A Dramatization of Italian Tarantism in Song
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Lyric Possession: A Dramatization of Italian Tarantism in Song Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Smith, Dori Marie Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 24/09/2021 04:42:15 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/560813 LYRIC POSSESSION : A DRAMATIZATION OF ITALIAN TARANTISM IN SONG by Dori Marie Smith __________________________ Copyright © Dori Marie Smith 2015 A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the SCHOOL OF MUSIC In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2015 2 THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA GRADUATE COLLEGE As members of the Document Committee, we certify that we have read the document prepared by Dori Marie Smith, titled Lyric Possession: A Dramatization of Italian Tarantism in Song and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts. _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 24, 2015 Kristin Dauphinais _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 24, 2015 David Ward _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 24, 2015 William Andrew Stuckey _______________________________________________________________________ Date: April 24. 2015 Janet Sturman Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College. I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement. ________________________________________________ Date: April 24. 2015 Document Director: Kristin Dauphinais 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: Dori Marie Smith 4 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am very fortunate to have amazing educators, mentors and people in my life who have inspired me and supported me throughout this process. Although I cannot thank them all, I would like to express my gratitude to the following: The members of my advisory committee: Dr. Kristin Dauphinais, Dr. Andrew Stuckey, Professor David Ward and Dr. Janet Sturman. To my brilliant mentors at Colby College, who nurtured my love for music and encouraged my pursuits: Dr. Steven Saunders, Dr. Paul Machlin, Elizabeth Patches and Janice Kassman. Thank you to my parents and siblings who have always supported my musical journey, from attending numerous concerts to inspiring me to be creative and learn as much as I can. To my fiancé Olley, my inspiration, sounding board, editor and best friend. Your love and support has made it possible. 5 DEDICATION To Steve Saunders and Paul Machlin 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT .............................................................................................................................. 9 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................... 10 Introduction to Tarantism and the Tarantella...................................................................... 10 Musical Characteristics ....................................................................................................... 11 "Italia India": The Salentine Peninsula as Crossroads ........................................................ 15 Purpose of Study ................................................................................................................. 18 Review of Literature ........................................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER 2: MUSICAL DRAMA ....................................................................................... 29 La Tarantella: Il Exorcismo Musicale di Maria di Nardò ................................................... 29 Song Texts and Translations ............................................................................................... 41 Classical Treatment of the Tarantella ................................................................................. 49 Tarantism Today: Neo-Tarantism and La Notte di Taranta ................................................ 53 CHAPTER 3: INFORMING THE DRAMA .......................................................................... 56 Methodology: Creating the Drama ..................................................................................... 56 Sacred Spaces and Public Spectacles: Power, Religion and the Female Form .................. 61 A Cross-Mediterranean Counterpart to Tarantism: Zār Possession Cults .......................... 64 CHAPTER 4: CONCLUSION ............................................................................................... 67 APPENDIX A: STU PETTU É FATTU CIMBALU D’AMURI .......................................... 68 APPENDIX B: TARANTELLA (MI PIZZICA, MI MUZZICA) .......................................... 70 APPENDIX C: CICERENELLA ............................................................................................ 74 APPENDIX D: LA DANZA FROM SOIREÉS MUSICALES ............................................. 77 APPENDIX E: ACT III, SCENE 2 CORO, TARANTELLA, LA FORZA DEL DESTINO 84 APPENDIX F: TARANTELLE FROM 2 DUETS, OP.10 .................................................... 93 7 REFERENCES ..................................................................................................................... 101 Recordings ........................................................................................................................ 104 Scores ................................................................................................................................ 104 Video Recordings.............................................................................................................. 105 8 LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES Musical Example 1: Realization of Tamburello Rhythm………..……..……...……….......13 Musical Example 2: Basic Tarantella Rhythm………………..….……………...…………15 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Modern Provinces in Apulia…………………..…………………………16 Figure 2: Map of Salento, Athanasius Kircher, 1643…………………..……...…………...17 9 ABSTRACT Lyric Possession : A Dramatization of Italian Tarantism in Song is a one-act creative project informed by research exploring the formation and evolution of Mediterranean musical, religious, and cultural identity through the practice of the tarantella. The tarantella is a musical form woven into the very fabric of the Mediterranean cultural landscape, in song, dance and folkloric history. The transformation of scholarly perspectives into dramatic format, recalling traditional Italian folk drama, illuminates the history and cultural relevance of the tarantella through the lives and songs of its practitioners. In the Salentine peninsula where magic and religion collide, the ritualistic healing practice of the tarantella has served as a musical mechanism for dealing with reactions to socio-cultural issues such as repression of sexual identity, disenfranchisement, poverty and powerlessness experienced by Southern Italian women for centuries. Believed to have been a reaction to the venom of the indigenous Italian tarantula or wolf spider, peasant women in the Salentine peninsula exhibited poisoning-like symptoms and possession by spider spirits cured only through the performance of the tarantella and through the intercession of St. Paul, the patron saint of those who perform the tarantella, the tarantists. The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to examine the musical manifestations of the Tarantella as informed by its folkloric history, particularly in consideration of gender marginalization and female power. Second, to create a musical drama that portrays the music of the tarantella in a dramatic context that will reflect its folkloric history, scholarship by the anthropological, ethnomusicological and psychological communities in the form of the ritual itself. The project proposes that the complex, multifaceted history of the tarantella may best be captured and expressed through practice via a recreation of the ritual in the form of a musical drama. 10 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Introduction to Tarantism and the Tarantella Tarantismo , or tarantism is a psychosocial phenomenon, long considered a nervous, hysterical or convulsive disorder, active from the Middle Ages and documented through the late 2000s. The movement occurred along the Salentine peninsula along the coast of Southern Italy (please see figure 1 below) and involved rural peasants, mostly female, claiming to have been bitten by tarantulas in the field, infected by the venom and subsequently possessed by spider spirits. Victims suffered symptoms ranging from lethargy,