U marranzanu
The marranzano, a typically Sicilian instrument, yet widespread worldwide in a wide variety of forms and models; an ancestral instrument with an incredibly contemporary sound. A witness to a very ancient form of “globalization,” the marranzano is simultaneously a symbol of our local tradition and a potential vehicle for global interconnection, an ideal metaphor for everything that, while typically Sicilian, projects into a space of international cultural relations; for everything that, despite having ancient roots, projects towards the future.
The Marranzano World Festival is an event to rediscover the sonic and human depth of popular instruments and musical traditions in Sicily, simultaneously revealing their deep connections with other cultures across time and space. A festival focused on the dialectical relationships between local and global, tradition and innovation, bringing together scientific and educational initiatives with moments of spectacle and celebration. It positions itself at an appropriate distance from both folkloristic revivals and the ambiguous exoticism of many so-called “ethnic” musics.

The first edition has a specific focus on the Sicilian marranzano, jaw harps worldwide, and the musical traditions connected to them, including the singing of cart drivers in Sicily and harmonic singing in various regions of Asia (Tuva, Mongolia, Tibet).
The program includes an exhibition of traditional Sicilian musical instruments, an ethnomusicological conference, a series of music workshops, and, of course, a concert with a final celebration. Together with a broader audience, the event aims to trace backward the millennial journey that brought jaw harps from the Far East to the Mediterranean.

The initiative, conceived and curated by Luca Recupero of the cultural association MoMu Mondo di Musica, in collaboration with the Facoltà di Lingue dell’Università degli studi di Catania, Associazione Musicale Etnea and Centro Culture Contemporanee Zo, and with the support of the Sicilian Region, the Municipality, and the Regional Province of Catania, is intended to become a fixed appointment with specific attention each year focused on a particular musical instrument of the Sicilian tradition (frame drums, bagpipes, cane flutes, mandolins, etc.) to be rediscovered through a comparison with similar instruments from other traditions and origins.

Festival

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