Sentimento Popolare

Camilla Barbarito's musical journey is a rich and meandering one: as a young girl she spent time in Mali, and has collaborated with artists from all over the world. All the while, her research into the sounds and rhythms of the Mediterranean has led her to absorb the mournful melodies of Portuguese fado, the lilting sounds of Greek rebetika, and the raucous rhythms of Romani music.

Her new album, Sentimento Popolare, is an exploration of these different musical traditions (with the addition of a few more), a worldly mosaic composed of 13 very different tracks, masterfully woven together by Barbarito's powerful vocals. The record starts in South America with ‘Carnaval de Guaranda’, an interpretation of the yaravì (or harawi) track by the Ecuadorian duo Benítez y Valencia, where interplaying flute and guitar soar alongside Barbarito's vocals, and then travels to Italy, Greece and Argentina. Highlights include ‘Ven Muerte’ (the only original composition here) on which Saint Teresa d'Avila's Spanish lyrics are sung over the tammurriata rhythms of southern Italy, and the classic song by Esma Redžepova, ‘Chaje Shukarije’. Overall, Barbarito has done a great job of transforming her own musical journey into a single cohesive album.