NEWSLETIER OF THE ITALIAN FOLK ART FEDERATION OF AMERI CA VOLUME 11 1991 SPRING NO, 1 ----- _ .. __. _- - --_._. Despite the di sa ppotrltment 1991 ;,aused oy having to cancel our UPCOMING EVENT conference In Italy this summer, w e CONFERENCE I Giullari di Piazza take qreat satisfaction If) three ma READING, PA. Traditional Italian jor accomplishments ilt the 1990 Folk Music & Theatre Confere n ce (11 the Essay Contest NOV. 1-2-3 is proud to announce fo: which we wish to acknowledge We regret that due to the Middle the premiere of a ann t hank Victor 'volpe of Cjm East conflict, the 1991 Conference new folk opera rnari !!o, California , for funding; (2) whic h was t e be held in Italy in th<; oV2rwhelming turnout of youth, June, has been cancelled " II Vicggio NfrO"t; pi:Htlcipation rs heartwarm Della Madonna Nera" ''1 9 ar'(l tW isters our resolve to pro T he 1991 Conference, instead, The Voyage of the Black Madonna . v :1E: more and better forums for will be held in Reading, PA . on a musical play dedicated to Moth2f Earth based on the cult of the Black :!If:m i;', the future and (3 ) aI" Novembe r 1, 2, 3 ",(Jitec , profe sslOllaliy recorderJ tap Virgin In southern Italy, is a fTl\IS I,',t ' and ttleatrtcal pageant written tJ\' : r ' ~l Ilf th" confe rence with aCCO I1': M r. 1lJr:C! is Chairperson. More on Alessandra Belloni and Dano Bol;" ' ),H l'/iny r; assette, Vlie thank Jane thi ~ program In o ur next issue. with music by John LaBarbera ;:'pr;:) tr,is p roject to 't s fu" i) UrSuln~J ieaturing masks, giant puppets, all (; :, ' lltit!, comp,e tlor The taop. an cJ frescos by artist Antonio Romano 31 " :USI' ,:assetre will be excelic n , ----·---.. -.. - ·- .. ·-----·- - · 1 the Catl'ledral Theatre of St, John T',· , ' Jln!');] tOO'S for perforrn !nrJ DIVine, 1047 AmsterdarY' AVICo'lU>O' ;r () uos. Both Items IJIJili be available Olivia Ortell 1110th St.) May 9 , 10, 11 & 12, 1'1/1,;", ':c' purchase SOO:-I Sebastian Alongi '16, 17, 18, 19. Thurs., Fri., Sa l . : .~! 'iV l')i ie In Fri u li thiS past summ8r, 8:00 P,M. Sun. at 3:00 PM. Tickets. $15,00 (Sen ./child/stud, $7501 (llsCOVerul the Museo FriulClno It is with a deep S3nse of Advanced tickets available In PUSQ:' ' jAi l;'; .Art' f: Trad lzioni Popolari, Via personal los~ that we report at the Cathedral Box Office, ! 2 i 2, .!Old 3, Udlne. It is onlY' Cl fi ve the passing of two dear 662·2133: or charge by phone .'11 r;llf1 l1 t<:'! walk from the Caste!lo : friends: TICKET MASTER, (212) 307 ·1171 learned too late of another Friulan Olivia Ortell, a leading folk museum In Toll nezzo, Anyor,e soprano with the New York Visiting the region might wan; to City Opera and Sebbi Alongi, I GIULLARI DI PIAZZA (: hec\< this out. a carver and sculptor whose This group, cofounded by Alessall [)wln~J the '1983 v isit to Ital'(, medium was wood. dra Belloni and John La Barbera , play',: ,[:AFA members VIS ited folk Both in their own right were a unique combination of authentlr: :riu~ eurns In Rome and Palermo. consumate artists, In 1976 Italian folk music and original music T r'II S gives u s a re cord of four folk they became charter Using extensive library and fi e Ie m u seums : wonder if there are members of the Italian Folk research, they have built a large repertoire of It e- lian folklOriC tradi nr. hers and d o urge o ur readers to Ensemble of Fort lee, New tional mUSIC, from passionate iov~: seei, them out (Jurt n g their travel in Jersey, Olivia, whose :,a!v and to let us knoli/, songs to tarantellas, used as exor background spanned years of cisms to cure the mythica l bite of the We appreciate the mail and In musical training and perform­ tarantula, quirl8S w e receive. Sometimes we ing became our vocal director, The instrumentation includes ta m d re slow In responding, but beg Sebbi, who started folk dan­ borines, castanets, chitarra battcntf:, 'IOU: indulgence. Most of us have cing with the Coro d'italia in medieval harp, manda/ancella, reQW' i reljular lob ::; and our time for If=AFA 1930, became our dance to. violin, flute, cello, etc. Thei r per ;0, v\ )luntary. Every letter, however' instructor. forman ces also feature COiDri U ' ;<, lis us our cause is worthwhile and With warmth and en­ costumes, ,an absolutely unique anci I:vely 311tnentic Italian folklore ' - S'" ,:~ncouraD;ng , Keep thenl thusiasm they freely gave of For further details and to engage .• ) ~ j : ! ' -, ~ _ I themselves and inspired us the group write: with their love for and dedica­ ALESSANDRA BELLONI , 110 Sullivan tion to the Italian folk arts. St" Apt. 1G, New York Ci t y, NY RitA Ton ino We will miss you ____both, --J 10012. Phone 212 432 7179. A LIFE OF GIVING VOICE TO THE VOICELESS " Llsten," said Alan Lomax, forms that had survived since pre­ pushing a button on his cassette Christian and Byzantine times. And player, " This is a musical farllily." A music collector then, when I played this stuff for Out came the vOices of Central speaks of the my intellectual friends in Rome, A fri can pygmies, vocal illlcs they said: 'This is savage, brutal ricocheting and intertwining, then ) ~creative hearths' I stuff. It has nothing to do with Ita­ a Soviet Georgian c ho ru s, Just as LOf the ~olk _ Soun~ iy.'" But when the recordings were C Hil pie x and ex u be ran t the 11 released, Italy, too, had a folk Ge:ioCl hshermi-l!"1, with the ir OW! l revival. iraditioiiCli mUSiC ilnd bringing KIr1!l ot intricate counTerp(jln : Since 1961, Mr. Lomax has be" 'Jne Plu slcal style takirh,J three fell ~"l l qer~:; to t he put;lic, b e~ J i n nlng a w orking on a global overv;ew .): vVlfieSnrf:ad folk revIved that has ( i el i: ,] form s. music. His heaeiq uarte rs is ,n a ,V e'( c;c hoei~ dO\)\J!l t h rough the I'ock era. Fc: more tilall 50 '-/ears, 1\ ld' l renlike office on the Upper W~' ",- : in t he 1950's, Mr. Lomar; Lom" x has t) t:t.:f"1 r;oll c:c t i ll',j , Side of Manhattan where ht~ ·s complied the 18 album Columbia dlssemlflatlr1<;; all(.1 ililalylinq trClri l director of the Cantomeir!r; s d((i !_ lbI Dry o f World Music, still an im 1101-:;:l j musIc ant! dance. Choreomet rlcs Research P(0)eC . porUm! re source, and he went 0 11 Columbia University. The prOle':, In Quest of 'Cultural Equity' to help Great Briwlrl, Italy and correlates musical properties Win, Sp ilin rediscover their own folk anthropological observations o f The Wor I cl' s popular musIc wU lIln ,: u itures. In !wly, he spent months social and econom ic systems. [)c '!e ry d ifferent today w ithnlll Mr. tr ilv( : IIn~:j al,d r(>( ~ Or( lill g. ' What I have discovered ,' Mr. L0I11dX'S ef forts. III pursUit ()~ Wildt !_olllax said, " is t hat the stvlisTI C C', .; ::a ii<:; "cullur"!) t'!luity: iht: f inht ;~ ~;""".""',~............. ,.~ ....... " ..., ............, ....". .....:,.~ ...... , .....,"", ....";~, "",:'.,-...., ...., ....". ';, ...., 'J[ every culture to have: 8<lu(l1 tllne pa tterns of these traditiorls are the ~~ ~, (Jl dest and most stabl e Dfopertie c: ",n The em (mcl : ~qual time ;n the ,~ FOLK DANCES " ...., ,'" ':i(1s sroon'I,' Mr. LOIllClx hilS bf,(:-;I l im o f the hurnar! spirit. $ COSTUMES ~~ ' Mall's biggest cont rrbutlo ,', :) ,' ex r rd<,jf( jlf1 ilfliy effective 3dvoCd W. ,'" " Hc [Jugal! during the Depresslor'l, \' AND " the planet IS the invention O i d .~' " multitude o f c ultures, each SUited calginq ;j 500 pound pon a hip. ,,' ," CUSTOMS OF ITALY to a certain environment and time, . "ecorcl ilig mac h ine throuUh th(-' ,~~. ,~~ ~ ~ Mr. L.omax said. " Each culture's ar soun, am! West With his fathe r. ttle ~ ~ ,;< by " ray of artrstic patterns sums up the UlOf1e er 1I1q fOlk!o r 1st jOh ~l /\. " Elba Farabegoli Gurzi::U ,I ~ ~ healthy modes of survival. We have UJlrii:l)( collecting the so rl ~ l S of ~ This book of 128 pages in- $ to think into the future how te v)wboys, plantation worker s, ...' eludes 17 dances with sheet " ~ ~ m aintain all the potent ial that the !J[lsoners and others who were ,~music , instructions and " rarely heard. ~~ background information plus pic- ~~ human spirit has spun out in the " Folklore is moving across the $ tures and descriptions of ~~ last 90,000 years. To have only one ;, costumes from the various" .:lass line and interesting yourself In ~ ~ culture would be like facing the ..." regions of Italy. $10.00. i:~ AtlantiC with a storm on the wav the an of the o rdinary people," silid ~ ~ ~., An educational tape with music " and with just one lifeboat." M r. Lomax, who IS 73 years old. " It ~~ for the dances is available. $5.00 ~~ IS the voiceless people of the planet t~ Add postage 2.50 ~~ w ho realiy have in the ir memories ~t Total: $17 .50 ~~ the 90,000 years of human life and ~ ~ wlsdorl1. I' ve devoted my entire life ~ Please make check or money ~ order payable to: t o an obsessive collecting together ~" ~ " t" of th e evrdence.