24 October 2020

Rosario Altadonna – bagpipe and flute handmaker

Italy

Rosario Altadonna was born in Messina in 1979 from an early age he joined the Mata and Grifone Folk Group (FITP) in 1985 directed by Maestro Orazio Grasso. Thanks to the group, he began touring Italy and the world very early on to spread his traditions.
Growing up, he undertakes research on Popular Traditions, specializing in the knowledge and use of various musical instruments that are part of the Sicilian tradition, such as the “zampogna a paru” of the Peloritani Mountains and the bifara (popular oboe), thanks also to close relationship established with some manufacturers of these instruments, Rosario learns the construction techniques on the lathe, making his own the secrets of an art, otherwise destined to disappear, of the makers – bagpipe tuners.
No less important are the relationships established with other old personalities, from the province of Messina, linked to the agro-pastoral world, expert players-builders of friscaletti, double and triple flutes, transverse flutes in reeds, simple and double clarinets, all have taught something, even indirectly, but above all they have transmitted their passion and their art orally as has been the case for centuries.
The love for these instruments leads him to become an expert player of all traditional Sicilian instruments, but above all, over time he refines his playing technique with the friscalettu, thus becoming part of the virtuosos of this extraordinary instrument with which on occasion of the IV edition of the Festival of popular music organized by the FITP , in January 2013, he received the award for “best performer of a piece of music with a traditional instrument” organized by the I.O.V. (The International Organization of folk Art). Rosario Altadonna today is a reference for all those people who live off popular music, players from all over Sicily are always in contact with him, even via the web, to appreciate the instruments that are truly exceptional characterized by a very pure sound and an impeccable intonation.
He is recognized as the “Father of Folklore 2012” for Sicily by the F.I.T.P., an important recognition for worthy people of the federation, with the subtitle of “the knowledge of hands”. In addition to the friscaletto, he builds all the musical instruments belonging to the Sicilian tradition, straight flutes with different combinations of digital holes, 3 + 1, 4 + 1, 5 + 1, 6 + 1, 6 + 2, 7 + 1; transverse flutes in reed; double and triple flutes; reed clarinets, single reed single (zammaruni) and double; paro bagpipe; pifara or bifara; wooden recorders; frame tambourines. The collaboration with the Folk Group, allows Rosario, transported by an irrepressible desire to know, to undertake a fruitful research activity on traditional folk instruments of the countries in which he has had the opportunity to perform and the deepening of this knowledge has led him to travel to study the different musical cultures. In his artisan laboratory, today, countless wind instruments of all kinds are built and every part of the world, in fact the studies and researches of years give him the possibility to create, in addition to typically Sicilian instruments, above all flutes of every culture, Mediterranean , Celtic, Oriental, and overseas.
The workshop was widely mentioned in the 2017 edition of “The Folklore of Italy, Sicily” published by F.I.T.P. and included in the important publication, published by “La Repubblica”, “The Sicily Guides 2020”, as a place of cultural value to visit in Sicily, to corroborate the important work done and the reputation acquired over the years. It is easy to observe among the many many reed instruments, both simple and double, such as the Indian punji, the zummara, the zurna, the hulusi, the bawu or simple wooden or reed flutes such as the quena, the native, the dizi, the xiao , whisle, bansuri to get to the kaval or to the Persian ney, in short, visiting the small laboratory of Rosario is like taking a tour of the world through the tools of every culture and immemorial history.
Professor of organology of Sicilian folk instruments at the School of Ancient Crafts of the Municipality of Messina, today Rosario Altadonna holds the important position of “Head of the ethnorganological laboratories” of the Museum of Instruments and popular music of the Peloritani, directed by the Kiklos Cultural Association, whose president is Dr. Salvatore Bombaci, scientific curator Dr. Mario Sarica expert and well-known Messina musicologist with whom he periodically collaborates in the realization of cultural initiatives in clubs and associations, dedicated to the enhancement of Messina instruments and popular music.
He periodically organizes various courses and seminars, as well as private lessons at every level, to transmit and spread his knowledge about these instruments, their construction and playing techniques, as well as their history and contexts. use of real instruments, organologically very simple that carry in them the history of the peoples who used them and will continue to use them thanks to people like Rosario Altadonna, who dedicates her life to them. At the same time he carries out didactic-concert activities with the friscalettu, the zampogna in paro dei Monti Peloritani, the popular oboe bifara, the tambourine, etc. at the lower and high schools of Messina and its province, relating to the technical, construction and historical characteristics of these instruments.
His skills as an expert builder-player of Sicilian popular instruments and the knowledge of Prof. Sergio Bonanzinga, professor of anthropology of music and musicology at the Faculty of Literature and Philosophy of the University of Palermo led him to collaborate from outside in these courses by putting himself available to researchers and scholars for audio / video recordings regarding the construction and execution techniques of the friscaletto, the bagpipe, the tambourine, etc.
For several years he has dedicated himself to the study of composition, playing music and arranging various traditional Sicilian poems, composing some pieces for popular Christmas repertoire bagpipe and oboe. His last effort was the creation of a book entirely dedicated to the friscaletto, co-financed by the Sicilian Region Department of Culture, judged a work of considerable cultural depth by scholars and researchers, such as prof. Sergio Bonanzinga, who signs the presentation of the same book. For some time he has written and published ethno-anthropological research on Sicilian folk instruments, for the bimonthly magazine published by FITP “Il Folklore d’Italia”. He is currently working on a forthcoming publication dedicated to the double flute and the triple flute, instruments now extinct from Sicilian instrumental practice of which Rosario remains the last builder.

Referent: Group “Mata e Grifone”
Email: oraziomg@alice.it
Phone: 347.1811973
Address: Via Strada Militare n.25, Bordonaro, Messina (Sicily)
Translate »
Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Welcome back

Login to see all contact

Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Find out why you’ll like to become a member

IOV is a membership organization open to organizations and individuals regardless of race, color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, physical impairment, national or ethnic origin, or age. Upon submission of a membership application and the first year’s fees, provisional membership is granted.

Full membership is conferred following the annual meeting of the board of directors, after which members will receive a membership card and certificate. Members of IOV are automatically enrolled as members of their IOV National Sections. 

All members of IOV have a right to:

• Access information on the IOV website iov.world

• Serve as a consultant to UNESCO and other international cultural bodies and commissions.

• A membership directory, updated annually.

• Opportunities to attend and participate in national conferences, the annual IOV National Sections Meeting, international events, festivals and conferences either free of charge or at a substantially reduced cost.

• A membership certificate.

• Access new avenues that may help them publish research and scholarly papers by web site or book.

• Reduced rates on IOV and some UNESCO publications.

In addition, your confirmed membership makes you part of a worldwide network of more members in many countries.

You will also have:

• Contact with people and organizations with common interests and professional pursuits, thus providing opportunities for exchanges of information.

• Increased access to resources and expertise as a member of an international NGO in official relations with UNESCO and  ECOSOC.

• Opportunities to participate in IOV and UNESCO conferences and other events where IOV members and colleagues present their work

• Access to the IOV web site where information about IOV activities and events are posted.

• Assistance in realizing participation in a chain of more festivals for groups from other continents.

• Promoting the festivals in the WEB-festival calendar of IOV.

• Recommendation of Folk Art groups to Festival organizers.

• Assistance for festival organizers to find ‘last-minute groups’ in case of a canceling.

• Promoting the Folk Art Groups with their specific National Folk Art programs at our WEB-site.

• Possibility for publishing articles about ICH at the WEB-site.

• Possibility for introducing intangible heritage activities at the WEB-site.

• Possibility for sharing information of National Sections on our WEB-site.

We welcome the people of all nations to join our work.

Chair of National Section
Membership fees should be paid in local currency to the Chair of your National Section. Where no national section exists, fees should be paid directly to the Treasurer. See options 2, 3,or 4.

Pay Pal
You can pay for your membership fees via Paypal. The safer, easier way to pay online!

(This payment is called ‘Donate’ but it’s a normal way of payment. We cannot change the title of this button.)  

Or transfer your membership fee to PayPal at the email address: treasureriov@gmail.com

Bank transfert Unicredit Italy

Use UNICREDIT only if you pay in Euro’s  €
Name of bank: UNICREDIT ITALY

IBAN:  IT 54 A 02008 11108 000104157045
bic SWIFT : UNCRITM1H51
NAME OF ACCOUNT : IOV THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FOLK ART
 
Vivawallet
For payment online with credit cards or debit cards by Vivawallet
– use the following link: https://pay.vivawallet.com/fabriziofiore88
– to confirm your payment, please send an email to info@iov.world with 
1. attached copy of the bill to info@iov.world
2. your personal details: nationality, name, surname, address
 

To renew your membership please contact your country National Section Chair. 

If in your country there is no National Section, please complete the section at the bottom of this page and fill the form with your personal data. 
Please do not forget to specify it is a renewal (and not a first registration) and your membership ID number. 

 

Discover all our profile

Student

We encourage young people up to 35 years of age to actively participate in research, protection and conservation of popular culture and heritage. Students (with legal Student-card) have a discount of 50% Youth members till the age of 35 have a discount of 50%

Individual Member

Folklorist, teacher, scientist, researcher, lover of culture and popular heritage, every single individual who wishes to support the organization with his own personal financial contribution.

Senator

IOV Senators are people with a special sensitivity to the research, protection and conservation of popular culture and heritage, and by participating with their financial support they will have particular privileges and honors of philanthropy.

Small Group

Small folk art groups, instrumental or vocal ensembles with 8 members or less

Larger Group

Folk art groups with more than 8 members, organizations, associations, clubs, dance groups

Handicraft

Craftsmen, artists, traditional crafts, cooks of ancient flavors, ethnic crafts, players of ancient traditional games, experts in traditional games, lovers of battles and historical reenactments, sorcerers and experts in empirical medicine and medicinal herbs, actively participate in the research, protection and conservation of culture and popular heritage.

Institution

International Festivals, exhibitions institutes, museums, universities and similar institutions and national authorities (ministries, public institutions)

New membership request
In case you want to registrate as a new member of IOV you can follow the next procedure.

If you want to become a member of IOV, click here and you will you see a registration form which you must fill out and at the end click on SUBMIT.
Our office will complete your registration and as soon as we have received your payment of the fees, you will receive a welcome letter, a membership ID, and the official certificate of membership. This gives you entrance to all IOV activities.

In case there is a National section of IOV in your country, please contact them.
You can find the contact-information of National sections at the following page: www.iov.world/organizational-charter/regions-and-national-section/
You are invited to introduce yourself to the National Section of your country and from there you will be guided in the procedure for official registration and payment of fees.

In case there is NO National Section in your country or if you want to have a direct registration as a new member, we offer also the possibility for registration by using the Registration form on this website.

Calculation of your membership fees will be done on base of the GDP table and this means that for a great number of countries there is a high discount.

 

Would you like to know the value of your subscription fee?
First of all, you have to choose the type of subscription and the country you are from in the selection below.
Then press continue and you will see the amount calculated for you.

Let’s start

Residents of a country with a Gross National Product (GNP) lower then 1000 have a discount of 75%
Residents of a country with a Gross National Product (GNP) between 1000 and 15000 have a discount of 50%
Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Report a festival

Signaller

Festival
Your report will be supervised by the secretariat which will decide whether to include it among the selected festival
Festival
Your report will be supervised by the secretariat which will decide whether to include it among the selected festival
Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

We welcome the people of all nations to join our mission

Italy

Small group

00,00$

Small folk art groups, instrumental or vocal ensembles with 8 members or less

Complete form

Not for individual membership
Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Profile

Welcome back

Select an action below

Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Forgot password?

Enter the e-mail address with which you registered and choose the new password. You will receive a confirmation email to your address.

Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

Subscribe to the newsletter


    Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

    Minimum requirements festival

    Festivals and groups must communicate promptly and professionally.
    Exchanging of all necessary information is the base for a professional organization.

    If possible, an application form should be used by the groups.
    Festival organizers offer such form after a request by groups or have it on the website of the festival.
    The application form has to be clear and must provide all the necessary information about the festival to interested groups.
    Festival organizers must be given a good view of the complete genre of performances by the use of video-information (YouTube-links), pictures, and a list of festivals where they recently have performed.

    * The kind of accommodations (e.g. hostel, hotel, school or host-family), meals, number of performances, duration of the performances, venues, technical abilities of venues.
    * The exact date of arrival for groups and the exact date of departure of the groups.
    * Exact information about the traveling situation during the festival dates. (pick-up from the airport and the return to the airport). The use of transport during the festival days.
    * The possibility of using recorded music during performances. (Yes or No).
    * The offer of pocket-money or other cost-compensations. (Yes or No)
    * The general program of the festival, including the spending of free time and sight-seeing.

    In IOV-festivals normally it’s not usual to ask for money to invited groups.
    In case the groups have to pay for participation, this has to be clarified by the festival organizers from the beginning of communications.

    * The composition of the group. (e.g. average ages of the participants, number of dancers (male/female), musicians, leaders, choreographer(s), translators, drivers).
    * The musical instruments that are used and the need for amplification.
    * The need to ask for VISA for traveling to the country of the festival. (Visa expenses are always in charge of the group).
    * Medical insurance for all group members must be taken out by the group.
    * Information about eventually other festivals where they are going to participate during the same tour.

    * The festival organizer has to communicate clearly about invitations to groups.
    * Selected groups will receive an official invitation for the announced festival. The invitation to groups will be sent at least 120 days before the start of the festival.
    * In unforeseen situations and necessary postponing of a festival it’s necessary to communicate clearly between organizers and groups.
    * The festival organizer will send to the invited groups a clear overview of the preliminary program of the complete festival.
    * The festival organizer has to explain the exact location and expected time of arrival.
    * After the first arrival of groups at the festival location, the organizer will explain to the members of the group about the rules during the festival.
    * The staff of the festival and representatives will be introduced to the group (e.g. guides, translators).
    * A schedule of the performances, locations, and duration will be given to the group leader.
    * The definitive program of the festival will be explained to the members of the group.
    * Information about the availability of first aid will be given to all members.
    * Information about time and locations for rehearsals will be given to the group leader.
    * Information about the use of dressing-rooms, maintenance of costumes, make-up for artists will be given to the group leader.
    * dimensions and surface of stages and technical equipment as amplification, lightning, stage monitors, dress-changes, stage attributes (chairs for musicians, etc.).

    In general, these must be clean, comfortable, quiet, safe, and secure.
    * Accommodations may be hotel, dormitory, school, hostel, or private home.
    * Pictures to be sent by the festival to the group if requested.
    * Bathroom with shower should be provided commensurate with the number of persons to be served.
    * locked sleeping rooms, and cleaned daily.
    * Hot and cold running water.
    * Drinking water provided.
    * Mirror for make-up/shaving.
    * Sufficient electrical outlets.
    * Comfortable beds with sufficient bedding and pillow.
    * Sufficient space for suitcases, hanging clothing, and costumes.
    * Seasonal heat/air-conditioning/ventilation.
    * On-site assistant or guide.
    * Area for socializing outside sleeping quarters

    * The guests should not have to purchase their food.
    * Meals must be provided (3 per day).
    * Food must be sufficient, nourishing, and tasty.
    * Enough drinking water at all accommodations. (including venues of performances)

    Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

    We welcome the people of all nations to join our mission

    Italy

    Small group

    00,00$

    Small folk art groups, instrumental or vocal ensembles with 8 members or less

    We thank you for your support!

    You have sent your request to the secretariat.

    Please note that membership is not complete unless payment is made.

    How to pay?

    Choose from one of the payment methods to complete the registration

    Membership fees should be paid in local currency to the Chair of your National Section. Where no national section exists, fees should be paid directly to the Treasurer. See options 2, 3,or 4.

    You can pay for your membership fees via Paypal. The safer, easier way to pay online!


    Or transfer your membership fee to PayPal at the email address: treasureriov@gmail.com

    Use sparkasse  only if you pay in Euro’s  €
    Name of bank : Alg.Sparkasse Oberosterreich
    Bank Website : www.sparkasse.at
    IBAN: AT 30 2032 0321 0040 2191
    bic : ASPKAT2LXXX
    NAME OF ACCOUNT : IOV THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FOLK ART
     
    Bank Address:
    SPARKASSE  Oberosterreich
    Rathausstrasse 1
    4770 Andorf
    Use UNICREDIT only if you pay in Euro’s  €
    Name of bank : UNICREDIT ITALY
     
    IBAN:  IT 54 A 02008 11108 000104157045
    bic SWIFT : UNCRITM1H51
    NAME OF ACCOUNT : IOV THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF FOLK ART
     

    for payment online with credit cards or debit cards by vivawallet at the following link: https://pay.vivawallet.com/fabriziofiore88


    to confirm your payment send Email with attached copy of bill to: info@iov.world
    specifying your personal details: nationality, Name. Surname, Address

    Send the receipt of the transaction to this mailbox

    When all the checks have been successful, you will receive an email at the registration address to complete the registration and set the password.

    Ico_Close_WhiteCreated with Sketch.

    We welcome the people of all nations to join our mission

    Italy

    Student

    00,00$

    Students, with legal Student-card, have a discount of 50%

    Your country has a National Section of IOV.

    National Sections who collect the fees of the members in their country within the norms contribute 50% of these revenues to the General Treasurer.

    Complete registration on the site of your national section.