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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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