a collector of the Byzantine chant tradition of Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo) in Sicily, fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo, and the editorial board of the Monumenta Musicae... more
The aim of this paper is to give an account of the collaboration between a collector of the Byzantine chant tradition of Piana degli Albanesi (Palermo) in Sicily, fr. Bartolomeo Di Salvo, and the editorial board of the Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae, i.e. an institution under the aegis of the University of Copenhagen.
Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916-1986), a Catholic monk of Byzantine Rite, gathered between 1950-1960 the most complete collection of this late-medieval and still living musical tradition, handed down over the last five centuries only by means of the oral transmission. In the same decade, fr. Di Salvo got in contact with the MMB, and eventually they agreed to publish the critical edition of this collection.
After more than fifty years, the updated and revised version of the edition of this meaningful collection is finally being published by the MMB.
Keywords:
Byzantine chant; Oral transmission; Sicily; Collections; Ethnomusicology; Critical edition; Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae (MMB).
Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916-1986), a Catholic monk of Byzantine Rite, gathered between 1950-1960 the most complete collection of this late-medieval and still living musical tradition, handed down over the last five centuries only by means of the oral transmission. In the same decade, fr. Di Salvo got in contact with the MMB, and eventually they agreed to publish the critical edition of this collection.
After more than fifty years, the updated and revised version of the edition of this meaningful collection is finally being published by the MMB.
Keywords:
Byzantine chant; Oral transmission; Sicily; Collections; Ethnomusicology; Critical edition; Monumenta Musicae Byzantinae (MMB).
Research Interests:
The present paper gives an account of the actual state of the Byzantine chant tradition in the Sicilian-Albanian community of Piana degli Albanesi, by focusing on some particular performative techniques on the basis of preliminary... more
The present paper gives an account of the actual state of the Byzantine chant tradition in the Sicilian-Albanian community of Piana degli Albanesi, by focusing on some particular performative techniques on the basis of preliminary analyses produced during the very early stage of my PhD project. Moreover, this study does not take into account only the ethnomusicological survey, as it has actually been done so far concerning such musical tradition , but also introduces a new methodological approach through the observation of specific melodic formulae whose mechanisms of adaptation and relationship with the text can also be traced in some late-medieval musical manuscripts.
Research Interests:
Invited speaker at the conference on “Safeguarding
the Musical Tradition of Eastern Christianity”, International Congress, Rome, organised by prof. Peter Jeffery, University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), 24-26.05.2015
the Musical Tradition of Eastern Christianity”, International Congress, Rome, organised by prof. Peter Jeffery, University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), 24-26.05.2015
Research Interests:
[EN] In the wake of the studies on the binomial ‘cultural heritage-well/being’, the 2021 CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network, established by the PhD in Sciences of Cultural Heritage and Production of the University... more
[EN] In the wake of the studies on the binomial ‘cultural heritage-well/being’, the 2021 CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network, established by the PhD in Sciences of Cultural Heritage and Production of the University of Catania) team edited the volume “WellBeing and Cultural Heritage/ BenEssere e Patrimonio Culturale” (Duetredue edizioni, 2023), which collects the contributions of the conference held in 2021, triggered by the outbreak of the crisis of COVID-19.
How and at what levels does the cultural heritage produce well-being in the present? What actions and methodologies can be put in place to trigger practices of active involvement? Which collaborations make it possible to overcome systemic obstacles? Which tools are best suited to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness?
[IT] All’interno degli studi sul binomio ‘patrimonio culturale-benessere’, l’edizione 2021 del convegno di CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network, fondato dal dottorato in Scienze per il Patrimonio e la Produzione Culturale del Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche dell’Università degli Studi di Catania) ha raccolto nel volume “WellBeing and Cultural Heritage/ BenEssere e Patrimonio Culturale” (Duetredue edizioni, 2023) alcuni contributi della conferenza, svoltasi durante lo scoppio della pandemia da COVID-19.
Come e a quali livelli il patrimonio culturale produce benessere nel presente? Quali azioni e metodologie possono essere adottate per attivare pratiche di coinvolgimento attivo? Quali collaborazioni rendono possibile superare gli ostacoli sistemici? Quali strumenti sono più adatti per valutare l’efficienza e l’efficacia?
How and at what levels does the cultural heritage produce well-being in the present? What actions and methodologies can be put in place to trigger practices of active involvement? Which collaborations make it possible to overcome systemic obstacles? Which tools are best suited to evaluate efficiency and effectiveness?
[IT] All’interno degli studi sul binomio ‘patrimonio culturale-benessere’, l’edizione 2021 del convegno di CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network, fondato dal dottorato in Scienze per il Patrimonio e la Produzione Culturale del Dipartimento di Scienze Umanistiche dell’Università degli Studi di Catania) ha raccolto nel volume “WellBeing and Cultural Heritage/ BenEssere e Patrimonio Culturale” (Duetredue edizioni, 2023) alcuni contributi della conferenza, svoltasi durante lo scoppio della pandemia da COVID-19.
Come e a quali livelli il patrimonio culturale produce benessere nel presente? Quali azioni e metodologie possono essere adottate per attivare pratiche di coinvolgimento attivo? Quali collaborazioni rendono possibile superare gli ostacoli sistemici? Quali strumenti sono più adatti per valutare l’efficienza e l’efficacia?
Research Interests:
The volume offers for the first time transcriptions of the full repertory of orally transmitted hymns for the celebration of the Byzantine Rite in Sicily. This little-known chant tradition has without interruption been cultivated by the... more
The volume offers for the first time transcriptions of the full repertory of orally transmitted hymns for the celebration of the Byzantine Rite in Sicily. This little-known chant tradition has without interruption been cultivated by the Albanian-speaking minority in Sicily since their ancestors arrived as refugees from the Balkans in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. The collection, thus, testifies to the continuation and development of Byzantine chant on the fringe of the historical Byzantine Empire, and it invites for further studies into orality and musical identities.
Girolamo Garofalo, senior researcher in ethnomusicology at the University of Palermo, delivers an introduction to the repertory the actual state of research, making also an account of the few written documents that have been identified (the oldest dating from 1899). Christian Troelsgård, associate professor of Greek and Latin Philology at the University of Copenhagen, offers an essay on the importance of this ‘Arbëresh’ chant repertory in the broader perspective of Byzantine chant studies.
The actual transcriber, Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916–1986), was a Basilian monk and music researcher at Grottaferrata. His transcriptions in staff notation and related documents were found by the editors in archives at Copenhagen, Grottaferrata, and Rome. Di Salvo was born at Piana degli Albanesi, the biggest of the villages in which the tradition is still practised.
An audio CD is included. It contains a selection of sound tracks preserved in the folk music archive of Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), recorded in the early 1950’es by Ottavio Tiby (1891-1955), one of the pioneers of Italian ethnomusicology. The tracks feature the same singers as those Di Salvo once used as informants, including, however, also a couple of women, who were considered principal carriers of the tradition.
Giuseppe Sanfratello, presently Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen, has assisted the editors in compiling the indices and the critical notes for the chants.
Girolamo Garofalo, senior researcher in ethnomusicology at the University of Palermo, delivers an introduction to the repertory the actual state of research, making also an account of the few written documents that have been identified (the oldest dating from 1899). Christian Troelsgård, associate professor of Greek and Latin Philology at the University of Copenhagen, offers an essay on the importance of this ‘Arbëresh’ chant repertory in the broader perspective of Byzantine chant studies.
The actual transcriber, Bartolomeo Di Salvo (1916–1986), was a Basilian monk and music researcher at Grottaferrata. His transcriptions in staff notation and related documents were found by the editors in archives at Copenhagen, Grottaferrata, and Rome. Di Salvo was born at Piana degli Albanesi, the biggest of the villages in which the tradition is still practised.
An audio CD is included. It contains a selection of sound tracks preserved in the folk music archive of Accademia di Santa Cecilia (Rome), recorded in the early 1950’es by Ottavio Tiby (1891-1955), one of the pioneers of Italian ethnomusicology. The tracks feature the same singers as those Di Salvo once used as informants, including, however, also a couple of women, who were considered principal carriers of the tradition.
Giuseppe Sanfratello, presently Ph.D. student at the University of Copenhagen, has assisted the editors in compiling the indices and the critical notes for the chants.
Research Interests:
Il volume presenta uno studio di musicologia urbana della Palermo di età moderna, con un focus sulla produzione e promozione musicale all’interno di rinomati monasteri e conventi della città. In "Musica e devozione nella «città... more
Il volume presenta uno studio di musicologia urbana della Palermo di età moderna, con un focus sulla produzione e promozione musicale all’interno di rinomati monasteri e conventi della città. In "Musica e devozione nella «città felicissima»", Ilaria Grippaudo offre una panoramica delle diverse forme di musica religiosa praticate a Palermo tra Cinque e Seicento, analizzando il ruolo della musica in alcune celebrazioni liturgiche, sia quelle ‘festive’ sia quelle ‘ordinarie’ che scandivano la vita quotidiana dei fedeli. Le comunità religiose sono state pertanto protagoniste dei circuiti sonori cittadini, grazie al loro impegno nell’organizzazione di eventi musicali di rilievo.
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-8.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2HdchYofYdjZeldbA-oqEX43SOXH65lgcGXoMLSVYucNZZEykWIN4vWeY
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-8.pdf?fbclid=IwAR2HdchYofYdjZeldbA-oqEX43SOXH65lgcGXoMLSVYucNZZEykWIN4vWeY
Research Interests:
Un libro essenziale per chi si occupa di tradizioni musicali e di cultura popolare con particolare riferimento ai contesti marinari.
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-7.pdf
—URL: http://www.siculorum.unict.it/uploads/articles/siculorum-7.pdf
Research Interests:
Historical ethnomusicological study on the liturgical chant tradition of the Arbëreshe communities in Sicily on the basis of oral and written sources. The musical repertoire has been cultivated by priests and faithful adhering to the... more
Historical ethnomusicological study on the liturgical chant tradition of
the Arbëreshe communities in Sicily on the basis of oral and written
sources. The musical repertoire has been cultivated by priests and faithful
adhering to the Byzantine rite since the time of the Albanian diaspora in
Italy in the aftermath of the Fall of Constantinople. The repertoire seems
to be maintained through a delicate balance between techniques of
‘reception’, ‘safeguarding’, and ‘re-byzantinisation’ that characterise
both its present oral chant administration and its historical development,
and function as marker of identity among the Arbëreshe community in
Sicily. The Byzantine chant heritage in Sicily is not an inflexible and
static musical tradition, but it envisages a dynamic mode of existence,
susceptible to changes, and maintained by interior principles of
organisation. After five centuries of oral transmission it still lives,
despite, or maybe thanks to the lack of ‘original’ written sources, and it
might be seen as a multi-layered musical tradition, featuring multiple
versions and encompassing a certain degree of melodic heterogeneity.
the Arbëreshe communities in Sicily on the basis of oral and written
sources. The musical repertoire has been cultivated by priests and faithful
adhering to the Byzantine rite since the time of the Albanian diaspora in
Italy in the aftermath of the Fall of Constantinople. The repertoire seems
to be maintained through a delicate balance between techniques of
‘reception’, ‘safeguarding’, and ‘re-byzantinisation’ that characterise
both its present oral chant administration and its historical development,
and function as marker of identity among the Arbëreshe community in
Sicily. The Byzantine chant heritage in Sicily is not an inflexible and
static musical tradition, but it envisages a dynamic mode of existence,
susceptible to changes, and maintained by interior principles of
organisation. After five centuries of oral transmission it still lives,
despite, or maybe thanks to the lack of ‘original’ written sources, and it
might be seen as a multi-layered musical tradition, featuring multiple
versions and encompassing a certain degree of melodic heterogeneity.
Research Interests:
Call for Contribution: "Wellbeing and Cultural Heritage", CHAIN Conference, 11-12 February, University of Catania, PhD Science of Cultural Heritage and Production.
For more info download the PDF or visit www.chain-conference.com.
For more info download the PDF or visit www.chain-conference.com.
Research Interests: Cultural Studies, Media and Cultural Studies, Cultural Heritage, Cultural Economics, Cultural Communication, and 14 moreMemory Studies, Cultural Memory, Cultural Studies (Communication), Cultural Heritage Management, Identity construction and cultural production, Wellbeing, Arts and Music for Health and Wellbeing, Call for Papers, media and communication for museums and Cultural Heritage agencies, Social and Emotional Wellbeing, Call for Papers, Cultural Studies, Economics of Cultural Heritage, Cultural Wellbeing, and Political Economy and Cultural Studies Approach in Media and Communication
Call for Paper per CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network) 2020: 11-12 Febbraio, Università di Catania, Dottorato in Science per il patrimonio e la produzione culturale. Per maggiori info scaricate il PDF o visitate... more
Call for Paper per CHAIN (Cultural Heritage Academic Interdisciplinary Network) 2020: 11-12 Febbraio, Università di Catania, Dottorato in Science per il patrimonio e la produzione culturale.
Per maggiori info scaricate il PDF o visitate il sito www.chain-conference.com
Per maggiori info scaricate il PDF o visitate il sito www.chain-conference.com
Research Interests: Beni Culturali, Call for Papers, Memoria, Economia della cultura, Patrimonio culturale, and 12 moreHeritage Health Safety Accessibility Patrimonio Culturale Salute Sicurezza Fruibilità, Call for Papers and Research and Publication, Educazione Al Patrimonio Culturale, Patrimonio Culturale E Identità, Comunicazione Culturale, Convegno, Benessere sociale, Benessere, Economia e gestioni dei beni culturali e dello spettacolo, Valorizzazione del Patrimonio Culturale, Antropologia del patrimonio culturale, and welfare culturale
Organizzazione a cura di Sergio Bonanzinga, con il patrocinio dell’International Council for Traditional Music e dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo – Dipartimento Culture e Società. Museo Internazionale delle Marionette “Antonio... more
Organizzazione a cura di Sergio Bonanzinga, con il patrocinio dell’International Council for Traditional Music e dell’Università degli Studi di Palermo – Dipartimento Culture e Società.
Museo Internazionale delle Marionette “Antonio Pasqualino”, Palermo, 15/03/2018
Museo Internazionale delle Marionette “Antonio Pasqualino”, Palermo, 15/03/2018
Research Interests:
Organizzato da "Phrontisterium, the student association for Classical Greek and Latin at the University of Copenhagen".
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 17/02/2016
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 17/02/2016
Research Interests:
Centre for Textile Research, The Saxo Institute.
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 10/11/2015
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 10/11/2015
Research Interests:
Organised by the International Career Counsellor & Project Coordinator – Morten Mechlenborg Nørulf.
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 06/10/2015
Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 06/10/2015
Research Interests:
ToRS Department – Faculty of Humanities, University of Copenhagen, 11/02/2015
Research Interests:
Organizzato da "Den danske nationalkomité for byzantinske studier", Comitato Nazionale Danese di Studi Bizantini. Vor Frue Kirke - Københavns Domkirke (Danimarca), 21/10/2013
Research Interests:
Istituto Comprensivo Statale Cruillas (Palermo), 27/05/2011