Maresia

Maresia (meaning ‘Sea Air’ or ‘Sea Foam’ in Portuguese) is a visionary and poetical offering from Bari singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist Piepoli. It comprises a Mediterranean narrative symbolised by three stringed instruments: the southern Italian chitarra battente, the Arab oud and the Turkish saz. Piepoli’s captivating voice flows, weaving this Meridian encounter into a melismatic style, exploring his outstanding vocal range.

The opening title-track is what he calls ‘tarabtella’, an energetic and ecstatic conglomeration of Arabic tarab and Salento pizzica. It is followed by the intimate ‘Melagranada Ruja’, for voice and oud, by the late Sardinian singer-songwriter Marisa Sannia and ‘Ave Maria Fadista’ made famous by Amália Rodrigues. A poignant melodic bridge is built between the lyricism of Gargano tarantella and fado on ‘Stella d’ori’. A poignant lullaby, ‘Ninna Nanna di Carpino’ is another tribute to Gargano folk tradition where Piepoli explores the nuances of his voice and identity. ‘Sair’ is also a gem – an instrumental, a shifting path progressing from a Middle Eastern pattern into a tarantella. On the Calabrian ‘Occhi de Monachella’ the battente guitar meets the oud and saz. Elsewhere, ‘Qifti’ and ‘L’America’ deal with migration experiences, the former an Arbëreshë story of two young people in love, the latter a painful song widespread around Italy. Another original piece, ‘Tetuán’, ends the album, a homage to Sephardic and the Arab-Andalusian musical traditions, epitomising historical cultural interlacing between peoples across the Mediterranean.