Music

Popular sicilian music

At the very mention of this island’s name, anyone with a keen ear for music recalls the siciliana, an ancient shepherds’ dance. This was transcribed in pieces of the 17C and 18C. Traditional dance music features the straight reed pipe (fiscalettu or friscaleddu), and the marranzanu, a mouth harp.

Popular music includes songs alla carrittera – literally “of the cart-driver”, and those sung by the cantastorie – modern equivalents of minstrels who travel from with a guitar and a board illustrating their story. The most famous of these was Ciccio Busacca (1926–1984).