The "Tarantella Napoletana" is the
tarantella associated with
Naples. It is familiar to North American viewers of popular media as a quintessentially Italian musical
riff or
melody
A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...
.
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Examples of its use include
Gioachino Rossini's "
La Danza
"La danza" (Dance) (1835) is a patter song by Gioachino Rossini, in Tarantella napoletana time, the eighth song of the collection ''Les soirées musicales'' (1830–1835). The lyrics are by Count Carlo Pepoli (:it:Carlo Pepoli, it), librettist of ...
" from ''Soirées Musicales'' (1830–1835).
The tarantella was adapted into the 1950 song "Lucky, Lucky, Lucky Me" written by
Buddy Arnold and
Milton Berle
Milton Berle (born Mendel Berlinger; ; July 12, 1908 – March 27, 2002) was an American actor and comedian. His career as an entertainer spanned over 80 years, first in silent films and on stage as a child actor, then in radio, movies and tel ...
, and performed by
Evelyn Knight
Evelyn Dawn Knight (born 5 November 1942) is an English woman known for her involvement in the Abscam sting operation of the 1970s, with her ex-husband Mel Weinberg. A character inspired by her was portrayed on film by Amy Adams in '' American ...
and the
Ray Charles Band
Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...
.
See also
*
Arabian riff
"Arabian riff", also known as "The Streets of Cairo", "The Poor Little Country Maid", and "the snake charmer song", is a well-known melody, published in various forms in the nineteenth century. Alternate titles for children's songs using this m ...
, "The Streets of Cairo", "The Poor Little Country Maid", "the snake charmer song"
*
Jarabe Tapatío, the "Mexican hat dance"
*
Oriental riff
The Oriental riff, also known as the East Asian riff and the Chinaman lick, is a musical riff or phrase that has often been used in Western culture as a trope to represent the idea of China, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Taiwan, or a generic ...
, stereotypical pentatonic riff
References
Ethnic and racial stereotypes
Musical analysis
Musical terminology
Riffs
Neapolitan songs
{{Italy-music-stub