The Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare (literally "New Company of Folk Song"), also known by the acronym NCCP, is an Italian folk group, founded in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

in 1969.

History

The musical project was founded by musicians

Eugenio Bennato Eugenio Bennato (born 16 March 1948) is an Italian folk musician and songwriter. He is the brother of the musician Edoardo Bennato. Biography In 1969, he cofounded the folk band ''Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare'', discovered by the author Ed ...

, Carlo D’Angiò and Giovanni Mauriello with the aim of research and spread ancient traditional music from

Campania Campania (, also , , , ) is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islands and the i ...

and more generally from South Italy. Thanks to the encounter with the ethnomusicologist

Roberto De Simone Roberto De Simone (born 25 August 1933) is an Italian stage director, playwright, composer and ethnomusicologist. Life and career Born in Naples, after graduating in piano and composition at the San Pietro a Maiella Conservatory De Simone star ...

, the group eventually focused their research on Neapolitan vocal genres from the 15th and 16th centuries such as tammuriate, fronne and serenate.Alessia Pistolini. "Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare". Enrico Deregibus (edited by). ''Dizionario completo della Canzone Italiana''. Giunti Editore, 2010. pp. 341-2. .Alessia Pistolini. "Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare". Gino Castaldo (edited by). ''Dizionario della canzone italiana''. Curcio Editore, 1990. pp. 1210–1214.

NCCP made their discographic debut in 1971 with a self-titled critically acclaimed album, in which they recuperated lost songs which had survived only in the form of ancient manuscripts and used forgotten musical instruments such as tammorra and mandoloncello. In 1972 they made their live debut at the

Festival of Two Worlds The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conce ...

Spoleto Spoleto (, also , , ; la, Spoletum) is an ancient city in the Italian province of Perugia in east-central Umbria on a foothill of the Apennines. It is S. of Trevi, N. of Terni, SE of Perugia; SE of Florence; and N of Rome. History Spolet ...

and then started an intense theatrical activity. While new components joined the project, the same year D'angiò left the group, followed by the departure of Bennato in 1976. The same year the couple founded the musical project Musicanova, while NCCP got a large success thanks to the De Simone's musical "La Gatta Cenerentola". Passing through various lineup changes, in the 1980s NCCP slowed their activities, recording only an album in eleven years. They had a resurgence in the early 1990s, in conjunction with the rise of the world music genre, when they upstaged their activity of research and embraced a production of original music. In 1992 NCCP entered the competition at the 42nd edition of the

Sanremo Music Festival The Sanremo Music Festival, officially the Italian Song Festival () and commonly known as just (), is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo, Liguria. It is the longest-running annual ...

, winning the critic's award with the song "Pe' dispietto". In the following years, collaborated with several artists including

Angelo Branduardi Angelo Branduardi (born 12 February 1950) is an Italian folk/folk rock singer-songwriter and composer who scored relative success in Italy and European countries such as France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands and Greece. Biography Branduardi wa ...

and Zulù, participated to the 48th Sanremo Music Festival with the song "Sotto il velo del cielo", and toured extensively.

Discography

;Album * 1971: ''Nuova Compagnia di Canto Popolare'' (Rare, RAR LP 55011) * 1973: ''NCCP'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-17900) * 1974: ''Li sarracini adorano lu sole'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18026) * 1975: ''Tarantella ca nun va 'bbona'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18133) * 1976: ''La gatta Cenerentola'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18215/216 * 1977: ''11 mesi e 29 giorni'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18295) * 1977: ''La cantata dei pastori'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18300) * 1978: ''Aggio girato lu munno'' (EMI Italiana, 3C064-18368) * 1981: ''Storie di Fantanasia'' (Panarecord) * 1992: ''Medina'' (CGD) * 1995: ''Tzigari'' (CGD) * 1996: ''InCanto Acustico'' (CGD) * 1998: ''Pesce d' 'o Mare'' (EMI Italiana) * 2001: ''La Voce del Grano'' (Forrest Hill Records) * 2005: ''Candelora'' (Rai Trade) * 2011: ''Live in Munich'' (Panclassics) * 2016: ''50 anni in buona compagnia'' (FoxBand)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Italian folk music groups Musical groups established in 1967 World music groups 1967 establishments in Italy