
Forgotten Gems with Joshua Cohen
- Cinema
In conversation with Antonio Monda
View details about the event: Forgotten Gems with Joshua CohenCelebration of Casa Italiana's 34th Anniversary
Overview
On the occasion of NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò’s 34th Anniversary
Concert
Whistling Is An Art
A performance of melodic whistling, guitar, and storytelling by
Elena Somarè, whistler
Mats Hedberg, guitar
Music by J.S. Bach, The Beatles, Morricone, and traditional songs from numerous countries
Followed by birthday celebrations!
This performance was created to show, in all its astonishing potential, this new voice in the musical panorama. New because perhaps no one, until now, has succeeded like Elena Somaré in freeing the art of whistling from the routine of smug virtuosity, to make it an expressive and moving instrument at the service of great music.
The project made possible by the meeting with the Swedish guitarist and composer Mats Hedberg, who enthusiastically accepted the challenge of putting such a profound and rarefied sound at the center.
The show also aims to compare different worlds and cultural panoramas that are however connected to each other: the fiery feelings of Italian and South American music with the Nordic snowy horizons and nostalgic ballads. With Mats managing to make ancient and popular Italian but also South American songs his own by arranging them in a new and very particular way, Elena, exploring the more romantic range of her “instrument”, adds a poignant dimension to Hedberg’s Nordic sounds.
Then there will be the stories of how the art of whistling, which Elena is taking around the world, is welcomed by the many cultures she has come across. From how some consider her a revolutionary, where whistling is prohibited, or a champion of women’s liberation. Because in many countries this sound that comes from the body, this “vulgar and rude breath”, is still considered “the voice of the devil”.