Sicilian Fables & Legends of the South

​Silentwoods Collective dives into the passionate and fiery music of Southern Italy, a region rich in Greek and Arab cultural heritage. Rituals of the early modern and pre-Christian eras reveal not only antiquity’s aesthetic influences in the area but also functional relations. Evolving and mutating with each passing generation, one example of such relationships is the lore surrounding the tarantella, a genre descending from ancient times. A reaction to emotional and or physical trauma, this program traces the lineage of the tarantella’s vigorous energy through the centuries to the ecstatic rituals involving music and dance surrounding the orphic and bacchic cults of antiquity. As the musicians explore these and other stories and rituals of Southern Italy, they feature gems of a seldom performed and understudied repertoire–works by Scarlatti, Coya, Caresana, Giulio de Ruvo, Provenzale, and more.

Silentwoods Collective: Carley DeFranco, soprano, Danilo Bonina & Nelli Herskovitz-Jabotinsky, violins, Andrew Koutroubas, cello, John McKean, harpsichord, Luce Burrell, theorbo

http://sohipboston.org