Returning to the Roots of Southern Italian Spirit

The roots music of Europe, aside from the frequently heard Celtic and Gypsy/Roma sounds, largely have been co-opted for the past three or four centuries by classical composers. True, folk and traditional themes and rhythms have surfaced frequently, from Bach and Beethoven to Bartok and Stravinsky. But serving as the thematic material for compositional development, the elemental qualities rarely retained the original cultural essence.

Fortunately, the growing fascination with world music has made it possible for a number of dedicated artists and historians to find and record music that, in the past, may have existed only in Europe’s few remaining remote villages or in isolated academic archives.

Alessandra Belloni, a singer and percussionist, has been exploring the roots music of southern Italy since 1980, often in association with guitarist John La Barbera and their performing troupe, I Giullari Di Piazza. And her latest recording, “Tarantata: Dance of the Ancient Spider” (Sounds True) is a revelation, filled with sounds from Italy that are not your grandfather’s favorite operatic arias.

The centerpiece of the album is a piece titled “Pizzicarella” (Little Bite), a traditional tarantella from the district of Puglia. And here is where the differences between roots music and its contemporary manifestations immediately become clear.

“People know [the tarantella] as a silly wedding dance,” says Belloni. “But it’s really an ancient purification ritual. It is rooted in the Dionysian rites of ancient Greece and became popular in the Middle Ages as a cure for the black plague.”

According to Belloni, the tarantella originally evolved as a healing trance dance to cure the mythical bite of the tarantula. Closely associated with the arrival of female puberty, the disease--called tarantismo--had distinct erotic and sexual overtones and could only be cured by music and dancing. Dressed in white and playing tambourines, the women danced frenetically for three days, generally around the time of the summer solstice.

Belloni, who is also known as a masterful tambourine virtuoso, sings “Pizzicarella,” as well as the other numbers on the album, in a rich-toned, vibrato-heavy voice, its strong, projective qualities characteristic of the music. In some cases, melodic ornamentation is added, a holdover from the medieval influence of Islamic culture on the south of Italy.

Belloni includes other traditional numbers from Puglia, medieval songs from the island of Sardegna, and pieces from Calabria, Naples and the Basque region of France. And she explores connections between the traditions of Calabria and Bahia, Brazil--notably in similarities between the celebrations of Calabria’s La Madonna del Mare (the Madonna of the Sea) and Bahia’s Yemanja (Goddess of Love and the Sea)--in her own piece, “Canto di Sant’Irene” (Song of the Mermaids).

The music is utterly fascinating. In addition to its revelatory presentation of Italian roots music, it is timely as well, given the current surge of interest in the healing powers of music.

“I strongly believe in the power of drumming and dancing,” Belloni says. “I also think that in our society there is a need to go back to this primordial way of healing. My wish is to pass this tradition on to women all over the world, helping us to find the strength and courage to free ourselves from our social spider webs and, indeed, to stop weaving them ourselves.”

Grammy World: The world music category for the Grammys offered an unusually attractive set of nominations. Caetano Veloso, Ali Farka Toure, Salif Keita, Cesaria Evora and Afro Celt Sound System were all worthy choices, making Veloso’s garnering of the statuette a significant accomplishment.

But there were other aspects worth noting about this year’s competition. The first is that Veloso’s award makes it a three-peat for Brazilian artists, with Gilberto Gil winning in 1998 and Milton Nascimento in 1997.

The second is that four of the entries--Veloso, Toure, Keita and Evora--possess high degrees of cultural connectedness. In other words, their music--unlike the American- and British-influenced, dance-oriented sounds best described as world beat--is directly reflective of their countries of origin. And Afro Celt Sound System, despite the emphasis on dance rhythms in its music, taps convincingly into Celtic and African sounds.

Which underscores a third aspect about the category--the powerful presence of African music among the nominees. The guitar work of Toure and the passionate vocals of Keita are both tinged with the influence of their native Mali, Evora’s plaintive mornas trace to the islands of Cape Verde, while Afro Celt Sound System includes several African musicians in its lineup. And Veloso, skilled in a wide number of areas (including his film score for “Orfeu,” the colorful new version of “Black Orpheus”), has always been quick to underscore the African roots in his own music.

The Wearing of the Green: Any pub or bar in town with even the remotest connection to Ireland will be providing boisterous celebrations for St. Patrick’s Day, but there also are several larger, family-oriented events. Some highlights:

* Irish Day Civic Ceremonies and St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 17. Civic ceremonies at 10 a.m. in the Los Angeles City Council Chambers. A parade starts at City Hall immediately after the ceremony and continues to Pershing Square. Afterward, an Irish Day luncheon takes place at 1 p.m. at McCormick & Schmick’s restaurant, 633 W. 6th St. Tickets may be ordered by mail from Irish Fair Foundation, P.O. Box 2429, Toluca Lake, CA 91610.

* The 17th annual Southern California Rose of Tralee St. Patrick’s Day Ball, March 18 at the Biltmore Bowl, 506 S. Grand Ave. With the Rose of Tralee Debutante Presentation and music by the Mulligans. Info: (818) 501-3781.

* The 6th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade and Festival in Hermosa Beach, March 18-19. The parade begins at Valley and Pier in Hermosa Beach at 11 a.m. on March 18. The festival takes place on Hermosa Avenue between 10th and 13th streets, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Info: (310) 374-1365.