Renowned Italian band Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino was created by writer Rina Durante in 1975. It is one of Italy’s most reputable and longest-standing traditional music ensembles.
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino comes from Puglia in the Salento, in southern Italy. The lineup consists of a seven member band and a dancer.
The ensemble recreates southern Italy’s Pizzica musical and dance traditions. The tradition pizzica tarantata is said to cure the taranta spider’s bite with its frenzied trance dances.
In 2021, CGS released a new album titled Meridiana. The album title means “sundial” and referred to the international environment at the time. “This last year especially, made us all wonder much about time,” Mauro explained, “its weight and relevance in our lives. The sundial was one of the first instruments to measure time, using light and shadow—those are strong symbols, full of meanings…Thinking about time means thinking about our lives and the people who make them worthwhile. And if, as physics scientist Feynman stated, “Time is what happens when nothing else happens”, this last year gave us the chance to feel time a lot.”
The COVID-19 pandemic affected Italy severely. Mauro expressed how the pandemic affected CGS: “A band is a living thing, just like its music. And we never stop experimenting and exploring our distinctiveness. But the pandemic has been really hard. It wasn’t easy to meet, to make music together, to be a band in the usual way… But somehow we managed. Working with our guests was a new experience; we could only work remotely, but still we created something we’re proud of. This album is proof that the desire to share, to dance together, is irresistible. Music really has no borders.”
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino is led by fiddler and frame drummer Mauro Durante. The rest of the ensemble includes Emanuele Licci on bouzouki, classical guitar, vocals; Alessia Tondo on vocals; Silvia Perrone on dance; Giulio Bianco on harmonica, zampogna (Italian bagpipes), recorder; Massimiliano Morabito on diatonic accordion; and Giancarlo Paglialunga on tamburello, vocals.
Discography:
Canti di terra d’Otranto e della Grecia Salentina (Fonit Cetra, 1997)
Concerto 1 (1980)
Come farò a diventare un mito (Dunya, 1983)
Concerto 2 (1985)
Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino (1988)
Concerto 3 (1991)
Sutt’acqua e sutta ientu navegamu (1994)
Mamminieddhu Zuccaratu (1994)
Ni pizzicau lu core (1997)
Ballati tutti quanti ballati forte (Felmay, 1998)
Canti e pizziche d’amore (Salento Altra Musica, 2000)
carataranta (Salento Altra Musica, 2000)
Pizzica pizzica (Salento Altra Musica, 2001)
Alla Riva Del Mare (Salento Altra Musica, 2002)
Serenata (Salento Altra Musica, 2002)
Focu D’Amore (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2010)
Pizzica Indiabolata (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2012)
Quaranta (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2015)
Canzoniere (Ponderosa Music & Art, 2017)
Meridiana (Ponderosa Records, 2021)
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.