Pietrafonie is a musical project born from the meeting between the Savoretti/Mina duo, the singer and researcher of the Alta Murgia's traditional heritage, Maria Moramarco, and the artistic vision of the sculptor Vito Maiullari from Altamura.

The voice of the project is Maria Moramarco, who has always been committed to the work of recovering and reproposing the music of oral tradition, which comes to embrace those stylistic and singing modes that have now disappeared, those specific vocal models of a culture that has never been codified. Recognised as one of the most beautiful voices in the panorama of Italian traditional music, in 1976 she began the work of collecting, studying and presenting the ancient musical heritage of Murgia area in Puglia, bringing to light more than one hundred songs. She founded a band “Uaragniaun” together with the musicians Luigi Bolognese and Silvio Teot. In Pietrafonie, Maria's research on the songs of the Murgia agro-pastoral heritage, meets the compositional style of the duo formed by percussionist Savoretti Francesco and flutist Fabio Mina. The two musicians, linked by their study of the instruments of non-European traditions, share a musical journey that leads them to explore the improvisational languages of jazz and the sounds of electronic music, defining a path that finds fulfilment in the definition of the duo called Threshold.

“Pietrafonie” combines the two opposite meanings present in the cultural heritage, on the one hand “tradare” the handing over and on the other hand “tradere” understood as betrayal that would be carried out at the moment in which the same act of passing from hand to hand, from knowledge to knowledge, from generation to generation takes place. It is in this short-circuit between the need to investigate and safeguard the cultural emergencies of traditional languages on the verge of extinction, and to understand the new mechanisms of that atavistic betrayal, typical of a knowledge that is passed on, that lies the concept and the semantic core of the work enhanced by the contribution of trumpeter Markus Stockhousen.

The flutist Fabio Mina and the percussionist Francesco Savoretti use their instruments in search of their most hidden characteristics and extend the opportunities with live electronics, effects, synthesisers, pushing beyond genres, between improvisation and composition, creating an embracing, unpredictable music, in which contrasting elements dialogue with each other.

For the sculptor Maiullari, the stone that has been walked on for thousands of years by the people of the Murge becomes a direct evidence of that sacred pilgrimage that is the transhumance and becomes the guardian of the ancestral sound of that specific acoustic landscape. His artistic manifesto is condensed in the intention to free the stone out of its silent standstill so that it can narrate and transmit that buried acoustic ecosystem. Pietrafonie presents an original artistic interweaving between the visions present in the stone works of the sculptor Vito Maiullari that are given musical form played live by the two musicians and the voice of Maria Moramarco, an interweaving where the past meets the contemporary.

BIOGRAPHY

MARIA MORAMARCO

Maria Moramarco, a former language teacher, comes from a family of "singers" and has always been immersed in popular musical tradition. In 1976, with the group Petilia (the ancient name of Altamura), she began studying and researching folk traditions, focusing on specific aspects of peasant civilization. Her debut as an interpreter of songs in the Altamura dialect came with the staging of Francesco Fiore's one-act play U’ trainirre. In 1978, she met Luigi Bolognese and Silvio Teot, and after some collaborations with the Canzoniere, she founded the group-laboratory Uaragniaun in 1990, which released its first album Canzoni dell’Alta Murgia. Her career took a significant turn after meeting Otello Profazio, leading to concerts and RAI broadcasts, including on the national network. Through the program La penultima sagra dei cantastorie, she had the opportunity to collaborate with historic cantastorie of the time, such as Matteo Salvatore and Pietro Basentini. Over more than forty years of activity, Maria has participated in numerous national and regional radio and television programs and has taken part in countless festivals in Italy and abroad, both with the Uaragniaun group and as a soloist. Today, she continues her work of promoting and valuing traditional singing, collaborating with Italian and international musicians.

FABIO MINA

Born in Rimini in 1984, Fabio Mina began studying the flute as a child. During his years at the conservatory, alongside his academic studies, he started exploring improvisation, seeking a musical space without boundaries, also through live electronics. His curiosity led him to study instruments from different global traditions, such as the bansuri (Indian transverse flute), duduk (Armenian oboe), fujara (large harmonic flute from Slovakia), khaen (Thai mouth organ), and various types of Asian thumb pianos. To deepen his knowledge of these traditions, he traveled to the places of origin of the instruments, studying both musical approaches and local teaching methods. From 2005 to 2007, he moved to Berlin, where he collaborated with contemporary dance and theater dance. Since 2007, he has worked with German trumpeter Markus Stockhausen, learning the improvisational approach of Intuitive Musik. With Stockhausen, he performed at numerous festivals in Italy and Germany, both in duo and in a trio with drummer Enzo Carpentieri. In 2011, Stockhausen produced his first album Vìreo for the German label Aktivraum, and he also appeared on his second album The Shore. He has performed at international festivals in Europe and Asia and collaborated with artists such as Geir Sundstøl, Kudsi Erguner, Fabrizio Ottaviucci, Cristiano De André, and Vinicio Capossela. In 2013, he founded the Ground to Sea Sound Collective, a group focused on soundscapes and site-specific performances, collaborating with scientific researchers in national and European projects. Since 2019, he has played in a duo with percussionist Francesco Savoretti in the Threshold project. His latest work, EXISTENCE/RESISTANCE, was released by the Torino-based label Okum. Fabio Mina also works as a composer and musician for cinema, theater, and dance, and regularly teaches flute, improvisation, new technologies applied to sound, and multimedia performance. His music is deeply rooted in improvisation, a language that allows him to connect with the present moment, expressing himself through listening that is not only introspective but also outwardly directed, toward the environment and atmosphere. Mina strives to move the transverse flute away from clichés, exploring its acoustic possibilities and expanding its sound through the use of effect pedals, synthesizers, and samplers. His music stands out for the spontaneous fusion of accessibility and experimentation, aiming to overcome the more purist views of musical genres. He believes in musical research that conveys a message and can serve as a tool for social value.

FRANCESCO SAVORETTI

The continuous pursuit of new sounds and attention to performance dynamics are the most distinctive aspects of his style. His mastery and familiarity with frame drum techniques are elevated by his personal journey toward innovative sound exploration. This unique approach often leads him to work with multi-percussion setups and to explore diverse musical genres, including World Music, Contemporary Music, Ethno Jazz, and Early Music. He has shared the stage with renowned international and Italian artists such as Markus Stockhausen (GER), Claus Boesser-Ferrari (GER), Heiko Plank (GER), Sandor Szabo (HUN), Elizabeth Swados (USA), Cary Gant (USA), Heather Pawuer (USA), Yukio Tsuji (USA), John Kruth (USA), Kris Kukul (USA), Starr Busby (USA), Glen Vélez (USA), Loire Cotler (USA), Ross Daly (GR), Kelly Thoma (GR), Francoise Atlan (FR), Robindro Nikolic (SRB), Fadia Tomb El-Hage (LBN), Veka Aler (TUR), Arslan Hazreti (AZER), Ziad Trabelsi, Riccardo Tesi, Elena Ledda, Lucilla Galeazzi, Nando Citarella, Ginevra Di Marco, Vinicio Capossela, Gabriella Aiello, Maurizio Geri, Claudio Carboni, Luisa Cottifogli, Marco Ambrosini, Giua, Antonio Forcione, Danilo Di Paolonicola, Luca Ciarla, Eugenio Bennato, Carmine Ioanna, Paolo Di Sabatino, Luca Aquino, Ketty Teriaca, Achille Succi, Giancarlo Bianchetti, Roy Paci, Micrologus, Goffredo Degli Esposti, Gabriele Russo, Patrizia Bovi, Pierluigi Mencattini, Simone Vallerotonda, Maria Moramarco, Mario Arcari, Maurizio Dehò, Giampietro Marazza, Gabriele Cohen, Benny Penazzi, Giovanna Famulari, Vince Abbracciante, Giovanni Palombo, Nicola Di Camillo, Walter Gaeta, Gabriele Pesaresi, Emilio Marinelli, Alessandro D’Alessandro, Marco Colonna, Carlo Maver, Peppe Frana, Ciuma Del Vecchio, Mario Salvi, Giovanni Seneca, Massimo Varini, Pasquale Laino, Gionni Di Clemente, Carlo La Manna, Monica Neri, Anissa Gouizi, Adolfo La Volpe, Elisa Ridolfi, Fabio Mina, Frida Neri, Flavia Massimo, and Caterina Palazzi. He has also collaborated extensively in the theatrical field, working with notable figures such as Moni Ovadia, Davide Riondino, Dario Vergassola, Rocco Papaleo, and Erri De Luca. He is one of the founders of the FRAME DRUMS ITALIA Festival, a globally recognized event dedicated to the promotion and study of frame drums from diverse traditions.

VITO MAIULLARI

Stone, chosen as a medium to develop a synesthetic approach to matter. His research, both experimental and innovative, is deeply rooted in a profound understanding of anthropology and nature. Inspired by a bucolic universe imbued with memory, Maiullari adopts a visionary and original perspective on the landscape, representing it through works composed of carved stones often juxtaposed with modern materials. This maieutic process transforms the stone into a witness of history, capable of narrating through the sounds and noises of nature. Environmental traces thus become the cornerstone of immersive installations designed to be experienced, listened to, and inhabited, capable of generating "sound poetry." In parallel, Maiullari raises awareness about the neglect of landscape heritage, with particular focus on the protection of the Alta Murgia region. Since 1980, he has participated in multimedia events, restoration projects, and original educational and training initiatives, while also creating monumental public artworks. He currently teaches at the Academy of Fine Arts in Foggia and has previously taught at the academies in Bari and Reggio Calabria.