The Notte della Taranta Festival 2012 in Salento, Italy
La Notte della Taranta is the largest music festival dedicated to the revival of pizzica music of Salento and its fusion with other music ranging from world music to rock, from jazz to symphonic. Born in 1998 on the initiative of the Unione dei Comuni della Grecìa Salentina and of the Istituto Diego Carpitella, in recent years the festival has grown in size and cultural prestige thanks to the Province of Lecce – which since 2001 has been part of organizations that promote and organize La Notte della Taranta in the Puglia Region.
This year on August 25, the Convent of the Augustinians in Melpignano will serve as the backdrop for La Notte della Taranta. A unique event that annually attracts over 400,000 spectators, the festival is divided between the towns of Greek Salento (Calimera, Carpignano Salentino, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto, Cutrofiano, Lecce, Martignano, Melpignano, Sternatia, Soleto, Zollino) and the municipalities of Cursi, and Galatina Alessano.
From the second week of August until the end of the month, the notes of the pizzica light up the nights of Salento. Like every year, thanks to the Foundation, La Notte della Taranta, will come to life this year for the 15th edition, a festival which now appears as a major factor in the rebirth of culture and tourism in Puglia. The festival will kick off in the second week of August with the traveling Festival and will end with the Concertone of Melpignano on Saturday, August 25.
This original artistic endeavor grows from year to year, thanks to the musicians who, over the years, have given their unique contributions. From Stewart Copeland, drummer of The Police and now true ambassador of Taranta in the world, to Ambrose Sparagna, who gave birth to the Folk Orchestra La Notte della Taranta, through the extraordinary experiences provided by Joe Zawinul, Victor Costa and Mauro Pagani and more recently with the outstanding performances of Maestro Ludovico Einaudi.
On August 25, 2012, Maestro Goran Bregovic will conduct the Orchestra of the Night of Taranta onstage in Melpignano, giving life to a project, original music, in which the music of the two shores of the Adriatic will mix.
Once again, La Notte della Taranta, the largest music festival dedicated to the restoration and enhancement of pizziche of Salento, will be an important meeting place of peoples and cultures.