Towards the end of the eighteenth century the guitar had assumed the characteristics which we know today. The five double strings of the baroque guitar had been replaced by the six single tailpieces. The innovation, attributed to the Neapolitan master violin-maker Giovanni Battista Fabbicatore, had enriched the technical and expressive skills of the popular instrument. The six-string guitar caught the attention of a new generation of composers, especially Spanish and Italian guitarists. Among these, Mauro Giuliani excelled for exceptional virtuosity and extensive compositional interests. The guitar and violin duo is undoubtedly one of the most important chamber ensembles: the guitar literature has in fact often intersected with the violinist one allowing both instruments to explore their own tonal, technical and harmonic potentialities and allowing them to become increasingly widespread not only among professionals but also among amateurs from all over the world. Important pages were dedicated to this exercise by composers such as Ferdinando Carulli, Mauro Giuliani and Nicolo Paganini, to which this album sides with.

There are certain moments in life that, taking place in the prestige of the most varied poetry, connect so tenaciously to the soul, that with the passing of time, it is in futile to erase them. With these words Giacinto Poli was beginning Una processione del Venerd� Santo, published in Naples in 1851 and written with a poetic and passionate prose. The narrative, almost like a wavering and sad processional stride, oscillates between introspection and the description and allows the reader to experience the frame of mind of the writer and the emotions of the narrated events. The words of Giacinto Poli confirm the ancient visceral attachment of Molfetta's inhabitants to the rites related to the Holy Week. The funeral marches are undoubtedly an integral and indispensable part of those rites, because they provide the most spontaneous and immediate musical comment. They play a dual task: they translate into musical affections what is taking place and reinterpret with melodic, fluid and only seemingly obvious vein the lesson of the ancient Neapolitan music school. That musical teaching, exemplarily ferried into the nineteenth century by Fedele Fenaroli (1730-1818), Niccolo Zingarelli (1752-1837) and by Altamura's denizen Saverio Mercadante (1795-1870), is expressed in the marches immediately and effectively through musical ideas of composers from Molfetta and other localities who, between the 1700s and the 1800s, formed the Molfettese repertoire of the marches, integrating it with loans and reductions from melodramas. This last aspect of the reduction from opera tells furthermore how much the melodrama was widespread, heard, appreciated, re-interpreted and executed in multiple forms (often far from the original) at a time when it was hard to benefit from it (except in the theater) due to the absence of the diffusion through recordings. The funeral march becomes an anthology of the most famous arias in an opera and is transformed into a new and unusual bridge between sacred and profane.

Francesco Foresta, a singer-songwriter from Catania transplanted in Apulia, in his texts leaves nothing to imagination or free interpretation; he speaks to us about himself, his life, his doubts and his anguishes, and he does it directly, narrating of himself; simply. He is a man willing to make sense of the anxieties that stir his thoughts, to give a face to the ghosts of the past and the present that coexist and fight in his heart, Francesco Foresta is a man in search, who wants to bridge what he was and what he has become. His texts are pages of a diary that fix memories that time does not ease. Emotions that burn in the veins, that scream with rage, that leave bruises in the heart. But if writing makes sense, the goal is to dissolve ties with the past, spread the wings to a new horizon and try to fly plateaus, reach goals, aim well at shooting, follow kites, look at people in their eyes, read the heart, live the moment. And if the words are useful in removing silences that do not pay, in dissolving the bruises of the heart, and not closing the world in fear, then... talk about it, talk about it, scream and ask why. In this work, Francis attempts an autobiography of past and present feelings. His lyrics are loose, naked, lean thoughts that recount, describe, and underline a discomfort and a need: to start from where everything seemed finished. Reflections looking for aoutfit to face life. It is here that the meeting with the music designer (Giovanni Chiapparino) becomes fundamental for dressing of light that square meter and projecting thoughts and feelings towards the infinite: an encounter that becomes a musical partnership to give life to the dream of singing the melody of the heart. For someone, music is a therapy, for Francesco Foresta it is much more. It is a treble clef that engraved on the skin tries to reopen the trunk of dreams.

This album sees the light in the music of Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, stimulated not only by the fiftieth anniversary of his death, but especially by the revaluation for the work of this composer from both critics and the public, after years in which this musician was known to most only for his guitar works. The present album included passionate research by pianist Angelo Arciglione and violinist Eleonora Turtur, to gather in this release interpretations of various, almost unknown pages for piano and for violin and piano solo. All of these pieces are unpublished works, receiving their first recording. They trace a metaphorical path, made by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco on his journey from Florence to the United States of America - after the forced exile, in 1939, to escape the anti-Semitic persecution - always taking in the heart of Tuscany, where he returned for his holidays, after the war, whenever he could. This "musical journey" starts with piano pieces composed before leaving Italy. The other works presented date back to the years after the exile, with the evocation of exotic and Californian landscapes or Hollywood movie stars. Various musicians he met on his way were immortalized by the composer in a series of postcards in which the names to celebrate are the inspiration for the thematic invention, as in the two pages for violin and piano inserted here, both of 1954, dedicated to famous violinists who were very close to him.

This album is the second of the recording project of the Opera omnia of the Sabino's of Turi by the Baroque Ensemble "Giovanni Maria Sabino." It is mainly dedicated to Antonino Sabino, with his Vespro a cinque voci accompanied by a Lauda Sion by Giovanni Maria and the motets Deus meus, Scitote and Franciscus versus Christi pauper by Francesco Sabino, which conclude his cycle, since we do not know his other compositions. Excluding the Franciscus, which comes from the archives of the Cathedral of Mdina (Malta), all the other pieces come from the musical archive of the Girolamini of Naples and are part of a manuscript collection that also includes the Vespro a cinque voci by Giovanni Maria, proposed in the first release of this project, and another Vespro a cinque by Giovanni Maria Trabaci. The Vespro Breve by Antonino includes the following psalms: Dixit Domunis, Confitebor, Beatus vir, Laudate pueri and a Magnificat; two less than that by Giovanni Maria and precisely Nisi Dominus and Laetatus sum, not taken into consideration by the composer from Turi. Among the many aspects that characterize this impressive work, it is important to emphasize the stylistic continuity between Giovanni Maria and Antonino who best expresses what he learned from his uncle, but in an original way, demonstrating a talent worthy of his teacher. However, we are left with the regret of his early death, which has certainly precluded us from listening to further masterpieces, and we remain in the hope that the scores of the Messa and Salve Regina a otto voci con violini, no longer present in the Girolamini music archive, will be located again.

This double album traces two centuries of chamber music for voice and piano tracing a red thread between Apulia and Japan, lands of great musicality, which today meets in the sharing of projects and repertoires. Apulia (Puglia) is the region of southern Italy that has produced more musicians than any other in the last five centuries. A good part of the great composers, singers and instrumentalists who made the "Neapolitan School" famous in the world between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, were in fact born in Apulia. It is probably not a talent inherited genetically, nor is it due to the quality of the air, food and sea of this territory today very much loved by visitors, but the consequence of a special historical situation: among the provinces of the Kingdom of Naples, the Apulian one was the richest of fiefs. The noble Apulian feudatories generally had a representative building in the capital, Naples, where they showed young music promises discovered in the territory and brought to study in Neapolitan conservatories at their own expense. Some of them then returned to Apulia to serve churches or convents and sometimes opened schools of music. It was the same small territorial nobility that later created real private concerts in their provincial palaces that wanted to imitate those of the most fashionable salons in the capital. Throughout the nineteenth century the movement of young musicians from Apulia to Naples continued, but with a more consistent return to their homeland after their studies and the debut, often operatic, in the Neapolitan theaters. Since there are few theaters in the Apulian territory, the best work opportunities for musicians returning home were offered by many bands, active since the early the nineteenth century in all the towns, even small ones, of Apulia and soon became one of the best in Italy. Often great musicians, also from other regions, were invited to direct those formations of excellence.

Story of a happy boy in the land of pranks is an autobiographical concept album. It tells of a thirty year old boy, his great friends and his passions. However, a sudden fatal event happens: a motorcycle accident. And everything changes. The transformation manifests itself, becomes a turning point, a moment of reflection. Rebirth is a promise to the future.... The paintings are 8 original watercolor paintings by Giuseppe Berardi. The short story is written by Margherita Berardi and Angelo Manicone. The composed music (with the exception of Sogna Fiore mio, My life is now) is inspired by the story and the paintings and is organized in 7 different moments: 1) expressions and colors of dawn, open improvisation - Alba 2) three original songs for tell a story: - Gio Can Do - Flying the curve - Together, eyes on the world 3) let's celebrate; we play together with friends: reinterpretation of Hey Joe and Little Wing 4) the roar of the bike and the transformations, open improvisation - Transformation 5) Rebirth - open improvisation 6) Dream my flower 7). My life is now, two special dedications to the victims of the road.

Probably someone will ask: yet another recording of funeral marches of Molfetta? I think it's not just another one, but instead, the natural consequence of a strange recording project expanded over time, which, taking the ranks from vinyl, makes this musical “town” language evermore alive and fresh. The musical language of the funeral marches of Molfetta is an integral part of the vernacular; it has the power, in sound and word, to rejoin the past to the present, it helps us not to lose, in a time of noise and disruption of all kinds, our roots, allowing us to live in full awareness of the present. ''There are certain moments in life that, talking place in the prestige of the most varied poetry, connect so tenaciously to the soul, that with the passing of time, it is in futile to erase''. With these words Giacinto Poli was beginning 'Una processione del Venerdì Santo', published in Naples in 1851 and written with a poetic and passionate prose. The narrative, almost like a wavering and sad processional stride, oscillates between introspection and the description and allows the reader to experience the frame of mind of the writer and the emotions of marred events.

Seven is a secular interpretation of the Seven corporal and spiritual works of mercy. It's aim is to narrate these practices and to make out the parallels between them, using the language of sounds as a tool to invoke images and symbols. The numerological concept related to the number "Seven" is the cornerstone of the whole musical experimentation: seven works transposed in seven seven-minute compositions, performed by seven musicians combined in various ensembles (from the septet to the string quartet). The musical elements are also shaped on a sequence of seven tones, which generates as many scales. The latter's elaboration, formally related to several literary texts about the Seven works, acquires well-defined features in each composition, while at the same time giving a character of uniqueness to the whole work.

The life of St. Nicholas perfumes of history and devotion. Since before the year one thousand his figure, already enshrouded in legend and myth, has inspired hagiographers, painters and musicians, and his cult is still alive worldwide. Myrízon was conceived as a musical mosaic made of tesserae of various origins, for the first time matched together to form a contemporary portrait of the Saint. It combines the Proprium Missae Sancti Nicolai with the world premieres commissioned to the composers Massimo De Lillo and Nicola Scardicchio, the works of G. Capriati, C. Franco, B. Grimaldi, and O. De Lillo, and the zeal of the folk tradition. The original texts entrusted to the narrator guide the listener from tessera to tessera while tracing the lineaments of the Saint. Sebastiano Giotta is a world-renowned Italian tenor, who has been heavily awarded and highly praised everywhere he performs.

Padre Pio, the timeless guide is a singular journey through time to know the figure of St. Pius through the eyes of his spiritual children. The author identifies with the "children" he has chosen for his work by tracing well-defined profiles to exalt their personalities: pride, anger, selfishness and the search for a God who, thanks to the help of Padre Pio, gives way to humility, calm, altruism and acceptance of a creed. Identification, meditation and admission of one's faults, therefore, are necessary to recover from one's mistakes. Timeless driving is a journey into the past that highlights the shortcomings of the present. The processing of the album - between the study of letters, the drafting of texts and recordings - lasted three years. Giovanni Russo is the definition of sound and mastering, and on the piano and keyboards we hear the work of a very young Giorgio Maffione.

AVAST is the debut album of the Soballera, a research project on traditional music from Southern Italy. It is made up of nine tracks, both original compositions and new interpretations of traditional songs. This record offers a fascinating sound journey, throughout the Apulia region to the Lucania one. Children’s songs and ancient but forgotten works from this inland area and the sunny “Capitanata” gain a new light thanks to these new interpretations and original melodic lines. When listening to them, you are delighted by the excellent melodic textures of the acoustic guitar and the chime, the accordion and the drums and the dense gloom. This is the atmosphere you breathe with "Accummenza a candA", the heart-breaking love song "Damme Nu Ricciu" or "Pizzica Avvelanta" and "Tammurriata", giving to the record a final overwhelming rhythmic vibe.

Alfonso Rendano was a pianist of a great stature. A lonely, curious, and stateless musician, never forgetting his roots. While struggling within he was capable of projecting himself with pioneering projects and exploits. At one point, he abandoned everything proudly, with stubborn silence, and prolonged absence from performance. This could be, at a glance, Rendano's profile: a somewhat neglected advocate of the mid-nineteenth-century Italian generation, which had the difficult task of shortening the distance between the "Country of melodrama" and the European classical-romantic culture. Rendano was born in 1853, in Carolei (located a few miles from Cosenza) and he died in Rome in 1931. He had shown his talent at a very early age. The pieces recorded on this album give us a double image of Rendano at his debut. He was able to grow as a composer by using different registers. The three waltzes dating back to the early 1870s, though distinct in their character, give us a view of the young pianist-composer as fully involved in the style of his time. He was part of the "Salonmusik", where all nineteenth-century pianists careers developed. Here they presented themselves with their own elegant, seductive, and more communicative compositions. The "Quintet in A minor" for piano and strings, together with the Piano and Orchestra Concerto, are the most demanding compositions of Rendano's youthful years. In fact, the two works were presented by the author as his "business card", in one of the most important moments of his career: his meeting with Liszt and the performances at the Grand Duke of Weimar in 1880.

Niccolò van Westerhout was born in Mola, a township located in the province of Bari, Italy, in 1857. Of Dutch-Flemish origin, the van Westerhout family had migrated to Southern Italy in the 1600s. At thirteen years of age, Niccolò composed incidental music for Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, showing a remarkable musical talent. The Township administration deliberated to help him achieve his full potential and funded his studies at the prestigious San Pietro a Majella Conservatory in Naples. There he perfected his composition technique working with Maestri Nicola De Gioiosa, Nicola D'Arienzi e Lauro Rossi. Niccolò van Westerhout died in Naples on August 21, 1898. He was only forty-one years old. After his death, his music was all but forgotten. Family and friends had no resources to organize concerts. The City of Naples paid for his funeral. His father Onofrio, His sister Antonia and his brother Vincenzo moved to Naples, where they died childless. Ever since, the administration in Mola has never endeavored to make his compositions known. So far, the Township of Mola has named the theatre and a street after him. A memorial marble plate was placed on the wall of the house where he was born, and a statue was erected to represent his opera, DOÑA FLOR. Nothing else, except some occasional private initiatives. Even the Maestro's last resting location has long remained unknown. This release, recorded at the Traetta Opera Festival, aims to keep his legacy alive.

Camillo Pace graduated from the Conservatory "Nino Rota" of Monopoli in 1978 with a graduate degree in Jazz Music with a historical and musicological specialization. All of Pace's experience lead him to write "Musica Tradizionale Africana" (Traditional African music) - a report based on traditional music from Kenya and Sudafrica. Pace is well versed in all genres of music. His pop influences were Lucio Dalla, 99 Posse and Folkabbestia. He studied classical under world-famous experts like Franco Petracchi and Biagio Putignani. In the jazz realm, he studied under the masters Giuseppe Bassi, Ares Tavolazzi, Winton Marsalis and Rodney Whitaker. The wide-variety of experience and many-sidedness musicality allow Pace to easily pass from Baroque to Classical music and then to Ethnic and back to Jazz music.