Folk Music of Italy, Episode 5: Songs of the Italian Alps (part 2)

Audio file
Date recorded: May 5, 1955
Contributor(s): Performer: Lomax, Alan; Broadcaster: BBC
Subject(s):
Location:
Track Number: 14
Archive ID: B014
Original ID: T570R01
Note: Discussed in this part: Tavern singing of love songs and the country roots of the villotte. "Vai a Londra, Rosina." Alan wonders if the Protestant hymn tunes were taken by Calvin from Alpine folksongs such as these. The (Austrian- sounding) Furlana, a waltz. In many Alpine regions the folk traditions have eroded. The ascendancy of arranged Alpine choral versions of stornelli. Trentino. The Tyrol: "Oi, la, la, Susanna." Austrian-style sentimental (but lovely) zither music. Lombardy. Val di Seriana. The country of the Lombards. Lullaby. Ballads, a Celtic substratum? Other scholars before Alan Lomax have noticed the cultural divide between northern and southern Italian singing styles: "La bella inglese" ("The Outlandish Knight," Child No. 4), sung in chorus. The panpipe orchestra of Bottanuco. Rice culture.
Belongs to: Folk Music of Italy (BBC)
About the session: The Folk Music of Italy was an eight-part series of Italian folk music produced and hosted by Alan Lomax for the BBC's Third Programme. The recordings were made by Lomax during his Italian field trip in 1954 and early 1955; the series was compiled before his return to England in the early spring of 1955.
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