Hautville is a

progressive Progressive may refer to: Politics * Progressivism, a political philosophy in support of social reform ** Progressivism in the United States, the political philosophy in the American context * Progressive realism, an American foreign policy par ...

neofolk music Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrumen ...

project that was formed in 2006 by Leonardo Lonigro (guitars) and Francesco Dinnella (keyboards and vocals) who had already played together in some progressive rock bands. Simona Bonavita (vocals) later joined the project. The mainly acoustic project combines European neofolk elements with Italian progressive rock. The lyrics are about traditional doctrines and

folk traditions In religious studies and folkloristics, folk religion, popular religion, traditional religion or vernacular religion comprises various forms and expressions of religion that are distinct from the official doctrines and practices of organized re ...

, that are seen as a collection of ancient knowledge. The name Hautville (from

Altavilla Altavilla is a village and former municipality in the district of See in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland. History It was first recorded in 1340 as ''Alta villa''. It has also had the German name ''Altenfüllen'' and the French ''Hauteville' ...

) takes its inspiration from the Norman-Swabian Middle Age. Hautville's debut CDR ''No Milk For Babies'' was released in 2010 by ''Invisible Eye Productions''. A year later, a collection of remastered songs from ''No Milk for Babies'' and three new unpublished songs were released on the ''Numen Lumen'' (3) album by ''Hau Ruck!SPQR''. The album features lyrics from

Giordano Bruno Giordano Bruno (; ; la, Iordanus Brunus Nolanus; born Filippo Bruno, January or February 1548 – 17 February 1600) was an Italian philosopher, mathematician, poet, cosmological theorist, and Hermetic occultist. He is known for his cosmologic ...

Giuliano Kremmerz Giuliano M. Kremmerz (1861–1930), born Ciro Formisano, was an Italian alchemist working within the tradition of hermeticism. In 1896, Kremmerz founded the Confraternita Terapeutica e Magica di Myriam (Therapeutic and Magic Brotherhood of Myriam ...

, and Domenico Bellocchio and is produced by Diego Banchero from ''Egida Aurea'' and ''Il segno del comando''. In 2013 the band released ''Le Moire'' (the Moirai) EP by ''SPQR'' featuring a guest appearance from pianist Arturo Stàlteri, co-founder of the Italian progressive rock band Pierrot Lunaire who played piano on two songs; one of which, Caelum et Terra, was played on ''

Rai Radio 3 Rai Radio 3 (''radio tre'') is an Italian radio channel operated by the state-owned public-broadcasting organization RAI and specializing in culture and classical music. It is currently directed by Andrea Montanari. Founded on 1 October 1950 a ...

'' during the radio show Battiti. This new album was inspired by Greek mythological figures. Neo-progressive elements are evident in this release, and it is becoming increasingly important, proven by the fact that one of the tracks is a cover song by Banco del Mutuo Soccorso called ''Non mi rompete''. ''Le Moire'' was released the same day the band performed in 2013 at

Wave Gotik Treffen The Wave-Gotik-Treffen (WGT; ) is an annual world festival for "dark" music and "dark culture" in Leipzig, Germany. 150+ bands and artists from various backgrounds ( gothic rock, gothic metal, EBM, industrial, noise, darkwave, neo-folk, neo- ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

. During 2013 and 2014, Hautville performed at various European locations and festivals supporting the American folk band Changes in Wien. Recording on a band's new album took place from mid 2015 until early 2016. ''Mater Dolorosa'' was released in May 2016. The album blends the neofolk genre with progressive-folk elements in an orchestral arrangement, with thanks to the appearances from numerous classical guest musicians.

Lineups

Current lineup

Leonardo Lonigro – guitars Francesco Dinnella – keyboards, backing vocals Simona Bonavita – lead vocals

Additional Members

Arturo Stàlteri, piano (Le Moire; Mater Dolorosa) William Matteuzzi, tenor

ocal Ocal or OCAL may refer to: * Öcal, Turkish surname * Öçal, Turkish surname * Open Clip Art Library Openclipart, also called Open Clip Art Library, is an online media repository of free-content vector clip art. The project hosts over 160,000 ...

(Mater Dolorosa) Mirko Lucchini, cover paintings (Mater Dolorosa) Rebecca Dallolio, violin (Mater Dolrosa) Daniela Caschetto, cello (Mater Dolorosa) Giulio Amico Padula, trumpet (Mater Dolorosa) David Bisetti, drums (Mater Dolorosa) Roberto Sivilia, artwork (Mater Dolorosa) Paolo Bitonto drums (Numen Lumen; Le Moire)

Discography

Studio albums

No milk for babies (CDR - Invisible Eye Production - 12 tracks, 2010) Numen Lumen (Digipack-CD - HR!SQPR - 10 tracks, 2011) Le Moire (Digipack-CD - SPQR - 5 tracks, 2013) Mater Dolorosa (Digipack-CD - 8 tracks, 2016)

Compilations

Per aspera ad astra (CD - HR!SQPR – 13 tracks, 2011)

References

{{Authority control Neofolk music groups Italian musical groups Italian progressive rock groups Giordano Bruno