Music of Latium
Encyclopedia
Besides the province of Rome, the other provinces in the region of Latium are Frosinone, Latina, Rieti, and Viterbo. Generally speaking, the Lazio Symphony, which has its base in Rome, itself, "plays the provinces," so to speak, and puts on regular concerts throughout Latium. Other than that, the provinces offer:
folk tradition with nearby Tuscany
and Abruzzo
. Ottava rima (also poeti contadini) is a kind of vocal music that can be competitive and improvised, thoughtful, articulate and political, and is sometimes based on the work of Ariosto, Dante
and Homer
.
Latium is also home to the saltarello
, a 4/4 dance that is most closely associated with Alta Sabina.
The folk music of Latium was recorded as part of the Italian roots revival
in the 1960s, by groups like Canzoniere del Lazio.
- Frosinone: this is the historic region that recalls the presence of CiceroCiceroMarcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
and Pope Boniface VIIIPope Boniface VIIIPope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
. It is also the site of the abbey of Monte CassinoMonte CassinoMonte Cassino is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, Italy, c. to the west of the town of Cassino and altitude. St. Benedict of Nursia established his first monastery, the source of the Benedictine Order, here around 529. It was the site of Battle of Monte Cassino in 1944...
famed as the first monastery in the western monastic tradition and as the home of Pope Gregory the Great, codifier of the chants that bear his name. Frosinone also hosts the Licinio Refice music conservatory, one of the largest in Italy, with 1000 students and about 100 faculties;
- Latina: there is a new auditorum such as the Teatro comunale and the new Pontino music festival; Latina is as well the site of the annual International Music Campus, a music and theater festival;
- Rieti: The most proment musical venue in Rieti is the Teatro Flavio Vespasiano.
- Viterbo: the city hosts an annual Baroque music festival and sponsors a prominent Youth Symphony Orchestra.
folk tradition
Latium shares the ottava rimaOttava rima
Ottava rima is a rhyming stanza form of Italian origin. Originally used for long poems on heroic themes, it later came to be popular in the writing of mock-heroic works. Its earliest known use is in the writings of Giovanni Boccaccio....
folk tradition with nearby Tuscany
Tuscany
Tuscany is a region in Italy. It has an area of about 23,000 square kilometres and a population of about 3.75 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence ....
and Abruzzo
Abruzzo
Abruzzo is a region in Italy, its western border lying less than due east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east, and the Adriatic Sea to the east...
. Ottava rima (also poeti contadini) is a kind of vocal music that can be competitive and improvised, thoughtful, articulate and political, and is sometimes based on the work of Ariosto, Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
and Homer
Homer
In the Western classical tradition Homer , is the author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, and is revered as the greatest ancient Greek epic poet. These epics lie at the beginning of the Western canon of literature, and have had an enormous influence on the history of literature.When he lived is...
.
Latium is also home to the saltarello
Saltarello
The saltarello was a lively, merry dance first mentioned in Naples during the 13th century. The music survives, but no early instructions for the actual dance are known. It was played in a fast triple meter and is named for its peculiar leaping step, after the Italian verb saltare .-History:The...
, a 4/4 dance that is most closely associated with Alta Sabina.
The folk music of Latium was recorded as part of the Italian roots revival
Roots revival
A roots revival is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly-composed songs with socially and politically aware lyrics, as well as a general modernization of the folk sound.After an...
in the 1960s, by groups like Canzoniere del Lazio.