| Music of Italy | |
|---|---|
| Genres: | Classical: Opera Pop: Rock (Hardcore) - Hip hop - Folk - jazz - Progressive rock |
| History and Timeline | |
| Awards | Italian Music Awards |
| Charts | Federation of the Italian Music Industry |
| Festivals | Sanremo Festival - Umbria Jazz Festival - Ravello Festival - Festival dei Due Mondi - Festivalbar |
| Media | Music media in Italy |
| National anthem | Il Canto degli Italiani |
| Regional scenes | |
| Aosta Valley - Abruzzo - Basilicata - Calabria - Campania - Emilia-Romagna - Florence - Friuli-Venezia Giulia - Genoa - Latium - Liguria - Lombardy - Marche - Milan - Molise - Naples - Piedmont - Puglia - Rome - Sardinia - Sicily - Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol - Tuscany - Umbria - Veneto - Venice | |
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| Related topics | |
| Opera houses - Music conservatories - Terminology | |
Naples has played an important and vibrant role over the centuries not just in the music of Italy, but in the general history of western European musical traditions. See also Music history of Italy The music of Italy ranges across a broad spectrum of Opera and instrumental Classical music, the traditional Art Music "Art music" is a somewhat broader term than "classical music" and may be defined for the purposes of this article as "establishment" music Italian opera is both the art of Opera in Italy and opera in the Italian language. Rock and pop Italian Popular Music has produced pop stars including: Anthony Tortorich, Paola & Chiara, Lucio Dalla, Renato Zero Italy is a European country and has had a long relationship with Rock and roll, a style of music which spread to the country by the early 1960s from the United There was a dynamic Italian Hardcore punk scene in the 1980s. Hip hop music and culture in Italy is an evolution of the way in which Italian youth make known their dissatisfaction for the current social and economic issues that are presented to them Italian folk music has a deep and complex history National unification came quite late to the Italian peninsula, so its many hundreds of separate cultures remained Italian jazz. James Reese Europe 's military concerts in France in World War I in 1919 are claimed to have introduced Europeans to a new "syncopated" The Italian progressive rock scene was born in the early 70s mostly inspired by the progressive movement in Britain, but with certain features of its own The modern state of Italy did not come into being until 1861 though the roots of music on the Italian peninsula can be traced back to the music of Ancient Rome. Time line for Music of Italy Dates for musical periods such as Baroque Classical Romantic etc Italian music awards There are a great number of music competitions that offer prizes for performance and composition in both classical and popular music The FIMI (short for Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana Federation of the Italian Music Industry in English) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually Italian music festivals Below is a list of major Music festivals in Italy with links to the appropriate external websites Arena di Verona Outdoor opera The Festival della canzone italiana (in English Italian song festival) is a popular Italian song contest running since 1951 and held annually in the city of Sanremo The Umbria Jazz Festival is one of the most important jazz festivals in the world and has been held annually since 1973 usually in July in the city of Perugia, Italy The Ravello Festival is also popularly known as the "Wagner Festival" and is an annual summer festival of music and the arts held in the town of Ravello on the For the Spoleto Festival USA see Spoleto Festival USA and for the Spoleto Festival Melbourne see Melbourne International Arts Festival. The Festivalbar is an Italian singing competition that takes place in the most important Italian squares during summer such as the Piazza del Duomo Milan; the first There is an abundance of print on-line and broadcast media in Italy that cover all kinds of music A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history traditions and struggles of its people recognized either by a nation's Il Canto degli Italiani ( The Song of the Italians) is the Italian National anthem. The development of music in the Aosta Valley region of Italy similar to nearby Piedmont, has much to do with the presence of medieval monasteries that preserved At first glance the Music of Abruzzo seems less defined than other regional music in Italy The music of Basilicata is sparse at the moment There is little theatrical or staged musical tradition and the facilities have not yet fully recovered from the powerful earthquake The music of Calabria is part of the Italian musical tradition. Music of Campania The capital city of the Campania region of Italy is Naples; there is a separate article dealing with the Music of Naples. The Music of Emilia-Romagna has the reputation of being one of the richest in Europe; there are six music conservatories alone in the region and the While Florence, itself "needs no introduction" as the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance, the music of Florence may in fact need such an introduction The musical fortunes of Friuli-Venezia Giulia (Furlanija - Julijska krajina are closely tied to its political fortunes over the course of centuries all having (For music outside of the city and province of Genoa in the Liguria region of Italy see Music of Liguria. ( Latium (Lazio is a region in central Italy that includes the city and province of Rome. The Music of Liguria flourished in the 19th century for a number of reasons This article is about the Music of Lombardy outside of the city and province of Milan The music of the Marche, a region of Italy, has been shaped by the fact that the entire region is a collection of small centers of population The music of Milan has ancient roots The Ambrosian chants are among the first codified music in Western culture which fact led to the later development of our concept While it is one of the smallest regions of Italy the Music of Molise is active The Piedmont has played an important role in the development of music in general in Italy due to the presence of medieval monasteries in that area institutions that The Music of Puglia has had some glorious history as well as some very hard times The Musica of Rome is intensely active The venues for live music include the Theater of the Opera the theater was built in the 1880s in the building boom to expand Sardinia is probably the most culturally distinct of all the regions in Italy and musically is best-known for the Tenores Polyphonic chant sacred songs The Music of Sicily refers to music created by peoples from the isle of Sicily. The Music of Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol reflects the multilingual and multiethnic make-up of the region (This article is about the Music of Tuscany outside of the city and province of Florence There are 70 community bands 110 community Choirs and about 20 secondary music schools The music of Veneto has much to offer Venice See also Music of Venice Venues The city of Venice in Italy has played an important role in the development of the Music of Italy. Opera houses are listed by continent then by country with the name of the opera house and city the opera company is sometimes named for clarity Below is an alphabetical list by city of those music conservatories in Italy that maintain webpages This is an article on the terminology used to describe the Music of Italy. Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the See also Music history of Italy The music of Italy ranges across a broad spectrum of Opera and instrumental Classical music, the traditional This influence extends from the early music conservatories in the 1500s through the music of Alessandro Scarlatti during the Baroque period and the comic operas of Pergolesi, Piccinni and, eventually, Rossini and Mozart. Alessandro Scarlatti (May 2 1660 &ndash October 24 1725 was an Italian Baroque Composer especially famous for his Operas and chamber Cantatas Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (January 4 1710 &ndash 16 or March 17 1736 was an Italian Composer, Violinist and organist. Niccolò Piccinni ( January 16, 1728 - May 7, 1800) was an Italian Composer of symphonies sacred music chamber music The vitality of Neapolitan popular music from the late 1800s has made such songs as 'O Sole mio and Funiculì Funiculà a permanent part of our musical consciousness. "' " Funiculì Funiculà " is a famous song written by Italian journalist Peppino Turco and set to music by Italian composer Luigi Denza
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Classical music
In the mid-1500s, the Spanish throne established church-run conservatories in its vice-realm of Naples. The Music Conservatories of Naples The current music conservatory in Naples is San Pietro a Maiella (alternately spelled as "Majella" These institutions were on the premises of four churches in the city of Naples: Santa Maria di Loreto, Pietà dei Turchini, Sant'Onofrio a Capuana, and I Poveri di Gesù Cristo.
At the time, these institutions were called "conservatories" because they "conserved"—that is, they sheltered and educated—orphans. Since music was such an integral part of the training of the children, by the early 1600s "conservatory" had come to mean "music school" and became used in that meaning in other European languages.
The Neapolitan conservatories enjoyed a considerable reputation throughout Europe as training grounds not only for young children to be trained in church music, but, eventually, as a feeder system into the world of commercial music and opera once those areas opened up in the early 1600s. Opera is an art form in which Singers and Musicians perform a Dramatic work (called an opera which combines a text (called a Libretto This primed Naples to become one of the most important centers of musical training in Europe.
By the 1700s, Naples was nicknamed the "conservatory of Europe" and was home and workshop to composers such as Alessandro Scarlatti, Pergolesi, Niccolò Piccinni, Domenico Cimarosa, Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, etc. Alessandro Scarlatti (May 2 1660 &ndash October 24 1725 was an Italian Baroque Composer especially famous for his Operas and chamber Cantatas Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (January 4 1710 &ndash 16 or March 17 1736 was an Italian Composer, Violinist and organist. Niccolò Piccinni ( January 16, 1728 - May 7, 1800) was an Italian Composer of symphonies sacred music chamber music Domenico Cimarosa ( 17 December 1749 – 11 January 1801) was an Italian Opera Composer of the Neapolitan Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini ( November 3, 1801 &ndash September 23, 1835) was a Sicilian Opera Composer Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 &ndash 8 April 1848 was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy.
Naples was also the birthplace of the popular Neapolitan comic opera and the site of the San Carlo Theater, built in 1737 and one of the finest musical theaters in the world. Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature usually with a happy ending Year 1737 ( MDCCXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a
Under the short French rule of Murat in the early 1800s, the original four conservatories were consolidated into a single institution, which was relocated in 1826 to the premises of the ex-monastery, San Pietro a Maiella. Joachim-Napoléon Murat (born Joachim Murat) ( Gioacchino Napoleone Murat) ( March 25 1767 &ndash October 13 1815) For the game see 1826 (board game. Year 1826 ( MDCCCXXVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display The Music Conservatories of Naples The current music conservatory in Naples is San Pietro a Maiella (alternately spelled as "Majella"
The conservatory still bears the inscription "Royal Academy of Music" over the entrance and is still an important music school in Italy. It houses an impressive library of manuscripts pertaining to the lives and musical production of the composers who have lived and worked in Naples.
Canzone Napoletana
Main article: Canzone Napoletana
Canzone Napoletana is what most people think of when they think of Neapolitan music. Canzone Napoletana, sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song, is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily It consists of a large body of composed popular music—such songs as 'O sole mio, Torna a Surriento, Funiculì funiculà, etc. The Neapolitan song became a formal institution in the 1830s through the vehicle of an annual song writing competition for the yearly Festival of Piedigrotta, dedicated to the Madonna of Piedigrotta, a well-known church in the Mergellina area of Naples. Events and trends Electromagnetic induction discovered by Michael Faraday. Piedigrotta Literally "at the foot of the grotto" A section of the Mergellina quarter of Naples, Italy, so-called for the presence Mergellina is a section of the city of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The winner of the first festival was a song entitled Te voglio bene assaie; interestingly, it was composed by the prominent opera composer, Gaetano Donizetti. Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 &ndash 8 April 1848 was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. The festival ran regularly until 1950 when it was abandoned. A subsequent Festival of Neapolitan Song on Italian state radio enjoyed some success in the 1950s but was eventually abandoned as well. The period since 1950 has produced such songs as Malafemmena by Totò and Carmela by Sergio Bruni. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Antonio Focas Flavio Angelo Ducas Comneno De Curtis Di Bisanzio Gagliardi, Imperial Highness Palatine Count Knight of the Holy Roman Empire Exarch of Ravenna Duke of Macedonia Although separated by some decades from the earlier classics of this genre, they have now become "classics" in their own right. (See main article for more information. Canzone Napoletana, sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song, is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily )
Neapolitan folk music
By definition, this is largely anonymous music. It features traditional folk percussion instruments such as the putipu--consisting of a membrane stretched across a resonating chamber, like a drum. A handle attached to the membrane compresses air rhythmically within the chamber; the air then spurts out of the not-quite-hermetic seal that fastens the membrane to the wooden body of the instrument to produce a "burping" sound;
- triccaballacca-—a clapper, consisting of three percussive mallets mounted on a base, the outer two of which are hinged at the base and are moved in to strike the central piece; the rhythmic sound is produced by the clicking of wood on wood and the simultaneous sound of the small metal disks—called "jingles", mounted on the instrument;
- the tambourine (called tammorra in Neapolitan dialect)--a circular frame with a single drum head stretched across one side of the instrument. There are generally small metal "jingles" mounted around the perimeter of the instrument, that sound as the tammorra is struck by the knuckles or the open hand.
This music is well represented by the Nuova Compagnia di canto popolare. Often combining dance, music, and drama, the subject matter and approach to vocalizing are quite distinct from the composed stylings of the better-known Neapolitan song.
Mandolin
There are various kinds of mandolins in use in Italy; they bear the names of cities or regions such as the "Roman", the "Lombard", the "Genovese", and the "Neapolitan" mandolin. (see also: mandolin). A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed They may differ in size, shape, number of strings and tuning. The traditional Neapolitan mandolin is tear-shaped with a bowl back and a uniquely cut and shaped front (sounding board); it has eight strings paired into the four violin tunings of g, d', a', and e'. The strings are played with a plectrum, producing the rapid and characteristic tremolo sound as the plectrum moves rapidly over unison strings. In that configuration, the Neapolitan mandolin started to be manufactured widely in Naples in the mid-1700s.
In spite of the modern vision of the mandolin as a quaint vehicle for older, traditional popular music such as the Canzone Napoletana, the instrument has a classical history. Canzone Napoletana, sometimes referred to as Neapolitan song, is a generic term for a traditional form of music sung in the Neapolitan language, ordinarily Students of the mandolin at the Naples Conservatory are required to perform selections from a large repertoire of music composed especially for the instrument by, among others, Vivaldi, Beethoven and Paganini. Ludwig van Beethoven ( English ˈlʊdvɪg væn ˈbeɪtoʊvən, 16 December 1770 &ndash 26 March 1827 was a German Composer and Pianist. Niccolò Paganini ( October 27, 1782 &ndash
Stereotypically, the instrument is commonly used in conjunction with a guitar; the mandolin-guitar duo is the traditional instrumentation for the posteggiatori, the street musicians who wander from restaurant to restaurant and serenade for tips. There is in Naples a mandolin academy that attempts to combat that stereotype by promoting other music, classical and modern, for the instrument
The Sceneggiata
Little-known abroad, but extremely popular in Naples, is the local stage musical form called the Sceneggiata. At the turn of the century they were performed in the U. S. in areas populated by Italian immigrants. The form has been called "a musical soap opera" and generally revolves around domestic grief, the agony of leaving home, personal deceit and treachery, betrayal in love, and life in the world of petty crime. It is always sung and spoken in Neapolitan dialect. Action stops every few minutes for someone to break out in song. As a rule, many of the plots were flimsy after-the-fact vehicles to promote particular songs. The sceneggiata started shortly after World War I, was extremely popular in the 1920s, then faded, but has been enjoying somewhat of a comeback with newer generations of performers since the 1960s. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The 1920s is sometimes referred to as the " Jazz Age " or the " Roaring Twenties " when speaking about the United States and Canada The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 The most popular performer of the genre is the Neapolitan, Mario Merola. Mario Merola ( 6 April 1934 - 12 November 2006) was a Neapolitan singer and actor most prominently known for having rejunevated the traditional The most popular sceneggiata ever written is Zappatore, (meaning, exactly, "clodbuster," one who works the land and breaks up the soil for farming) written to feature a song of that name in 1929 by Bovio and Albano. Year 1929 ( MCMXXIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Libero Bovio ( June 9, 1883 - May 26, 1942) was a Neapolitan lyricist and dialect poet It then became a stage production and was even made into a film on various occasions, the first one actually from a film company in Little Italy in New York City. The City of New York
The Cantautore
(Literally, "singer-songwriter". ) This music has been extremely popular throughout Italy for decades and its popularity continues to grow. As the name implies, this genre involves songwriters who sing their own music, inevitably songs of social protest or, at least, social relevance. Modern Neapolitan performers include Pino Daniele (probably the best-known Neapolitan cantautore, both in Naples and elsewhere), Nino d'Angelo, Daniele Sepe, Rita Marcotulli, Nando Citarella and Ciro Ricci. Pino Daniele ( 19 March 1955, Naples) is an Italian pop - Blues singer songwriter and musician Nino d'Angelo (b June 21, 1957) is an Italian Singer. He was born in San Pietro a Patierno, a suburb of Naples. Daniele Sepe (born April 17, 1960 in Naples) is an Italian musician known internationally for interpreting Protest songs from around Sepe is quite influential and is known for using protest songs from all over the world and for his skills as a percussionist, flautist and saxophonist. A protest song is a Song which Protests against perceived problems in Society. A flautist, flutist, or flute player is a Musician who plays the Flute. The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Well-known songs in this genre include Napule è and Terra mia, both by Pino Daniele.
Globalized music
Like all popular music—and even classical music (for example, The Silk Road Ensemble of cellist Yo-Yo Ma)—very recent Neapolitan popular music has incorporated influences from a wide variety of sources, from American jazz and rock to middle-eastern and African music. Silk Road Project Inc is a not-for-profit organization initiated by acclaimed cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1998, promoting collaboration among artists and institutions This is an Anglicized version of the Chinese name "Ma Yo-yo" the family name is " Ma " Jazz is an American Musical art form which originated in the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. The Middle East is a Subcontinent with no clear boundaries often used as a synonym to Near East, in opposition to Far East. The music of Africa is as vast and varied as the continent's many regions, nations and Ethnic groups Although there is no distinctly pan-African One interesting example of African influence is the recent CD Oggi o dimane by the well-known Neapolitan singer and actor Massimo Ranieri. Massimo Ranieri (name in art of Giovanni Calone) is an Italian pop singer a film and stage actor and a show-business personality Essentially, it is a collection of well-known Neapolitan songs composed in the late 1800s and early 1900s, such as Marechiaro and Rundinella, backed by north African string and percussion instruments. North Africa or Northern Africa is the Northernmost Region of the African Continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan
Also, the English term "musical" (or, occasionally, the Italian commedia musicale—a translation of "musical comedy") has come to be used over the last few decades in Italy, in general, and Naples, in particular, to describe a kind of musical drama not native to Italy, a form that employs the American idiom of jazz-pop-and rock-based music and rhythms to move a story along in a combination of songs and dialogue. Obviously, the term is used to refer to original American musicals, but now is used, as well, for original productions in Italian and Neapolitan dialect. The first Italian "musical" was Carosello Napoletano, first a stage production and then a 1953 film directed by Ettore Giannini and featuring a young Sophia Loren in the cast. Year 1953 ( MCMLIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Sophia Loren (born September 20 1934 is an Academy Award winning Italian film actress born Sofia Villani Scicolone More recent Neapolitan musicals have been C'era una volta. . . Scugnizzi, based on the lives of Neapolitan street kids ("Scugnizzi) and Napoli 1799, about the republican revolution of 1799 that briefly overthrew the Bourbon monarchy. Year 1799 ( MDCCXCIX) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a The House of Bourbon is an important European Royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty.
Venues
The most famous place, of course, to hear music in Naples is the San Carlo opera house. Lesser-known is the smaller theater in the adjacent Royal Palace, a stage often used by the Neapolitan ballet company. Besides being the home of the opera, San Carlo is the most frequent venue several times a year for large visiting orchestras. Interestingly, the nearby Teatro Mercadante, a charming old theater from the late 1790s--and along with San Carlo one of the official royal theaters of the day--has reopened after many decades of sporadic use.
With the resurrection of the mammoth overseas fair grounds, the Mostra d'Oltremare (originally built in the 1930s) in the nearby community of Fuorigrotta, the Teatro Mediterraneo on those premises is now, as well, a frequent stage for all types of musical performances. The fair grounds site has the added advantage of containing, as well, the newly reopened outdoor amphiteater, the arena. It hosts summer performances of various kinds, including, most prominently, grand opera such as Verdi's Aida.
There is a large program of chamber music in Naples, hosted by the Alessandro Scarlatti Association, usually staged in the Teatro delle Palme off of Via dei Mille in the Chaia section of Naples. As well, smaller groups and musical productions avail themselves of a half-dozen or so theaters around town that also double as cinemas.
Additionally, the Naples music conservatory has recently refurbished and opened an auditorium on the premises and puts on regularly scheduled concerts of various kinds of music, often featuring conservatory students and faculty.
The largest public venue for music, parades, political rallies, installation art, New Year's celebrations, etc. is Piazza Plebiscito, the spacious open square on the west side of the Royal Palace. Other outdoor venues include the Comunal Gardens, a half-mile long park along the sea-side.
Also, after decades of neglect, the Trianon theater has now reopened as a theater of Neapolitan Song. It has an impressive program of traditional Neapolitan plays and musicals, an art gallery, very good acoustics, and will soon have a permanent multimedia exhibit dedicated to Enrico Caruso. Enrico Caruso (born Errico Caruso; February 25 1873 &ndash August 2 1921) was an Italian Opera singer The theater is located, appropriately, in a traditional part of town, Piazza Calenda, at the extreme eastern edge of the old historic center of Naples.
See also
External links
These are the websites of some of the places in Naples that host musical activities:
- San Carlo Theater
- Alessandro Scarlatti Assciation
- Naples Music Conservatory
- Mostra d'Oltremare (Overseas Fair Grounds)
- Bellini Theater
- Napoli is burning, an example of new neapolitan hip-hop
- Trianon Theater
- Academy of Fine Arts
- Pietà dei Turchini Center for Ancient Music
- Also see Concerts today in Naples
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