Zampogna

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Zampogna a generic term for a number of Italian double chantered pipes that can be found as far north as the southern part of the Marches, throughout areas in Abruzzo, Latium, Molise, Basilicata, Campania, Calabria, and Sicily. The tradition is now associated with Christmas, and the most famous Italian carol, "Tu scendi dalle stelle" (You Come Down From the Stars) is derived from traditional zampogna music.

All chanters and drones are fixed into a single round stock that the bag is attached to. Each chanter is tuned differently, according to the tradition it represents, and there are dozens. Typically, the double-reeded versions (Marches, Abruzzo, Latium, southern Basilicata and parts of Sicily and southern Calabria) will have a soprano chanter on the right and a bass chanter on the left (called, respectively, "ritta" and "manga" — meaning 'right' and 'left' — in the Ciociaro tradition) with an alto drone (bordone); but as many as three drones, the other tuned above and below the basic chord can be used, or, in the case of the Marches tradition, no drones at all.

The single reed versions consist of the "surdullina" types of the Province of Cosenza and the ciaramella or ciaramedda of Messina in Sicily. The surdullina is a very short chantered version of the instrument that is used to play tarantellas primarily, and the Messina version can play all of the traditional tunes the other types can.

The traditional reeds were made from stalks of the Giant Reed Arundo donax, called "canna marina" in Italian, but now the double reed versions are also made from plastic. The single reeds are made from a single section of the cane.

The bags were made from sheep or goat hides that were removed from the slaughtered animal in one piece, cured,turned inside out, then tied off just in front of the rear legs, one of the front legs serving to house the blow pipe with its simple leather valve (soffietto), and the other tied off. The typical round stock into which both chanters and drones are fixed goes into the neck of the skin. The hair is left on, and is contained in the inside of the bag (otre). Today, however, a rubber inner tube is substituted and covered with an artificial fleece.

The pipes are related to the Sardinian launeddas, a "triple clarinet" comprising two chanters and a drone and played in the mouth by circular breathing.