34 Vaccaro ⦁ Louis Prima & Tarantella Example 1: Anonymous, “Tarantella Calabrese” tambourine rhythm (transcription by the author). While documentation of the tarantella exists as far back as the first millennium CE in the city of Taranto, Apulia, the origins of the dance can be traced back to ancient Greece. Likely inspired by the Greek mythological tale of Arachne, pagans in Taranto developed the dance in a ritual called tarantism, which was intended to treat the bites of the wolf spider, also known as the tarantula. It was said that the bite of the tarantula would cause fits of hysteria, inducing its victim to convulse uncontrollably, often screaming and climbing up walls in fits of insanity. The treatment for this hysteria came in the form of music. Musicians performed an accompaniment for the victim in hopes they would dance out of their condition. Many of these rituals were reported to last for several days, until the victim collapsed from exhaustion.1 From this ritual, the folk dance as it is known today emerged, taking the form of a musical and visual spectacle without the outdated therapeutic beliefs. As a result of its pagan roots, the tarantella was considered primitive and savage by the outside world, especially in the predominantly Catholic northern regions of Italy. As Catholicism became more widespread in the southern regions, the tarantella was driven underground along with other pagan traditions. While some local Catholic traditions modified the tarantella to be used in chapels, it was clear that in the more “civilized” world, the folk dance was primitive and unnecessary.2 By the nineteenth century, the tarantella developed into a secular tradition as the pagan faiths associated with it faded into obscurity. The tarantella then became more widely accepted as culturally significant, especially since more attention was brought to folk traditions during this time. A number of non-Italian classical musicians, including Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, and Sergei Rachmaninoff used 1 Youngblood, personal interview, February 15, 2024. 2 Youngblood, personal interview, February 15, 2024.
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