Italy’s Salento region resonates with a rhythmic beat that brings a dance tradition to life: we are in the ancient area of the Grecìa Salentina, where a group of towns and villages, along with the Diego Carpitella Institute created, almost 30 years ago, La Notte della Taranta (Taranta Night), a festival celebrating traditional taranta.
The festival, founded in 1998, has its roots in the ancient dance of taranta, a folk tradition that dates back centuries and is linked to the myth of the tarantula spider, whose bite was believed to cause a hysterical condition known as tarantism. The only cure was to dance the taranta, a wild and frenzied dance that allowed the afflicted to release their pent-up emotions.
The festival tours around Salento, normally culminating in a grand finale concert in Melpignano in August, which lasts until late night. An average of 120,000 spectators attend the last concert every year. The festival started in 1998 by an initiative of several municipalities of the Salento, which sponsored the event. Every year a new musical director is chosen.
Through its many editions – La Notte della Taranta evolved from a local tradition to an international phenomenon, attracting over 200,000 visitors each year. The festival’s importance lies in its ability to preserve and promote Salento’s unique heritage while fostering collaboration between local and international artists. Indeed, the festival has seen participation from renowned musicians and conductors, such as Ludovico Einaudi, Phil Manzanera, and Stewart Copeland. This year, the event promises an exciting lineup, featuring both local talents and international stars, all coming together to celebrate the Taranta dance.
When composer and pianist Ludovico Einaudi took over as director in 2015, he expanded the range to include music from North Africa and Turkey, and the result is an intriguing album in which he is joined by guitarist Justin Adams and ritti exponent Juldeh Camara from Juju and Robert Plant’s band, plus Malian kora player Ballaké Sissoko, Turkish electronics exponent Mercan Dede, and local musicians including most of the great taranta band Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino. And it works, remarkably well. There are stomping, wailing and epic songs such as Nazzu Nazzu, in which Italian trance music is given an African edge, reflective piano and ritti duets that give way to kora and percussion, and rousing harmony vocals. A colourful, highly original set.
