As a string duo experienced on contemporary music as well as improvisation we have been working for several years on transcriptions and reinterpretations of traditional folksongs from our birthplace, the Emilia-Romagna region in Italy. These songs come from the first decades of the twentieth century and from the period of the Second World War but some of them have older roots. The melodies and especially the lyrics have been transformed over time through oral transmission and adapted to different social, working and historical contexts. One of the strongest influences of our project is the repertory of choirs of female rice-field workers, the “Mondine”, with their typical polyphony and powerful singing. Women working and living in community during the months of the rice cleanse learn, develop and share a vast and varied repertoire of songs. The songs are the popular ones of the time, which everyone knows, but new stanzas and new melodies are also created and an original repertoire is born.

In our music, the songs emerge through sounds far from tradition, rooted in contemporary musical experimentation, keeping the focus on the spontaneity of the folk music tradition and its vibrant energy.

With the support of Ater Fondazione.