During Easter time, the Griko-speaking area in the peninsula of Salento in Southern Italy welcomes Chants of Passion, the international music festival dedicated to the revival of the devotional chants of the Passion of Christ.
Inside and outside the most beautiful churches of the “Griki” towns (Calimera, Carpignano Salentino, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto, Cutrofiano, Martano, Martignano, Melpignano, Soleto, Sternatia e Zollino) and of Alessano and Galatina, more than one hundred musicians, chorus of local cantors and musical bands coming from the Southern Italy will perform traditional cantos
telling the life and death of Jesus Christ.
In this region and in the Romance-language speaking areas, those cantos are still alive to remind us the very keynote of becoming.
Institutions
The Unione dei Comuni della Grecìa Salentina, Regione Puglia, the Province of Lecce, and Istituto Diego Carpitella promote the event “Chants of Passion”, festival of folk music dedicated to the Passion of Christ.
The event will take place in the Salentine region, the territory of the Grecìa Salentina (Calimera, Carpignano Salentino, Castrignano dei Greci, Corigliano d’Otranto, Cutrofiano, Martano, Martignano, Melpignano, Sternatia, Soleto, Zollino), and in the towns of Alessano and Galatina. All the events are free.
The Authorities involved in the project prove their consideration to the preservation and revival of traditions and expressions of Salentine culture and identity, particularly that of Grecìa Salentina.
In the “grika” area of the Salento region popular poetry reaches one of its highest expression in the events telling life and death of Jesus Christ, through the Chants of Passion and Santu Lazzaru.
Such a cultural patrimony together with the contribution of the other national cultures will represent the starting point to valorise our identity and promote a cultural and spiritual growth as well as an important opportunity of development.
