Fremer l’arpa ho sentito per via… – Songs and dances from the tradition of Viggiano

For the first time in the history of music the incredible history of the people from Viggiano is ‘revealed’ on a CD: wandering musicians that in a time span of four centuries represent a real unicum, both musically and anthropologically.
Immortalized in the Neapolitan Christmas cribs of the eighteenth century, the wandering music specialists perfectly integrated themselves into the musical needs of the kingdom of Naples, from which, taking advantage of the Bourbon dynamism, then started spreading around the world with many of them becoming top musicians in major orchestras.
Through their talent, existential need, great adaptability and versatility, the musicians from Viggiano – almost all of them belonging to the same family circle – with their harp, identifying symbol of their land, became the promoters of the great Italian musical tradition (Southern in particular).
From the “Scuola d’Arpa di Viggiano” (Harp School of Viggiano), young artists led by specialists Sara Simari and Lincoln Almada implement the rebirth of this extraordinary tradition, elaborating the main sources of the historical repertoire from Viggiano.