In 1954, Alan Lomax and Diego Carpitella set out on a yearlong voyage of discovery that resulted in an exhaustive documentation of Italian folk music. “It was a mythic time. None of us suspected that that world – made of music, songs, poverty, joy, desperation, custom, violence, injustice, love, dialect, and poetry, formed over the course of millennia – would be swept away in a couple of years…by the voodoo of ‘progress.'” -Vittorio De Seta.
Songs of love and disdain, erotic and satiric songs, work songs and funeral laments – sung in dialect and Griko. Instrumental and vocal polyphony from the Salento, one of the most beautiful regions of Puglia, the southeasternmost tip of Italy’s heel, a crossroads between the East and West and the home of a unique heritage of traditional music.
Buy Italian Treasury: Puglia: The Salento
Author: Angel Romero
Angel Romero y Ruiz has dedicated his life to musical exploration. His efforts included the creation of two online portals, worldmusiccentral.org and musicasdelmundo.com. In addition, Angel is the co-founder of the Transglobal World Music Chart, a panel of world music DJs and writers that celebrates global sounds. Furthermore, he delved into the record business, producing world music studio albums and compilations. His works have appeared on Alula Records, Ellipsis Arts, Indígena Records and Music of the World.
