DRAMSAM ENSEMBLE
Since 1987, the ensemble Dramsam, has dedicated itself towards the musical heritage of the middle ages. Dramsam performs regularly in major Italian cities and as well as major international festivals and cultural events (Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Austria,, Slovenia, Croatia, Poland ), participating in numerous radio and TV recordings (RAI, NDF, SDF, RTK, Can 5). Directed by Giuseppe Paolo Cecere, Dramsam offers the public a generous musical proposal of the rich medieval and renaissance repertoire(expecialy italian) while respecting the historical points of performance practice. The group uses instruments reconstructed from attentive studies of the insturments used in Medieval Europe.
some Dramsam's musical programs:
AL PULSAR DI CAMPANA
(To the ringing of the bells)
a day heard through music in an Italian city of the l4th century
The l4th century (il trecento) represents one of the happiest periods in the history of Italian music. In this program the listeners cover the forms, themes and manners of this repertoire traced throughout the moments and activities articulating a typical day in the life of a city during the “trecento". Diverse moments and varied musical functions to which not only the textual contents correspond to but also the same stylistic musical elements exemplify the moments of the day. From the popular accents of the short ballate related to the quotidian themes to the solemnity of religious moments, the listeners are presented with a world in which one becomes momentarily distracted but still hears the chiming of the bells in the rhythms and ways traced between the walls, along the streets and buildings of our antique cities. program: (5-6 musicians)
NICOLO’ DA PERUGIA : THE MORALIST
PROVERBI E MOTTI DI SPIRITO NELLA MUSICA DEL ‘300 ITALIANO
Little is known about Magister Ser Nicholaus Prepositi de Perusia (as he is called in the Squarcialupi Codex) only that he was born in Perugia, worked during the second half of the l4th century in central Italy, mostfy in Florence. The works of Niccolò da Perugia are especially interesting not only for the refined musical style, but also from the point of view of the textual material. With strong pedagogical charactaristics, the texts express a very concise moral opinion: civil education, popular wisdom and meditation, often ironic towards the moral habits of his contemporaries. No other composer of this period demonstrates such a close relationship stylistically between musicand text. The level of complexity of the poetry finds a well matched mirror image in the musical material. The direct discourse. the proverbial sentence. the autobiographical reflections are presented in the form of the ballata and, following the poetic style of the texts, the musical construction moves continually in the direction of melisma and harmony.This program presents a selection of polifonic ballate with a common theme of expressing different moral opinions and offers the public a sampling of the work of this musician/composer who, in his musical journey through life, maintained a strong altruistic intention and active intervention towards the 'things' of the world.
program: (5 musiCIANS)c
VIATORES
songs of Knights, Ladies and Pllgrims on the roads of Medieval Europe
During che middle ages, pilgrimage represented a Spiritual adventure, an opportunity for ritual and collective purification. The destinations of medieval pilgrimage were primarily Rome, Santiago de Compostella and Jerusalem, of which the last was surely the most Important.
Not only was pilgrimage to Jerusalem decreed as having a value pro omni potentia by the Council of Clermont, but Urbano II also guaranteed all those departing on pilgrimage to the holy lands a plenary indulgence, the forgiveness of all sins end complete redempcion. In followlng this custom of pilgrimage to the holy land, the crusades thus represented a continuation, a variation of the eradition of the faithful in the time of the year 1000. The rich documentatlon of the lyrical musical moments first in support of the crusades and further sustaining the force of moralization and the renewal of the original principles of the armed pilgrimage. It was the convergence of troubadours, trouvère and minnesanger, the most skilful and famous. Among the themes of "persuasion" used by the singers of the crusades, as one could say in terms of propaganda, the most. common of which was that the journey to the Oriente was a direct wish of God and therefore of sacred Importance (giving rise to the concept of Holy Wars which was then adopted by the Moslems and clearly demonstrated religous intollerance); simultanously, and of no less importance was the appeal of having heroic figures. Sanctified warriors and knight were greatly admired and emulated by the general public for their conviction of the true faith against the enemy. These same knights never tired of discerning similarities between thenselves and the heroes of the epic poems, the Chanson di Geste, which in thatera was well known in many lands and used as an affirmation of Ideal behavior. This program illustrates the dlverse aspects of pilgrimage and is divided in three sections: the first includes songs of the crusades beginning with the exhortation and ending wlth imprisonment; the second section, interludio dell'attesa, expreases the voice of the ladies waiting for the return of their knight; and the third section is dedicated to the songs of devotion and pillgrimage.
(5-6 musicians ; ev. with choir - 5 persons)
ANTONIUS DE CIVITATE:
a composer from Friuli between Ars Nova and Ars Subtilior (XIV-XV centuries)
Antonio da Cividale was a Dominican friar active at the end of the period, Ars Novs. He was born in the city of Cividale where a strong poliphonic tradition had produced the most precious "discanti" performed by the gentle voices of the Dom's sextons and provided him with an ideal opportunity to release his creativity. In 1392, he entered the cloister of San Domenico in Venice where he remained until 1406, the year he moved to Fiesole. His life and the path of his artistic evolution are to be traced in many of his compositions. Antonio could compose in the old-fashioned
. and simple style of the musical tradition of Aquileia, as well as he could use the more advanced musical techniques imported from France. The French language and culture had probably exerted its strongest influence in Northern Italy, considering the cultural life in Padoa and its university. Thanks to Antonio's musical compositions it is possible to have a vivid impression of the times and places where he lived. He learned the French stylistic elements of Ars Nova, such as the isorythmlc motet, and applied them to his own cultural reality which was open to such contributions. Simultaneously, he maintained the important musical heritage of the ancient city of Cividale.
program: (6 musicians)
OTHER PROGRAMS OF MEDIEVAL MUSIC AVAILIBLE:
** CHIARA FONTANA: music in Italy from the time of Leonardo da Vinci, (5-6 musicians)
** CARMINA BURANA: repertoire chosen from the Codex Buranus (4-6 musicians- choir)
** NOVA CARMINA: songs of love and gaiety from the 12th to 14th c. (4-6 musicians- choir)
** EL REY SABIO : the cantigas of Santa Maria of Alfonso X "EI Sabio" (5 musicians)
** STELLA NOVA: Christmas in the music of the Middle Ages (5 musicians- choir)
** LA GAIA SCIENZA (lo gaj saber): trobador art of the 13th and 14th cent. in the romance lands (3-4 musicians)
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