Popular Italian Folk Group to Perform on October 29, 2023

The popular Italian folk music group, Ensemble Sangineto, is coming to Casa Italiana on October 29, 2023, at 1:30 p.m., to perform some of their unique traditional songs of the 20 regions of Italy.

This trio from northern Italy blends Italian folk influences and others from throughout Europe — including Irish, Breton, and French traditions — with classical music, early music, Celtic music, Gregorian chants, musical theater, modern pop, and jazz influences.

Ensemble Sangineto was co-founded by Adriano and Caterina Sangineto, who are twins. The group consists of Adriano on Celtic harp, stomp box and vocals; Caterina on bowed psaltery, flute, percussion, and vocals; and Jacopo Ventura on acoustic guitar, bouzouki, and vocals. 

The twins’ father, Michele, was a noted instrument maker in Monza, a city just north of Milano. Growing up, Adriano and Caterina had the opportunity to play instruments built by their father as well as other instruments that he had either collected or bought elsewhere. They attended music academies in Monza and neighboring Villasanta, then went to the Conservatorio di Milano where Adriano learned clarinet and Caterina learned flute. Both also play the harp and a bowed psaltery which is a harp-like instrument that probably originated in the Middle East.

Last year, the group began “Grand Tour Vol. 1,” marking the first installment of a two-part project paying tribute to traditional Italian music with fresh renditions of folk songs from each of the 20 regions of Italy. This project gave rise to the concert “Le Grand Tour — Songs and Enchantments from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea.” 

Adriano recently told an interviewer: “When you create a tune or a song, you prepare yourself to be the center of a universe full of feelings, words, and beauty. That magic force will be shared by the listeners and by any other person who wants to live and discover your soul. That is pure magic, isn’t it?”