The Night of the Taranta: the dialogue between tradition and innovation
The press conference to present the 27th edition of “La Notte della Taranta” was held this morning, Friday 23 August 2024, scheduled for Saturday 24 August and broadcast live on RAI 3 starting at 9.20 pm, simulcast on RADIO 2 RAI, hosted by Ema Stokholma.
The Concertone di Melpignano, promoted by the Fondazione La Notte della Taranta and supported by the Puglia Region, celebrates the musical tradition of Salento with songs from the popular repertoire and songs in minority languages such as Grico and Arbëreshë.
The 2024 edition, entitled “Generazione Taranta,” will feature Angelina Mango, Geolier, Gaia, Ste, and Luca Faraone, who will perform traditional songs revisited with urban arrangements by Shablo (here is our interview), performed by the Orchestra Popolare conducted by Riccardo Zangirolami.
The conference was opened by Massimo Bray, President of the Fondazione La Notte della Taranta, who defined this event as a “cultural asset” to be protected for its historical and identity value (with reference to Article 9 of the Italian Constitution): “An event that I like to call ‘cultural asset’, which must be protected and whose historical and identity value must be remembered, with a sense of belonging capable of carrying on this tradition. Those who come after have the task of enhancing and bringing the protection of that tradition into the homes of Italians. Not an easy task”.
The international producer Shablo will act as the Maestro Concertatore for this edition, supported by the master pianist Riccardo Zangirolami.
The producer said: “It is an honor to be here. We have been working very closely with the orchestra for months, thanks to which I discovered this vast repertoire of Salento music. Until you take on this role, you do not truly come into contact with the true richness of this heritage… The idea is to give continuity to this culture and to the event, opening the doors to new generations, who must be put in a position to experiment and have the opportunity – which is often slow in coming – to be able to do so. My role is to bring the lightness of those who want to experiment, but with the awareness of the cultural importance of the Notte della Taranta. The challenge is to make Salento talk to dialects and other languages”.
The artist Emilio Isgrò, who created special erasures that will be the backdrop for the closing Concertone of the festival, explained the reasons that led him to accept the assignment: “La Notte della Taranta immediately appeared to me, from the very beginning, as one of the most effective and powerful signs of the rebirth of a South that wants to produce culture while protecting traditions, something that is far from impossible, according to the most well-founded predictions, if it is true that the Italian South is the best equipped to meet the hopes of sustainable growth… I do not like the rhetoric of the South, on the contrary, I love our country in its integrity, the South as well as the North. However, I know that we cannot remain decently in Europe (and really count) if all the forces available in Italy do not enter the field.”
The choreographer Laccio – born Emanuele Cristofoli – talked about the work done with the dancers he chose and with the dancers of the Notte della Taranta: “First of all we studied the territory. It wasn’t easy to start, it took time to blend together. And this is necessary, the meeting takes time, because this is the only way to really contaminate. I wanted there to be a collective work. And on stage we will see a collective of 14 dancers”.
Among the interventions of the institutions – which underlined the importance of the event, the involvement of Rai and the plans put in place for the safety and success of the event – there was also that of the Mayor of Melpignano, Valentina Vantaggiato: “As every year, our community of Melpignano is preparing to welcome with great respect the final event of the Notte della Taranta. An initiative that represents a collective heritage. Thanks go to my fellow citizens, but also to those who have carried out a great work of research into the ethnomusical heritage of Salento”, remembering Gigi Chiriatti.
Also present at the press conference were the artists Gaia and Ste; regarding their participation, Shablo said: “Gaia represents my South American side – which I really wanted to bring on stage – and will sing in Brazilian. Ste is one of the most interesting voices and represents contamination in all respects. The choice of artists happened very naturally”.
Gaia added: “It is not a given to be on such a special stage. I immediately felt at home, but I also feel a strong sense of responsibility towards a tradition that has been handed down to this day. We are excited and lucky”.
Ste stressed: “I will not sing in Salento, but I am honored to be part of this event of Apulian and Italian culture. It is an extraordinary orchestra and the dancers are amazing.”
An edition, as explained at the beginning, that has the aim of making different generations communicate, languages that may seem very distant at first glance, but, in reality, united by the need to tell the story of people; Shablo clarified: “La Taranta was born with a spirit of contamination thanks to the different Maestri Concertatori who have succeeded one another over the years. The urban genre contains facets of different music, it comes from the street, from the people, from the people. I deal with street music that has contaminated so many aspects of our society, starting from dance and fashion. In reality, they are different terms, but we are talking about the same thing: telling the story of ordinary people, existential discomfort, and protesting. I don’t see any differences, but many points of contact”.
We delved into the topic of communication between tradition and contemporary music by asking Shablo what could hinder this generational dialogue: “The obstacle could be the little time available to truly understand this culture and get in touch with tradition; therefore, it is not enough to send a file to listen to a song. It is essential to introduce the orchestra and the instruments – which an international artist may have never seen – and to understand the meaning, the importance, the weight of tradition by listening to the repertoire live, and perhaps even with a Salento dinner. Making people fall in love with Salento culture: this allows us to involve artists much more”.
Popular Orchestra
The Orchestra is composed of 21 elements. Voices: Consuelo Alfieri, Alessandra Caiulo, Stefania Morciano, Enza Pagliara, Antonio Amato, Salvatore Cavallo Galeanda, Giancarlo Paglialunga, and the musicians Gianluca Longo (mandola) Peppo Grassi (mandolin) Attilio Turrisi (battente guitar) Giuseppe Astore (violin) Roberto Chiga, Alessandro Chiga, Carlo Canaglia De Pascali (Salento tambourine) Roberto Gemma (bellows) Nico Berardi (wind instruments) Leonardo Cordella (accordion) Alessandro Monteduro (percussion) Antonio Marra (drums) Mario Esposito (bass) Gioele Nuzzo (tambourine and didgeridoo).
For the Concertone on August 24, the Orchestra Popolare will be joined by a string section composed of Sara Francesca Molinari (viola), Luisa Gaia Dal Molin (cello), Lucia Allegro and Valeria Di Crosta (violin).
Dance corps
The Taranta Ballet Corps is composed of Mihaela Coluccia, Cristina Frassanito, Serena Pellegrino, Lucia Scarabino, Stefano Campagna, Marco Martano, Fabrizio Nigro, Mattia Politi. For the August 24 edition, they will be joined by six professional dancers: Simone Rossari and Michele Serra (assistants of the choreographer) Fabio Stroscio, Camilla Gesualdi, Federica Di Marzo, Federica Rogoli.
