Neapolitan Postcards: The Canzone Napoletana as Transnational Subject

(Hardback)

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Description

Neapolitan Postcards gathers a diverse group of international scholars to investigate unexplored transnational aspects of the intimate yet globally popular canzone napoletana. Performed and beloved worldwide in almost every language, the style had hits such as Funicul funicul (1880) and O sole mio (1898) which sold millions of copies. These hits fueled the traditions spread across the world over the course of the twentieth century with the eventual popularity of covers by singers and musicians of all music genres and styles, from popular music to opera and jazz. This book is the first scholarly work that considers the specific complexities of the international Neapolitan Song scenes through case studies from Argentina, England, Greece, and the United States, employing analyses of compositions, iconographical sources, international films, mechanical musical instruments, performances, and recordings devoted to the canzone napoletana.

Reviews

Repertoires are traditionally studied in relation to their native habitat. Much as that is needed, it does not tell us the whole story. That's because many of them, in time, develop transnational dimensions. An understanding of how, when, and why that happens yields extraordinary insights into the nature of the music itself, and that of the people who, for any number of reasons, choose to establish a relationship with a repertoire which should in principle be foreign to them. This book, devoted to the Neapolitan song tradition, is a brilliant example of this new approach, one that will hopefully set both a standard and a trend. -- Marcello Sorce Keller, Institut fr Musikwissenschaft, Universitt Bern
Neapolitan Postcards announces a paradigm shift just as important as the one initiated by Paul Gilroys The Black Atlantic two decades ago. These sophisticated essaysthemselves trans-Atlantic in origintell of a diasporic intimacy centered on Neapolitan musics Mediterranean, African, Arab, and circum-Atlantic creolized sound. I cannot recommend this book too highly. -- John Gennari, associate professor, University of Vermont, author of Flavor and Soul and Blowin Hot and Cool

Author Bio

Goffredo Plastino is reader in ethnomusicology at the International Centre for Music Studies, Newcastle University, UK. He has published widely on folk and popular music, field recordings, and jazz. Joseph Sciorra is director for academic and cultural programs at the John D. Calandra Italian American Institute, Queens College (City University of New York). As a folklorist, he has published on religious practices, material culture, and popular music, among other topics.