Taberna Mylaensis
Encyclopedia
Biography
Discover the popular Sicilian music by the ensemble of Milazzo, the ancient town of Mylae.Luciano Maio (born in 1950 in Milazzo, Sicily) has been a propagator of Sicilian culture all his life, as a poet, artist, painter, singer, fisherman, sculptor, lyricist, and as a composer.
In the early 1970s he founded 'Taberna Mylaensis' and initiated the recovery of the great traditional music of Sicily, on the wave of the student revolts of 1968 with its expectations for social renovation.
In the years to follow, 'Taberna Mylaensis' has had various line-ups, with Luciano Maio as its steady centre during which the band released 10 LPs and CDs.
The repertoire, which originally focused on protest songs, gradually shifted to a more traditional and contemporary approach. Sicily, the centre of the old Mediterranean world located on the crossroads of trade routes, has been influenced by Normans, Arabs, Greeks, French, Spanish, and the Maghreb culture. The music of Taberna Mylaensis bears traces of all these cultures. Luciano Maio's compositions are based on Sicilian and Mediterranean traditions and his lyrics (written in Sicilian dialect) often depict historical events.
History
The Sicilian group Taberna Mylaensis, was found in 1975 in MilazzoMilazzo
Milazzo is a town and comune in the province of Messina, Sicily, Italy.The city is situated between two bays, one of Milazzo and the east to the west of Patti, in a strategic place in the north-eastern Sicily.Located 43 km from the provincial capital, is part of the metropolitan area of the Strait...
(the antique city of Mylae) by Luciano Maio, composer and author of the music and lyrics, with the main purpose to recover the great Sicilian musical heritage which embraces several centuries - from 1500 until 1800 - of chants of labour, rage, protest and religious chants, adapted to the sounds coming from Arabic and African musical traditions.
The long history of Taberna can be divided in three periods:
- 1975 - 1980: The repertoire consists in traditional songs and music based on research by Alberto Favara, Giuseppe Pitré and Leonardo Vigo (end 1800).
- 1980 - 1996: Taberna combines its repertoire with new compositions.
- 1998 - present day: the final phase inaugurated with the release of Taberna's album "L 'anima du munnu" in 1998 containing lyrics and music composed or re-elaborated exclusively by Luciano Maio.
In 1976 Taberna recorded the LP's "Fammi ristari" and "Populi e Santi" with record company RCA (now BMG) and the group accompanied Francesco de Gregori as support-act on his national tour. The group participated in various Italian television and radio programmes and a television-special produced by RAI 2 tv entirely dedicated to the group. In 1977 Taberna Mylaensis took part in a popfestival organized by the magazine "Re Nudo" at Parco Lambro in Milan. In 1978 Taberna tours the Netherlands where they would come back 2 years later to represent Italy on the Winterfolkfestival in Dordrecht and Arnhem. In 1981 Taberna signs a new record deal with Isola CGD and records folk rock LP "Gricalata". In 1984 Taberna Mylaensis represents Italy on POETRY INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL in Rotterdam and performs in the Istituto Italiano di Cultura (Amsterdam) cultural division of the Italian embassy in the Netherlands. During that time the collaboration with the record company "PAN RECORDS" producer of world and ethnic music, begins and Taberna's cd's will be distributed around the world. Taberna's new project titled "L'Anima du Munnu" inspired Luciano Maio to re-elaborate a new poetic way to composing Sicilian popular music, that is not anymore the traditional way but by discovering the Mediterranean culture. Thus the music became ethnic folk music and Taberna received great success with its performance in Istanbul 's C.R.R.Concert Hall in 1998.
In 2001 Taberna Mylaensis released the live cd "La chiami Sicilia" as a celebration of the 25 years of musical activities. In May 2004 Taberna receives the "Corrado Maranci" award for its contribution to and diffusion of the Sicilian culture and popular music. In June 2004 Taberna Mylaensis releases the new cd "E vinniru du mari...Federicu", a co-production between Pan Records and the Association Arte Sicilia.
Musicians
- Luciano Maio - vocals, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, mandolaMandolaThe mandola or tenor mandola is a fretted, stringed musical instrument. It is to the mandolin what the viola is to the violin: the four double courses of strings tuned in fifths to the same pitches as the viola , a fifth lower than a mandolin...
, tamburo, marranzano - Antonio Vasta - accordionAccordionThe accordion is a box-shaped musical instrument of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone family, sometimes referred to as a squeezebox. A person who plays the accordion is called an accordionist....
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, zampogna a paru (big bagpipe), vocals - Antonio Putzu - flauti di canna, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, soprano saxophoneSoprano saxophoneThe soprano saxophone is a variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument, invented in 1840. The soprano is the third smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists of the soprillo, sopranino, soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, bass, contrabass and tubax.A transposing instrument pitched in...
, vocals - Vincenzo Castellana - tammorra, tambourines, djembéDjembeA djembe also known as jembe, jenbe, djbobimbe, jymbe, yembe, or jimbay, or sanbanyi in Susu; is a skin-covered drum meant played with bare hands....
, darbuka, vocals]] - Francesco Bongiorno - set percussions, tambourines, vocals
Albums
- 1976 - Fammi ristari (RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
) - 1977 - Populi e Santi (RCA)
- 1977 - Live Parco Lambro (RCA)
- 1980 - 19.770.558.88 cent. Per la libertá (Taberna)
- 1981 - Gricalata (Isola, CGDCompagnia Generale del DiscoCGD was an Italian record label.-History:CGD was founded in 1948 by singer Teddy Reno. At that time it was established in Milan in Via Passarella 4...
) - 1996 - Allah Muntagna (PAN)
- 1997 - 23 Maggio (in memoria di Falcone e Borsellino) (TDS)
- 1998 - L'Anima du munnu (PAN)
- 1999 - Fango compilation (CNI)
- 2000 - Fammi ristari - Populi e Santi (TDS)
- 2001 - La Chiami Sicilia Live (PAN)
- 2004 - Vinniru du mari...Federicu (PAN)