Traditional music and dance
The traditional dance of Marche is the saltarello. Developing from the XIIIth century in the center of Italy, it belongs to a wider family of peasant dances of which the famous tarantella and the zumbarella
, close stylistically, are also part. A dance for couples, it represents the games of love and seduction with fast and bouncy steps. It is still very popular today and is often seen at weddings and folklore events. It is also still taught in dance schools. It is not by chance that the saltarelle is traditionally accompanied by the accordion (in addition to the tambourine) since the latter is the musical instrument par excellence of the Marche. Castelfidardo, not far from Ancona, is a mini-capital of the instrument. There are many craftsmen in the area, including the famous Paolo Soprani company, which was established here in 1863.Also characteristic of the region, the stornello
is a form of improvised and simple poetry, often with a satirical tone and similar to a nursery rhyme. In general, a stanza is composed of three lines.In Umbria, a good overview of the local folklore is offered by the group Agilla e Trasimeno. Active since the 1950s, it has set itself the goal of keeping alive the traditions of the coastal areas of Lake Trasimeno, with all members dressed in traditional costumes. It is an opportunity to see and hear the typical dances of the area such as Sor Cesare, Punta e Tacco, Trescone, Lo Schiaffo and La Manfrina
. The Festa dei Ceri ("Festival of the Candles"), one of the oldest folkloric events in Italy, held every May 15 in Gubbio, also offers a good view of the traditions of the region. This very popular festival is centered around the moving procession of three Ceri crowned by statues of saints: Saint Ubaldo (patron saint of Gubbio), Saint George and Saint Anthony the Abbot.Classical music
The musical history of the Marche and Umbria, relatively quiet and timid, is largely explained by the fact that these regions have never had great economic, political and (consequently) artistic centers like Florence, Naples or Venice. That said, a few notable names have marked its history, beginning with Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868). One of the greatest opera composers of the 19th century, Rossini is the pride of his native city, Pesaro, which named its Teatro Rossini and the Rossini Conservatory in tribute. Unforgettable, this great composer, a bon vivant before the Eternal, marked his time and music with a considerable work of which The Barber of Seville, La Cenerentola and The Thieving Magpie
remain the most famous.In the Marche region, another regional (and national) pride is Giovanni Battista Draghi, better known as John Baptist Pergolesi (1710-1736). Born in Jesi, in the province of Ancona, he managed, in his short life, thanks to an early success, to become a noted composer of the Baroque period. Works such as Lo frate 'nnamorato (The Brother in Love) and Il Flaminio made him an important figure in the Neapolitan school and inopera buffa
.Forgotten here and yet adored for a time, Gaspare Spontini (1774-1851), a native of Maiolati near Ancona, was one of the major creators of opera during the First Empire, even becoming the composer of the Empress's chamber. La Vestale and L'Olympie
are his two masterpieces. Less well known are two composers born in the province of Macerata, first Giuseppe Persiani (1799-1869), an opera composer stylistically close to Verdi, and more recently Lino Liviabella, a prolific composer of chamber and symphonic music.The region has a symphonic ensemble, the OrchestraFilarmonica Marchigiana
, which performs in the most beautiful halls of the region, such as the Teatro delle Muse in Ancona, the largest in the Marche, the Arena Sferisterio in Macerata, a magnificent open-air venue renowned for its acoustics, the Teatro dell'Aquila in Fermo and the Teatro Pergolesi in Jesi.In Umbria, the Teatro Moriacchi reminds us of Francesco Morlacchi, composer of twenty operas who helped popularize the Italian aesthetic of the genre in Germany.
The region is also home to the Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, founded in 1958 by the composer Gian Carlo Menotti, which has become a major event, especially for dance and classical music. In Perugia, there is also the Sagra Musicale Umbra, created in 1937 and still one of the most prestigious and important cultural events in Umbria. Great international composers come to explore the repertoires of chamber, vocal, symphonic, opera and classical music.
