Gruppo Folkloristico di Lucignano

Gruppo Folkloristico di Lucignano

Even before speaking about this excellent association, one should give a short history of it, simply in order to underline its importance as a part of the cultural activities of the village and to do justice  to its long life (over 60 years) .  
One must say immediately that the history of this Group is tied to the Maggiolata.  Indeed the relationship between the Group and the Maggiolata is marked by an inseparable bond, consisting of natural mutual links.   
In 1937 a group of politicians encouraged the creation in the village of the , that they intended should have the purpose of celebrating in the village the importance of the Empire and look back to past festivals and, in accordance with then current customs,  exalt the more native values of Italian popular culture.   
The principles of the festival were in fact characterised by a certain simplicity, with strong allusions to the lives  of local country people: the presence of farm carts, full of flowers and of broom with the oxen that hauled them, adorned with bows and red tassels were a precise symbolic reference.   
In this context it was certainly not the farm carts, however elaborate, that constituted the most eye-catching aspect of the manifestation.     
In fact,  its real substance was represented by the songs, the music and the dances that became an integral part of the farm carts themselves, during the parade along the village streets.   
Public approval of this festival, promoted and encouraged by the regime, was strong because the character of the festival - at least in the beginning - permitted the musical and dance content to achieve key roles with a consequent natural increase in  importance of local musicians and dancers.   
The genuine nature of these festivals consisted therefore in the music and songs that each group linked to each of the five farm carts and  that each formulated for its own account, drawing directly on a rich musical patrimony of folk origin handed down over the course of time or by virtue of new airs and motives created there and then but anyway inspired by the festival.   
There was in fact not one group only that paraded through the village streets; indeed there were five different ones involved in a sort of competition that was very popular.  
It is easy to deduce  from this that the conditions for the creation of a group of the best talent among Maggiolata dancers was easy to achieve and that this would be able to export from Lucignano  the most authentic local folklore.    
The Group of Lucignano was born therefore in 1937 and immediately began to perform at festivals elsewhere - both at provincial and at national levels  
Its founder and for decades its president was the Cav. Francis Cannelli, an excellent prime mover in the activity of the Group which was always present at the most important Italian folkloristic festivals.   
Above all it is thanks to the excellent work of this outstanding personality   that the Group achieved an original artistic dimension.   
Umberto Brunacci, a well known performer of the barrel-organ also contributed to the increasing success of the association as did Italo Giannetti, who must be remembered above all for having perfected dances and music including the "Country Minuet", the of  Sor Cesare" and "Su Lucignano Fulgido", a true anthem to the village.  Among these great protagonists of a history that has not only honoured Lucignano but spread its name worldwide must be mentioned, Angiolino Bennati, called "Baffino", accordionist and manager of the Group, as well as the famous Sor Umbertino, performer (by ear) of the hand-organ who stands out among the most characteristic of the association, and Maestro Fidelmo Mariottini, who composed the famous waltz "Via dell'Amore" and other songs performed at the Maggiolata. He also founded a school of accordionists.   In addition,  the men and women remembered above  were dancers of great skill - perhaps especially in the execution of the most expressive dance of the ample repertoire of the Group: the Trescone.
The story of the Group continues with successes at international level, via participation in festivals and dancing exhibitions of exceptional artistic importance.   
Recent years have seen the activity of the Group in the most disparate and prestigious places (Athens, Chicago, Tokyo, Holland; frequent tournées in France, Switzerland, Germany, Tunisia and the Scandinavian Countries): everywhere the torch of the musical civilization of this land of ours is carried high,  always the image of Lucignano is seen as a place of great culture and authentic poetic art.   
The Group of Lucignano is therefore the best expression of the musical tradition of this land demonstrating itself to be a real cultural ambassador to the world.

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