Track Listings (16) - Disc #1| All Artists: Alessandra Belloni Title: Dance of Ancient Spider Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Sounds True Direct Original Release Date: 2/22/2000 Release Date: 2/22/2000 Album Type: Import Genres: International Music, Pop Styles: Europe, Continental Europe Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 600835011723 |
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Search - Alessandra Belloni :: Dance of Ancient Spider
 | Alessandra Belloni Dance of Ancient Spider Genres: International Music, Pop
Thanks to dozens of old bargain-basement LPs and Saturday morning radio shows, the tarantella has been reduced to one of those hokey dances done by the old folks at parties. But the truth of the dance and its music is much... more » |
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Amazon.com Thanks to dozens of old bargain-basement LPs and Saturday morning radio shows, the tarantella has been reduced to one of those hokey dances done by the old folks at parties. But the truth of the dance and its music is much darker and deeper. Alessandra Belloni explores the roots of "the spider dance," an erotic dance meant to cure the "affliction" of love in women. Belloni is best known for her years of work with the American-based Italian folk-revival band I Giullari di Piazza. On this recording she has brought together a remarkable and diverse group of musicians to join her own singing and percussion: John La Barbara, the classical guitarist; accordionist Charlie Giordano, whose subtle work on this recording is extraordinary for its artful restraint; jazz violinist Joe Denizen; percussionist Glen Velez, who supplies the frame drums and tambourines; and Steve Gorn, who contributes his Indian bansuri flute. What this group achieves is a contemporary yet fundamentally ancient sound, a formal art music that has all the raw energy of street-level folk. It's a balancing act few artists can handle, but Belloni and company bring these old songs to glorious life. --Louis Gibson Similarly Requested CDs
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CD ReviewsEnchanting, Mystical, Energizing, Passionate, Earthy Sounds Judith A. Cartisano | New York, NY USA | 11/09/2000 (5 out of 5 stars) "After years of hearing nothing but stereotypical "Italian" popular music, it was a true revelation to hear the real thing. This music changed my perception of the land of my ancestors--Calabria, Italy. Allesandra Belloni is an enchanting, mystical, energizing, passionate and earthy performer. She has to be thanked for preserving a music form of intense complexity and making it accessible to the general public. The one thing that disappoints me is that Ms. Belloni has only this single CD available. I know I want to hear more." Back to the roots kaioatey | Awatovi, AZ | 12/30/2004 (5 out of 5 stars) "Alessandra Belloni is a singer, dancer and actress with impecabble credentials: she studied Commedia dell'Arte with Dario Fo, worked with Anna Magnani and Federico Fellini and, as one of the greates female percussionists in the world, she has performed with Glen Velez, Olatunji, Mickey Hart and Gilberto Gil. Her main interest is in ancient peasant music from Southern Italy, with its syncretic mix of Catholic and pagan influences. Here she demonstrates the Calabrian tarantella, a quick dance the origins of which stretch back to the Dionysian rites of ancient Greece. In the Middle Ages, the tarantella was allegedly used to help tarantulla-bitten peasant women in Southern Italy sweat the poison off their bodies. In reality, however, the quick tempo of the tarantella which unleashes the power and ecstasy that resides in the woman's body was used to excite erotic passions in men. In this CD I can see why.
Belloni is a true visionary whose exquisite beauty and power breathe out of every piece on this CD. From medieval prayer chants to peasant celebrations and love ballads, the music evokes the ecstasy that occurs when the body becomes a vessel for ancient forces that rise out of the land and its cycles; it shines with the tremendous power of the feminine reaching all the way back into ancient shamanic roots of Europe and ancient Greece. It is a rare occasion indeed that these rhythms became available. Highly recommended." |
