Switzerland - Maqeda Tour 2019 for Atse Tewodros Project
The Atse Tewodros Project is plan, coordinated by writer and performer Gabriella Ghermandi, that shapes musical collaborations between Ethiopian and Italian musicians.
Eight musicians are involved in the project. Three of them are Italian: Fabrizio Puglisi on piano, Tommy Ruggero on drums, and Camilla Missio on bass. Four are traditional Ethiopian musicians: Endris Hassen on one-string bowed lute “Masinko”, Misale Legesse on traditional Ethiopian drums, Abu Gebre on traditional bamboo flute "Washint", Anteneh Teklemariam on traditional six-string lyre “Kirar”, and the project conceiver, Italian-Ethiopian artist Gabriella Ghermandi, voice.
The project takes as its symbol Emperor Tewodros, a man who was not of imperial lineage, but managed to gain the throne through willpower and charisma, breaking with centuries of custom. He was the first Emperor who gave Ethiopia the chance to modernize while respecting its traditions.
The Atse Tewodros Project ensamble is now engaged in the Maqeda Tour 2019.
After a concert in Berlin, Germany in September, the musicians perform in Switzerland, in Flawil on October 11th, and in Lugano on October 12th within the 6th edition of the Human Rights Film Festival Lugano.
In late October, the Maqeda Tour will go on in Addis Ababa.
Maqeda is the Ethiopian name for the Queen of Sheba, the one who, according to the Ethiopian epic legend, shouted defiance at King Solomon on their mutual knowledges. Gabriella Ghermandi has chosen her name because the new musical pieces proposed in the concerts are dedicated to historical and mythological Ethiopian women.
After a journey in Ethiopia last Spring, Gabriella Guermandi recovered songs of women of different ethnic groups, then transcribed with local composers. The pieces have been reworked by the Atse Tewodros Project ensemble in a modern reinterpretation, but in full respect of tradition.
The project is supported by MiBAC’s MigrArti call and Emilia-Romagna Region Culture Dept.