Music mon amour

The sound of the accordion is the background to all the happy moments of the people of Abruzzo, from the village feast to the serenade to the bride. It is the pleasure of being together that cannot do without music, dancing, singing and the main instrument is the accordion, called 'lu ddu bott'. We find it at the end of the 19th century in the workshop of Francesco Ianni, a small carpenter with a passion for physics and mechanics. Returning from a pilgrimage to Loreto, he had brought an accordion with him. Together with his brother Giuseppe, he modified it and the result was the famous Abruzzi accordion that seemed to have been made for merriment and conviviality.
In 1888, the Ianni company started production of the instrument, which gradually gained international fame thanks to the emigrants to America who brought the accordion and the music of their land with them.
Abruzzo has had great masters of the accordion and it is impossible to name them all.
Let us remember Antonio Di Leonardo who saved himself from deportation thanks to his skill as a musician who enchanted the Nazis. He ended up in Canada where he learnt to play the jazz accordion and tune pianos, taught music and played with orchestras jazz groups. Back in Italy, he continued his activity as a musician and craftsman.
And again Fanciullo Rapacchietta who started playing the accordion at the age of 8. During his long life, he composed music for 'lu ddu bott' and taught generations of children with his original teaching method that allowed them to learn even if they had no musical background. He had an intense concert activity in Italy and abroad with unfailing success for his great virtuosity and personal style.