November 12th, 2007

European Music from RoyaltyFreeMusic.com

The European Traditions album features many different traditional pieces of stock music that are interpretations of beloved European music pieces from France and Italy. These royalty free music tracks link listeners to the past with beautiful background music interpretations of Italian and French dances, arias and movie music performed by distinctive instruments such as accordion, strings, mandolin. But where did this background music and European music originate?

One of the most exciting pieces of background music in this unique album is the "Tarantella," presented in four different lengths for easy incorporation as background music in a variety of projects. The tarantella - otherwise known as the tarantelle, tarentelle and tarantel - is a traditional southern Italian dance that is marked by the rapid dancing of couples in a circle. This European music piece can be heard in several variations, including one originating in Napoli, one in Sicily and also an Apulian and Calabrian style. Typically this rapid dance is led by a central singer/speaker that directs the couples as they dance, but it can also be purely instrumental.

The tarantella dates back to the Middle Ages and was perhaps an even older form of background music for a dance. This piece of European music is named after the southern Italian town Tarantro and is typically connected to the very large local wolf spider or tarantula spider. During the Middle Ages and afterwards, the only known cure for its poisonous bite was wild dancing. Some legends of this piece of European music declared that the dance was necessary in order to prevent death, though the spiders are not aggressive and avoid human contact. Still, according to a local legend in southern Italy, there was an outbreak of tarantula poisonings throughout Tarantro among farm women and those that might daily come into contact with spiders in the fields. These victims were known to dance to mandolins and tambourines in the village, testing out a variety of rhythms until one was successful at curing the ailment. Because dancing alone was considered unlucky during this time, the Tarantella was always a couples dance, performed in a clockwise circle until the music changed or became faster at which point the couples would change direction. Regardless of the reasons behind the Tarantella, it became a popular form of background music for dances in Italy and thus is well-represented by this album of royalty free music designed to commemorate traditional European music styles.

"O Sole Mio," in this album of royalty free music called "O Solo Mio" is another popular song from Napoli, southern Italy, and its words were originally written in a Neopolitan dialect. While the piece's true origins are not known, many believe it was meant to be a serenade that would have been sung to a loved one. However, many famous tenors, from Caruso to Pavarotti have sung the song like an operatic aria. The stock music interpretation of this beloved piece in this album of European music is instrumental, featuring flute, clarinet and accordion to give it a truly "Old World," romantic feel. The melody of the song is immediately recognizable, having become popularized in the U.S. by Elvis Presley. Lyricists Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold created new lyrics in "It's Now or Never" to combine Italian and English versions of the background music piece.

A stock music version of the popular French children's song "Frere Jacques" is also present in this rich album of European music. This song is usually sung as either a simple melody or as a round with up to four parts, but here is presented like a lullaby by a variety of orchestral instruments, including clarinet and strings. "Frere Jacques" is well known in English-speaking countries in both its original French and in English. Many other translations exist, both that closely match the original French and those that have been altered in order to better fit a rhyme scheme, syllable structure or resonance. This piece is thought to be a lullaby about an attempt to wake an oversleeping brother, but some scholars believe it could also be a command to a friar or monk that he perform the duties of ringing the bells to call people to morning prayers.

"Santa Lucia" is another traditional Italian song from Napoli on this European music album. Originally written by Enrico Caruso, it is an ode dedicated to the city of Napoli and particularly the Santa Lucia region that sits on the Gulf of Napoli. This royalty free music rendition features no lyrics, but the original lyrics are meant to be sung by a boatman describing the view from Santa Lucia at night. This stock music album features the lyrical melodies and harmonies of "Santa Lucia" as played by flute, accordion and acoustic guitar, which give it a very "folksy" and familiar feeling.

The last piece of traditional French music in this background music album is "Sur le Pont." "Sur le pont d'Avignon," its longer title is a French song about the Pont d'Avignon and goes back to the 16th Century. The piece of European music was composed by Pierre Certon in the 1500's, but with a quite different melody than is used today and than appears in this collection of stock music. Its original title was "Sus le Pont d'Avignon." The modern version comes from the mid-19th Century and is based on an interpretation by Adolphe Adam who included it in an operetta he wrote in 1853 called "lAuberge Pleine." It became popular when it was included in yet another operetta composed in 1876 and was renamed with its current title "Sur le Pont d'Avignon."

Those looking to add very traditional European music to their background music libraries will find all they are seeking in this authentic collection of royalty free music and stock music which, besides these traditional pieces also features many different tracks of original music that borrows the stylistic elements of French and Italian folk music as well as movie music from the mid-20th Century.

NEW! -   Music Tutorials

Are you a Composer, Musician, Band, Flash or Video Artist that would like to be featured on Royalty Free Music.com? If so, click here