The Marranzano World Festival is a biennial event that celebrates the marranzano as a metaphor for everything that is typically Sicilian but at the same time spread worldwide, for everything with ancient roots but projecting towards the future. It’s a multidisciplinary event to promote the idea of Sicily as a land of music, fostering generational exchange and a culture of tolerance and cooperation. Musical instruments act as a sonic bridge between local and global, ancient traditions and new experimentations. The festival aims to rediscover Sicilian musical and artisanal traditions through comparisons with distant cultures.

Starting from the first edition in 2005, entirely dedicated to jaw harps and harmonic singing, each edition has focused on a specific type of musical instrument representing Sicilian musical and artisanal traditions, while also having connections with instruments and traditions from distant countries. For example, the second edition in 2007 centered around the tamburello and frame drums, the third edition in 2009 highlighted the bagpipe and continuous aerophones, and the fourth edition in 2012 (presented belatedly) was dedicated to mandola and mandolin, as well as plucked string instruments.

In the fifth edition, the focus will be on the voice and vocal techniques used in traditional repertoires from Sicily to Africa, from the Mediterranean to India. The voice is considered both a musical instrument and a fundamental complement to other instruments, whose repertoires often revolve around vocal accompaniment.

Throughout all editions, featuring instrument exhibitions, conferences, workshops, screenings, parties, and concerts, there has always been a dedicated space for the marranzano in Sicily and jaw harps worldwide. This has made the Marranzano World Festival a regular gathering for enthusiasts of this instrument in Italy and beyond, significantly contributing to the renewed attention of musicians and builders to the possibilities of this small but vibrant instrument.

Artists

Festival

Contacts

Infos about Festival
and parallel activities:
info@marranzanoworldfest.org

Artistic production e direction
MoMu Mondo di Musica
info@mondodimusica.it
www.mondodimusica.it

Esecutive production and administration
Associazione Musicale Etnea
info@ame.ct.it
www.ame.ct.it