Day 2: The Lecture/Demo or When RAd Learned How to Play Triplets with the Tambourine
 |
| Eugenio Bennato playing the chitarra battente |
The day when Eugenio Bennato and the Taranta power conducts the masterclass, lecture, clinic, demo, or whatever you may want to call it was the day that I’d been looking forward to ever since I’ve read about the group’s itinerary. I wouldn’t mind missing the group’s other events just as long as I was able to attend this one. But then again looking back, I think that things would’ve turned out very differently if I hadn’t been at the press conference the day before.
First of all if I wasn’t at the press conference, I would’ve gone to the lecture held at the Little Theater at the Cultural Center of the Philippines without ever hearing the group’s music. Second, I would still be a stranger to Bennato, the rest of the band and also to the people from the Italian Embassy and the Philippine-Italian Association. But because I was at the press conference, I was able to have an idea as to what their music is really all about courtesy of the CD’s given to the press. I was also able to meet Bennato and the rest of the band namely Ezio Lambiase (guitars), Mohammed El Alaoui Ezzaime (vocals), Valter Vivarelli (percussion), Stefano Simonetta (bass) and Sonia Totaro (vocals and dancer) personally. I also was able to have a conversation with Stefano about the evolution and the different forms of Tarantella. I guess that meeting them even just once the day before made me more comfortable and probably more daring during the lecture.
 |
| Valter Vivarelli with the tambourine |
The audience during this afternoon lecture was composed mainly of college students. Notable as well was the presence of a handful of sisters along with a class of novices. It was such a sight to behold and this really sparked my interest as I waited for the affair to begin. To start the lecture, Eugenio Bennato and the rest first played a traditional Tarantella piece that was passed on from one generation to another to the point that no one ever knew who originally wrote the said piece.
Right after that was when things started to get interesting. Bennato started telling the audience what their music is all about. He basically said the same things during the press con but the main difference was that during this day, he had the music to back him up. So when Bennato talked about the importance of the tambourine, as small as it is compared to the other instruments that the band used, Valter was there to play it. Not only he demonstrated how to play it, he even asked a few people from the audience to try it as well. Right then and there, I knew that I wouldn’t let this opportunity pass so I was one of the three volunteers who was able to learn how to play triplets with the tambourine.
 |
| Stefano Simonetta (bass) and Ezio Lambiase (guitar) |
The technique seemed easy at first: hit the head of the tambourine with the whole length of the thumb on the first, accented beat. The second beat is made by rotating the wrist inward and hitting the head with the back of the hand. And the third beat is made by rotating the hand outward and hitting the head with the other four fingers. And this position prepares the thumb to strike at the next beat and that's basically how a triplet is played. It was quite easy when done at a slow tempo. But when the tempo accelerated, I missed many times, forgot the accent and was basically weak in all areas to my dismay. So what happened after we were taught how to play? We then had to play with them. I did very badly during the first piece and I think that I made a fool of myself on stage. But Valter didn’t mind at all and told us that it takes a lot of practice in order to be good at it. And he was indeed very good at it since he made it look so easy. I was able to try two of the tambourines and one of them was just a drumhead without any zils (that produces the jingling sound) and I liked playing with that better.
Tarantella is not just about the music since there’s a dance element to it. So if I was able to try the tambourine, the other audience members, even the sisters and the novices, were able to learn how to dance the Tarantella courtesy of Sonia. Some members of the audience who participated are dance company members and despite their dance background, they found the Tarantella quite tiring. They felt their calves burning since they were mainly on the balls of their feet while dancing. At first, the girls were taught the steps and then it was the boys’ turn. And then it was nonstop dancing as both boys and girls shared the floor. And then, during the final piece when a lot of people were dancing, even Ambassador Luca Fornari joined in as well. I wanted to observe and watch the dancing but I had to keep up with the tambourine or else I would mess up again. Thankfully I did better the second time around despite the song played being in common time (4/4 time signature). Remember that we were only taught how to play triplets (6/8 time signature).
 |
| Sonia Totaro and Mohammed El Alaoui Ezzaime |
It didn’t surprise me that people reacted this way towards the music. Even if Sonia didn’t demonstrate how to the dance the Tarantella, the people in the audience would’ve eventually danced to it in whatever way that they wanted. Such is the power of this Tarantella music. Honestly, I didn’t understand the lyrics of any of the songs that were performed but the melody and the rhythm were able to communicate and get through to me which only proves that music is indeed the universal language. It is not easy to put into words how Tarantella sounds like since one must listen to it in order to understand. Yet I think that listening is still not enough since one must see how the musicians interact with one another in order to have a clearer grasp of this music. But in order to really experience the Tarantella, I believe that one must try to be an active participant in it either by dancing to it or by playing it. I was really glad to jam with the group as a part of the percussion section (despite playing badly) since now I can say, that I’ve really experienced Tarantella.
So ends my second day with the group. I’ve said in the beginning that if I was able to just attend this lecture/demo, I wouldn’t mind at all if I missed the other events. I take it all back since the lecture only made me want to experience more and there is indeed more to come.
 |
| Sonia teaching how to dance the Tarantella |
No comments:
Post a Comment