L'Italo-Americano

L'Italo-Americano THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 6 NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS tradition remains strong. Fabio continues: "My custo- mers, the people who beco- me passionate about zampo- g n e , a r e a v a r i e d b u n c h . There are old school zampo- gnari, but also younger musi- cians, especially those invol- ved in the folk scene. They are not many, I must admit, but there are some and this is important." F o r u s a l l , t h o u g h , t h e bond between zampogne and tradition lies especially in how reminiscent they are of C h r i s t m a s t i m e , s o w e asked Fabio to tell us more about it: "Zampogne, as we s a i d , h a v e a r u r a l o r i g i n . They were the instruments of f a m e r s a n d s h e p h e r d s . During the winter months, when there was less work to do in the fields, they would grab their zampogna and walk around local villages and towns playing music to make some money, especial- l y f o r t h e C h r i s t m a s Novena, a form of popular worship that takes place in t h e n i n e d a y s b e f o r e Christmas. That's how the connection between Natale and zampogne came to be." S p e a k i n g w i t h F a b i o , something else transpires, the wealth of techniques and knowledge behind their pro- duction: "zampogne are spe- cial instruments, I like to call them balordi, they are tem- peramental, unique," Fabio explains, "there is a lot of work involved, whether you play them or build them. In the past, zampognari would play by ear, but this is no longer the case today: you must be able to read music. It's an incredibly complex instrument, which makes only a handful of notes but that has an enormous melo- dic potential." Indeed, not all z a m p o g n e a r e q u i t e t h e same: "They can be made in different tonalities, although, of course, the most common and popular are those built in the G tonality, because it means they can be played with other instruments. But each zampogna is different also for other reasons: for instance, its sound, and even i t s p e r f o r m a n c e , c a n b e influenced by the type of w o o d u s e d t o m a k e i t . Zampogne makers here in Scapoli use only locally sour- c e d w o o d , w h i c h i s t h e n allowed to rest and age befo- r e b e i n g u s e d . A n o t h e r essential element for sound production is the reed. In the old days, reeds were made with bamboo canes collected by the sea; they were harve- sted in January, aged for a while and then used. Today, we make synthetic reeds, which are more reliable and p r o d u c e a m u c h b e t t e r sound. So yes, the wood and the reed do make a differen- ce in the quality of the zam- pogna." The tradition of zampogne and their production is kept alive in Fabio's hometown of Scapoli in the Isernia pro- vince of Molise. Known uni- versally as the città delle zampogne, Scapoli is proud of the connection and does a l l i t c a n t o e n s u r e t h i s immense patrimony of local c u l t u r e a n d k n o w h o w doesn't get lost. Every year, on the last weekend of July, t h e F e s t i v a l I n t e r n a z i o n a l e d e l l a Z a m p o g n a t a k e s p l a c e here, with visitors and musi- cians coming from all over the world. The 2021 edition will be the 45th. In Scapoli, in 1, Via Santa Maria, you'll a l s o f i n d t h e M u s e o I n t e r n a z i o n a l e d e l l a Zampogna, a place to learn about the tradition of zam- pogne in the village, about their production and the role they have today in the life of its people. Before saying goodbye, we asked one last thing to Fabio: what's the future of zam- pogne? He gave us a very realistic answer, one that, however, holds within also great hope: "I am 45 and I don't see many people my age or younger approaching the instrument. Yet, there are a few. There are young people who believe in zam- pogne and in their history and who want to keep this cultural and musical legacy alive. Thanks to them, zam- pogne and their sound will keep on evolving, without forgetting its origins. That's essential, because we should never forget where we come from." Continued from page 4 Zampognari in a street of Rome (Photo: Konstantinos Papaioannou/Dreamstime) The work behind making a zampogna is immense and starts with the choice of wood for the instrument (Photo courtesy of Fabio Ricci) Le domande di ammissione alle prove dovranno pervenire entro le ore 24:00 del giorno 7 gennaio 2021. Avviso di selezione per l'assunzione di un impiegato a contratto da adibire ai servizi di collaboratore amministrativo nel settore Contabilita' – manifestazioni culturali – traduzione presso l'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di San Francisco. Il bando e' scaricabile dal sito www.iicsanfrancisco.esteri.it Concorso per l'assunzione di un impiegato a contratto all'Istituto Italiano di Cultura di San Francisco

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