Welcome to the latest post in the Homegrown Plus series, featuring Ensemble Sangineto, one of the most popular groups on the Italian folk scene. Just like other blogs in the series, this one includes a concert video, a video interview with the musicians, and connections to Library of Congress collections.
The ensemble Sangineto is comprised of three talented singers and instrumentalists. Adriano and Caterina Sangineto are twins — Adriano plays Celtic harp and Caterina plays bowed psaltery. Jacopo Ventura rounds out the trio on guitar. The group sings in three-part harmony, with Caterina’s clear voice taking the lead. The Sanginetos are children of a world-renowned luthier who has spent years crafting instruments for some of the leading folk and early music performers, so their childhood was spent meeting and listening to such musicians as Derek Bell of the Chieftains and Alan Stivell, a foundational artist of the Breton music revival. Ventura is a conservatory trained classical guitarist who has branched out to play many of the stringed instruments common in European and Asian folk music.
The band’s current project takes the audience on a trip through Italy via a traditional song from each region, with medieval, Celtic, jazz, and contemporary stylings in their arrangements. Their most recent CD release, “Grand Tour Vol. 1,” presents half of the full tour, and a future release will present the other half. Like the CD, our concert wasn’t long enough to do a complete tour of 20 regions, but we did get a beautiful sampling. Here are the songs and their respective regions.
1) Rinello (Umbria)
2) Mare maje (Abruzzo)
3) Dove te vett o Mariettina (Lombardia/Lombardy)
4) Lanterna de Zena (Liguria)
5) Chi bussa alla mia porta (Emilia-Romagna)
6) Si maritau Rosa (Sicilia/Sicily)
7) Canto delle lavandaie del Vomero (Campagna)
8) Giostra del tempo (Composition by Ensemble Sangineto)
9) Violina (Toscana/Tuscany)
10) Procurade ‘e moderare (Sardegna/Sardinia)
11) Lusive la lune (Friuli-Venezia Giulia)
Encore: Abbraccio di sale (Composition by Caterina Sangineto)
See the concert in the player below!
In the interview, we learn about the lives of the three musicians and the world of Italian folk music. They talk about how young people get involved in traditional music in Italy these days and how their own paths led them to join this band. We discuss particular influences they had in their musical journeys.
The Sanginetos also tell us about their father’s instrument-making, including his project of building instruments represented in Renaissance artwork–sometimes without knowing if the instruments were real or just from the artist’s imagination! Caterina demonstrates the bowed psaltery, a medieval instrument built by her father, for anyone who isn’t familiar with the instrument.
View the interview in the player below!
You can find both of these videos with more bibliographic information on the Library of Congress website. You can also find them on the Library of Congress YouTube channel.
Collection Connections and Links
Band Links
- First of all, visit Ensemble Sangineto online!
- See a previous incarnation of the band as Lyradanz.
- Visit luthier Michele Sangineto at his Homo Faber page.
Concerts and Other Videos
- Newpoli Concert and Interview: Italian Traditional Music
- Joseph Sciorra Speaks on Italian-American Religious Culture in New York
- Ravioli and Sauce with Lou Maiuri: Italian American Foodways in West Virginia
Collection Guide
American Folklife Center Collections: Italy is your first stop for Italian and Italian-American collections at AFC.
Links to Italian Content in Online Collections
- Alan Lomax Collection (Photos and Some Audio from Italy–More Audio to Be Added)
- Italian Americans in the West Project Collection
- W.P.A. California Folk Music Project Collection
- Chicago Ethnic Arts Project Collection (Illinois)
- Lowell Folklife Project collection (Massachusetts)
- Paradise Valley Folklife Project Collection (Nevada)
- Working in Paterson Project Collection (New Jersey)
Grazie!
As always, thanks for watching and listening (and reading)!
The American Folklife Center’s Homegrown Concert Series brings music, dance, and spoken arts from across the country, and some from further afield, to the Library of Congress. For information on current concerts, visit the Folklife Concerts page at Concerts from the Library of Congress. For past concerts, visit the Homegrown Concerts Online Archive.