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Epic Singing in Albanian: Archival Documents and Living Practice

October 26, 2022

Albanian Epic Singing Between Archival Documents and Living Practice is the event organized last Oct. 26, 2022 by the Embassy of the Republic of Kosovo in Rome, in collaboration with ICSBA (Istituto Centrale per i Beni Sonori e Audiovisivi). The event featured a round table, introduced by greetings from the Director of ICSBA Antonello De Berardinis and HE Ambassador Lendita Haxhitasim, with Prof. Francesco Altimari (University of Calabria), Prof. Giovanni Giuriati (Sapienza – University of Rome), Prof. Zymer U. Neziri (Albanological Institute of Prishtina), and Prof. Nicola Scaldaferri (University of Milan). During the meeting, Nicola Scaldaferri presented his last edited volume about the Albanian materials in the Milman Parry Collection (Wild Songs, Sweet Songs, Harvard University Press, 2021). The event ended with singer Isa Elezi- Lekëgjekaj performing an epic song with lahuta.

Poster

All photos by Giovanni Cestino

An excerpt from Isa Elezi’s performance
Camera: Shan Du and Giovanni Cestino – Editing: Giovanni Cestino

“With My Eyes Full of Sounds”

October 10, 2022

A presentation of the new Italian edition of R. Murray Schafer’s The Tuning of the World (1977, later reissued as The Soundscape), edited by Giovanni Cestino and published by Ricordi-LIM (2022), will take place in Milan at the Auditorium San Fedele, at 6pm. The event is part of the Inner_Spaces electronic music series, and it is co-organized by Centro San Fedele and Department of Cultural Heritage and Environment of the University of Milan.

The event, moderated by Maurizio Corbella (University of Milan) will feature the editor of the book, Sabine Breitsameter (Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences), Nicola Scaldaferri (University of Milan), and Barry Truax (Simon Fraser University).

The presentation is followed by a concert of the Inner_Spaces series, featuring work by Barry Truax and Oval.

More

Poster

Il-paesaggio-sonoro_def_low


Link to the event page


Link to the publisher’s page

Le vie della poesia orale

April 28, 2022

An interdisciplinary seminar on the heritage of Milman Parry’s and Albert Lord’d researches in oral epics, organized by prof. Carla Castelli and prof. Nicola Scaldaferri, took place on April 28, 2022 at the Department of Cultural Heritage and Environment of the University of Milan. Five presentations by scholars in Classics and Ethnomusicology delved into the topic from different perspectives, spanning from the disciplinary context and implications of Parry’s theories, to the archival materials he collected (now preserved in the Milman Parry Collection of Oral Literature, Harvard University) and the most recent researches on these documents, suggesting also some new directions in studying epic singing today. A final discussion moderated by prof. Castelli closed the event.

Poster

Oralita

Presentations

Prof. Giovanni Benedetto (University of Milan)
Prof. Mario Cantilena (Università Cattolica, Milan)
Prof. David Elmer (Harvard University)
Prof. Nicola Scaldaferri (University of Milan)
Dr. Giovanni Cestino (University of Milan)
Discussion (moderated by prof. Carla Castelli, University of Milan)

Chinese Traditional Instruments of the Han People

March 21, 28, and April, 4 2022

As part of the teaching workshop Traditional Instruments Playing Techniques (prof. Nicola Scaldaferri), Shan Du (PhD Candidate in Ethnomusicology at the University of Bologna) hold three lectures on the Chinese traditional instruments of the Han people. The first meeting focused on the plucked string instruments guqin and guzheng; the second delved into the role of instruments in the Taoists rituals; the third was dedicated to the musical aspects of the Qingming Festival and the funeral rites.

All three lectures were enriched by live musical performances. Young Chinese players Wanying Fu (guzheng) and Jingzhi Zhao (guqin) performed original repertoire for their instruments, while Nicola Scaldaferri and Shan Du played a Chinese arrangement of a traditional tune for violin and piano.

This lecture series has been supported by the Istituto Confucio of the University of Milan.


在Nicola Scaldaferri教授的“民间乐器演奏技巧”研讨课程期间,来自博洛尼亚大学民族音乐学专业的博士生杜杉主讲了三场关于汉族民间乐器的专题讲座。第一场的主题是拨弦乐器古琴和古筝;第二场的主题是道教仪式中所使用的乐器;第三场则是以清明节及丧葬仪式中的音乐现象为主要论题。

三场讲座都伴有现场音乐展示。中国青年乐手付婉莹(古筝)和赵静之(古琴)为大家演奏了乐器的传统曲目;Nicola Scaldaferri和杜杉则以小提琴和钢琴合奏的形式为大家呈现了传统曲目的改编版本。 

本期的三场讲座由米兰大学孔子学院支持并赞助


Poster

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Photos

Music Performances

March 21, 2022 – Wanying Fu, guzheng • Shan Du, piano
March 28, 2022 – Jingzhi Zhao, guqin
April 4, 2022 – Nicola Scaldaferri, violin • Shan Du, piano

“Sonic Ethnography” Wins the 2021 ICTM Best Book Prize

August 14, 2021

We are happy to announce that Sonic Ethnography, a book by Lorenzo Ferrarini and Nicola Scaldaferri, has been awarded the 2021 ICTM Best Book Prize.

Read the announcement

Sonic Ethnography explores the role of sound-making and listening practices in the formation of local identities in the southern Italian region of Basilicata. The book uses a combination of text, photography and sound recording to investigate soundful cultural performances such as tree rituals, carnivals, pilgrimages, events promoting cultural heritage and more informal musical performances. This book underlines how an attention to sound-making, recording and listening practices can bring innovative contributions to the ethnography of an area that has been studied by Italian and foreign scholars since the 1950s. Combining text, colour photographs, and sound recordings, Sonic Ethnography makes a compelling argument for taking sound seriously as a crucial component of social life and as an ethnographic form of representation.

The book explores several case studies, including the Maggio festival in Accettura, the Campanaccio of San Mauro Forte, the Lucanian wheat festivals and Marian pilgrimages, and the arbëreshe diaspora in the US.

Sonic Ethnography is available in print and online (Open Access) through Manchester University Press (here).


Siamo lieti di annunciare che Sonic Ethnography, di Lorenzo Ferrarini e Nicola Scaldaferri, ha ricevuto il premio come miglior libro del 2021 da parte dell’ICTM (International Council for Traditional Music).

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Sonic Ethnography rivela come il suono giochi un ruolo essenziale nella performance delle identità locali in Basilicata. Attraverso l’esplorazione del paesaggio sonoro di riti arborei, carnevali, pellegrinaggi, esecuzioni musicali estemporanee e archivi sonori, il libro si concentra sugli aspetti relazionali ed esperienziali del suono che per un tempo limitato creano delle comunità acustiche. Il volume fornisce un approccio innovativo a un’area già esaminata da studiosi italiani e stranieri a partire dagli anni cinquanta, evidenziando come questi studi classici siano nel frattempo diventati una delle risorse coinvolte nelle politiche locali del patrimonio culturale. Attraverso una combinazione di testi, fotografie a colori e registrazioni sonore, Sonic Ethnography propone di analizzare seriamente il suono come una componente essenziale della vita sociale e come forma di rappresentazione etnografica.

Il libro affronta diversi casi di studio: il Maggio di Accettura, i Campanacci di San Mauro Forte, le feste del grano e i pellegrinaggi mariani in Basilicata, e la diaspora arbëreshe negli Stati Uniti.

Sonic Ethnography è disponibile sia in formato cartaceo che online (Open Access) sul sito dell’editore, Manchester University Press.