A Platform for Ethnically and Culturally Inspired Music
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The pulling power of the female voices
Line-up:
- Cristina Vetrone: voice, diatonic button accordion
- Enza Prestia: voice, tammorra, tamburello (frame drums)
- Lorella Monti: voice, tamburello (Italian frame drum), castanets
Featuring
- Enza Pagliara: voice, tamburello (Italian frame drum)
"Assurd" was founded in 1993. They revive the songs and music of the popular traditions of the South of Italy. The band, initially made up of three women, Cristina Vetrone, Lorella Monti, and Enza Prestia, became a quartet in '99 with the arrival of Enza Pagliara.
Their apprenticeship happens, in part, directly from the old singers. For example, they revamp the existing records on this subject by merging the methodology of peasant culture, where for centuries the feast has been a moment in which traditions are handed down orally, with the research of the most modern ethnomusicology.
As seen in the material collected by Alan Lomax, Diego Carpitella, Ernesto De Martino, and Roberto Leydi in the post-war years, which has maintained interest in this music and these traditions.
From these sources, Assurd has resumed, among other things, the "Tammurriate" (songs and dances of the local tradition), the "Pizziche" (from the Italian translation of "Pinching," linked to the phenomenon of the Taranto area in Puglia), tarantellas, songs of protest linked to the sphere of work and emigration, and serenades. Over the years, the repertoire has been enlarged and enriched with original compositions, providing a sense of continuity and constant movement towards tradition.
Origins:
Campania, Puglia, Argentina.
Cristina Vetrone
A singular, atypical voice for a woman, violent and yearning at the same time, to the limit of baritone. She is considered one of the most interesting Italian accordionists.
Enza Prestia
Born and raised in Argentina of Italian background. Strong temperament with a warm and persuasive voice. Nostalgic and indefinable in its essence, typically South American. An excellent percussionist.
Lorella Monti
A typically Neapolitan voice: full-bodied, musical, sweet. She is the expression of the sound of women from the alleys of Naples. She is considered one of the best dancers of Tammurriate.
Featuring/guest
Enza Pagliara
A typical Apulian voice, with a very particular, sharp, and acute timbre. She is currently one of the most interesting vocal realities of the traditional Salento sound.
Collaboration: Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare, Giovanna Marini, Ivan Della Mea, Nando Citarella, Gruppo Operaio 'E Zezi di Pomigliano D'Arco, Daniele Sepe, Marco Paolini, Peppe Barra, Marcello Colasurdo, 'O Lione, Paolo Angeli, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Aterballetto di Reggio Emilia, Gulbenkian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, CNB Lisboa, Dortmund Ballet, Basel Ballet, Teatro S. Carlo, Gauthier Dance, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Lo Cor de la Plana [...]
Festivals: Ferrara Buskers, Neuchâtel Buskers - Saint Charter; Berlin, Les Nuits de Nacre - (Limoges), Festival Internazionale di Palau "Isole che parlano" (Sardinia), XI Rencontres de Chants Polyphoniques de Calvi (Corsica), VIII Festival De Chants et De Musiques de Noël - (St. Dalmas, France), Voucalia - Festival of Mediterranean Polyphonies - (Nice); Festival ambulant "Chants des mondes" - (Lyon, France); Paris "Fête de la musique" - (France); Istanbul "Fête de la musique" - (Turkey); Manresa - (Spain); Babel Med Music - (France). [...]
The pulling power of the female voices
Line-up:
- Cristina Vetrone: voice, diatonic button accordion
- Enza Prestia: voice, tammorra, tamburello (frame drums)
- Lorella Monti: voice, tamburello (Italian frame drum), castanets
Featuring
- Enza Pagliara: voice, tamburello (Italian frame drum)
"Assurd" was founded in 1993. They revive the songs and music of the popular traditions of the South of Italy. The band, initially made up of three women, Cristina Vetrone, Lorella Monti, and Enza Prestia, became a quartet in '99 with the arrival of Enza Pagliara.
Their apprenticeship happens, in part, directly from the old singers. For example, they revamp the existing records on this subject by merging the methodology of peasant culture, where for centuries the feast has been a moment in which traditions are handed down orally, with the research of the most modern ethnomusicology.
As seen in the material collected by Alan Lomax, Diego Carpitella, Ernesto De Martino, and Roberto Leydi in the post-war years, which has maintained interest in this music and these traditions.
From these sources, Assurd has resumed, among other things, the "Tammurriate" (songs and dances of the local tradition), the "Pizziche" (from the Italian translation of "Pinching," linked to the phenomenon of the Taranto area in Puglia), tarantellas, songs of protest linked to the sphere of work and emigration, and serenades. Over the years, the repertoire has been enlarged and enriched with original compositions, providing a sense of continuity and constant movement towards tradition.
Origins:
Campania, Puglia, Argentina.
Cristina Vetrone
A singular, atypical voice for a woman, violent and yearning at the same time, to the limit of baritone. She is considered one of the most interesting Italian accordionists.
Enza Prestia
Born and raised in Argentina of Italian background. Strong temperament with a warm and persuasive voice. Nostalgic and indefinable in its essence, typically South American. An excellent percussionist.
Lorella Monti
A typically Neapolitan voice: full-bodied, musical, sweet. She is the expression of the sound of women from the alleys of Naples. She is considered one of the best dancers of Tammurriate.
Featuring/guest
Enza Pagliara
A typical Apulian voice, with a very particular, sharp, and acute timbre. She is currently one of the most interesting vocal realities of the traditional Salento sound.
Collaboration: Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare, Giovanna Marini, Ivan Della Mea, Nando Citarella, Gruppo Operaio 'E Zezi di Pomigliano D'Arco, Daniele Sepe, Marco Paolini, Peppe Barra, Marcello Colasurdo, 'O Lione, Paolo Angeli, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Aterballetto di Reggio Emilia, Gulbenkian Ballet, Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal, CNB Lisboa, Dortmund Ballet, Basel Ballet, Teatro S. Carlo, Gauthier Dance, Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Lo Cor de la Plana [...]
Festivals: Ferrara Buskers, Neuchâtel Buskers - Saint Charter; Berlin, Les Nuits de Nacre - (Limoges), Festival Internazionale di Palau "Isole che parlano" (Sardinia), XI Rencontres de Chants Polyphoniques de Calvi (Corsica), VIII Festival De Chants et De Musiques de Noël - (St. Dalmas, France), Voucalia - Festival of Mediterranean Polyphonies - (Nice); Festival ambulant "Chants des mondes" - (Lyon, France); Paris "Fête de la musique" - (France); Istanbul "Fête de la musique" - (Turkey); Manresa - (Spain); Babel Med Music - (France). [...]
