Italy, South France, Spain, Flamenco, Guitar

The five short chapters were written for the encyclopedia for children kidepedia, in the volume on the Mediterranean and the Balkans, and deal with the folk music of the western Mediterranean. The chapter on Italy examines songs that tell stories, women as the bearers of the songs, and the kinship with Greek music. The chapter on Southern France presents the wandering musicians and the troubadours, instruments such as the cabrette and the tambourin à cordes, and folk song. Spain appears as a crossroads of musics and cultures, with song and dance for every occasion. These are followed by flamenco, born in Andalusia among people on the margins of society, and the guitar, from its folk use in the Mediterranean and in Greece to contemporary music.