Compagnia Sonadùr di Ponte Caffaro
Pas en amùr
A.C.Barabàn - ACB/CD05
What a joy this record is! The entire repertoire of the Ponte Caffaro Fellowship of Musicians and Dancers - 30 tunes - recorded live, exactly as it happened, in good quality stereo. As the dancers manage without recourse to sticks, bells or much in the way of uncouth shouting, the music is very clear and, in fact, sounds a great deal better than it did in actuality, where you can seldom get very close. In fact the quality of the music is quite astonishing, given that these guys have been playing for two whole days, dawn 'til dusk on the streets, and beyond midnight in the bars! 
As to the music - well, it's wonderful. (sound clip - Monichèla) Splendidly played, absolutely accessible, tuneful, exciting, almost English yet intriguingly foreign.
If that were not enough, the accompanying booklet - 32 pages of closely packed words and photos, half of it in English - tells the story of the carnevale, the town, the dancers, dances, music, instruments, everything you need for a real and fascinating insight into this unique tradition and the culture which created and nurtures it.
Since the music, the dances and the fiddle tradition are all discussed at length in my Ponte Caffaro article, there is no need to repeat the information here. It is enough to say that this is an absolutely essential purchase for any lover of either the fiddle or of traditional dance music. (sound clip - Bosolù).
This great CD is available in the UK from MT at our Records page.
Rod Stradling - 20.12.96
Site designed and maintained by Musical Traditions Web Services Updated: 29.10.02