The modern guitarist is a hybrid guitarist: a performer who must acquire a multitude of technical and musical properties that belong not only to the classical toolbox, but also to the specific cultural background of the works. This becomes immediately apparent in repertoire strongly inspired by folkloric idioms. The heterogeneous nature of the folk music elements not only calls on the performer to tap into melodic and rhythmic insights that fall outside the classical tradition, but above all encourages the exploration of the instrument’s richness in order to develop a varied, versatile playing style.
This raises particular questions: Could “embodied knowledge” (with its sociological, cultural, and physiological meanings) be the instrument for reconfiguring guitar practice? How can the performer detect, study and embody folk elements? Is it possible to establish an exploratory methodology to integrate these elements into performance? Starting from the tarantella form from southern Italy and its interpretation on the chitarra battente, this PhD research by Luca Isolani will study the folkloric features present in the classical guitar repertoire and define some tools for an exploratory methodology of embodiment. This research aims to show that when folkloric elements are observed up close, reflected upon critically, and embodied in a sensitive way, they contribute significantly to the refinement of performance.