Mediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape has been launched in January 2024.
From an idea of Prof. Paolo Scarnecchia, responsible for the UNIMED Music sector, the Podcast is a journey in the Mediterranean Soundscape.
“Poking around the Mediterranean, this podcast gives voices to researchers, scholars, performers and artists who are digging through its rich intangible cultural heritage with music and poetry always in mind.”
Paolo Scarnecchia, author of the podcast, in each episode meets experts, performers and artists who will present the musical traditions, passed down from generation to generation, and influenced by migrations, history and people all along the centuries in the Mediterranean region. In this journey, we will also explore how this heritage continues to evolve nowadays.
Some episodes are in English, some episodes are in French.
The Podcast is available on Spreaker.
Disclaimer: Mediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape is a podcast by Paolo Scarnecchia, produced by UNIMED, Mediterranean Universities Union. Musical works included in the Podcast are used for purpose of illustration for teaching, and not for commercial purposes.
Mediterranean Intangible Heritage Soundscape | Episodes’ list
All is not lost. Aleppo’s musical tradition in space and time.
This episode will let us travel in the Syrian musical tradition, and in particular in the Aleppo’s ones.
Jonathan H. Shannon, interviewed for this episode, traces an historical excursus in the traditional music ending up in the contemporary Syrian scenario affected by the war and consequent migrations.
Discover more about the episode, the expert and the discography here.
Episode in English
Longing and lost love. The Sevdah urban song of Sarajevo.
This episode will let us travel in the Bosnian musical tradition, and in particular in the city of Sarajevo.
Unrequited love is the fuel of the melancholic fire that burns in the heart of the Bosnian urban song of Sarajevo. Damir Imamović, interviewed in this episode, is a new generation singer and composer with a deep knowledge of the traditions of this heritage that represents the sounding soul of the city.
Discover more about the episode, the expert and the discography here.
Episode in English
La langue musicale du MAQÂM et ses éléments clés.
This episode will let us travel in a great transnational tradition of ancient origin: the maqâm.
Nidaa Abou Mrad, interviewed for this episode, tells us how this tradition was reinvigorated between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, thanks to masters and singers active in Egypt who – on a musical level – contributed to the artistic rebirth and intellectual awakening of the Mashreq, known – from an historical point of view – as Nahda.
Discover more about the episode, the expert and the discography here.
Episode in French
Plain-chant, spiritualité et humanité. Nous sommes tous semblables.
In the beginning it was plainchant with its different forms, many of which were replaced by the Gregorian chant where the Gallican and Roman traditions merged.
In this episode we will travel into all this variety of dialects of the Christian liturgical chant – from Ambrosian to Mozarabic – with Marcel Pérès, singer and researcher specialised in medieval music, interviewed for this episode.
Discover more about the episode, the expert and the discography here.
Listen to this episode: First part & Second part.
Episode in French
A tool to bring people together and make the world a better place.
This episode will let us travel in the Balkan Area and beyond, following minorities and migration flows.
The definition of the so-called “applied ethnomusicology” intersects with various activities that include study and research in a dimension where theory and practice are not separated but converge in the realization of different kind of projects.
For Svanibor Pettan, interviewed for this episode, it was pivotal being born in Croatia and having lived in the Balkan area, a region affected by war and conflict. His attention towards minorities and, more recently, towards migrants and refugees is an example demonstrating the social function of ethnomusicology engaged in dissemination and cultural mediation.
Discover more about the episode, the expert and the discography here.
Episode in English
About Paolo Scarnecchia
Responsible for the UNIMED music sector, Paolo Scarnecchia has taught History of Music and History of non-European Music in many Italian conservatories, and has been Adjunct Professor at the University of Naples “L’Orientale”, the Suor Orsola Benincasa University Institute of Naples, and Sapienza University of Rome.
He counts an active participation in international conferences, in Italy and abroad, on the musical culture of the Mediterranean region and in particular of the Near East. He has directed festivals and international music festivals and collaborated with several magazines.
He never stopped writing for Il Giornale della Musica and producing radio programs, dealing nowadays mainly with Early Music.
Among his publications it is worth mentioning Popular music and cultured music – Enciclopedia del Mediterraneo, Jaca Book 2000 (also published in Spanish, French and Arabic).
