Folk music revivals can occur in any nation with musical traditions. In a land as old as Italy, the distinction between folk and early music can be moot. Newpoli, founded by homesick Italian students at the Berklee College of Music, explores the passionate vocals, hypnotic rhythms and medieval cadences of Southern Italy. Some of the melodies collected for their lively new CD might date to times when Greeks and Arabs ruled the region while other tunes are newer—penned a century ago. All performances are fully engaged, not museum pieces but part of a living tradition.
