Original English curriculum — historical source, not a new translation

The original English curriculum is reproduced as a historical document. Some claims conflict with the contemporary 2009–2010 correspondence and with the original Italian curriculum (including education and performance-title details). Its wording is retained; it must not supersede the contemporaneous evidence.

Màntica

Mantica was founded in 2009, after close collaboration between Rico Rocio Romero (composition, vocals), Alessandro Gulino (composition and electronic music) and Vincenzo Scorza (composition and electronic music).

They work together for the first time in La voce del Corpo, invited by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna. This projects will debut, Alba 1.0, blending electronic music with the purest flamenco: alegría, tango and soleá.

A month after the Festival of Contemporary Music Per Aspera invites Màntica to participate in their second edition offer them two dates in the bill, having as a backdrop the Piccolo Teatro Storico Mazzacorati, Bologna. In this edition, will present an evolution of their previous project: Alba 2.0.

In January 2010, gives a concert during HeroeShima one of the artistic events related to the Fiera Internazionale dell ‘Arte di Bologna, ArteFiera.

Màntica participates in the III th June 2010 edition of the Festival of Contemporary Music Per Aspera, Bologna, having as a backdrop, the Piccolo TeatroStorico Mazzacorati, Bologna.

Alessandro Gulino, is pure electronic. He was formed in Milan in the IET (Istituto Europeo di Musica Elettronica). He is a sound designer and has worked with visual artists creating sound environments and musical structures for projects of theatrical performance, dance and theater.

Rocio Romero Rico, has a “throat flamenca” and academic opera training. Flamenco and pop at the begining in Spain, to enrich later with the Italian school of opera orthodox. The acoustic pop, experimental contemporary vocal and the lyrics were the differents ways before arriving to Màntica.

Vincenzo Scorza, his academic training is divided between the IET of Milan (Istituto Europeo di Musica Elettronica) and the Conservatory of Bologna. He’s a sound designers and during his musical path has been working on the composition of the electronic breakbeat, going into the hip hop, IDM braindance /, mashup, glitch and contemporary. He has worked in theater, dance productions and digital audio.

Original English curriculum.

Màntica is a performance project developed by Rocío Rico Romero, Alessandro Gulino and Vincenzo Scorza. In the earliest public records from 2009, the trio appears as Gulino–Rico–Scorza; the name Màntica was adopted subsequently.

The work connects voice, electronics, sound design and improvisation, evolving through several performances and versions.

Documented lineup and contributions:

• Rocío Rico Romero — voice;
• Alessandro Gulino — sound design / live electronics;
• Vincenzo Scorza — sound design / live electronics / performance; Scorza also contributed to music production.

Documented works

• Untitled — 2009;
• ALBA — 2009, developing the preceding work;
• ALBA 2.0 — 2010, a further development of ALBA;
• Architettura in Sol# Minore — 2010.

Documented public presentations

• 28 April 2009 — Untitled, Luogo in-interrotto / La Voce del Corpo – Gradus I, Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna;
• 23 June 2009 — ALBA, perAspera, Villa Aldrovandi Mazzacorati, Bologna;
• 30 January 2010 — ALBA 2.0, HeroeShima, 2bo, Bologna;
• 17 June 2010 — Architettura in Sol# Minore, perAspera, Villa Aldrovandi Mazzacorati, Bologna;
• 23 October 2010 — private live performance, Bologna;
• 8 February 2011 — Godot Wine Bar;
• 9 March 2011 — CosaOrdino Live Show #01, Alma Winter / Piazza Verdi, Bologna;
• 10 May 2011 — perAspera adOro, Cassero, Bologna.

Releases and periodisation

In 2010, the project produced a self-release also documented as Màntica Demo 2010. The members’ original records place the formation of the group in early 2009; this founding period is distinct from the dates of the individual performances.

Historical original: Curriculum Màntica ITA

The group’s archival curriculum introduces the project in these terms (English editorial translation of the surviving original Italian text, not an original English author quotation):

Màntica originated in 2009 from the close collaboration between Rocío Rico Romero (voice), Alessandro Gulino (live electronics) and Vincenzo Scorza (live electronics).

They first worked together in 2009 for La Voce del Corpo, invited by the Accademia di Belle Arti di Bologna. For this debut project, Alba, they combined electronic sounds with authentic flamenco vocals: alegría, tango and soleá.

A month later, the organisers of the second edition of the performing-arts festival perAspera invited Màntica to give two concerts at the historic theatre of Villa Mazzacorati in Bologna. The group’s account describes the work presented there as an evolution titled Alba 2.0.

In January 2010 the group was invited to HeroeShima, one of the events connected with Bologna’s international contemporary-art fair, ArteFiera.

In June 2010 the group returned to the third edition of perAspera with the live performance Architettura in Sol# minore.

In November 2010 they produced their first demo, seeking to bring together what they had learned in live performance and in the studio.

Source qualification: This retrospective curriculum is retained as an authentic historical document, but its assignment of Alba 2.0 to perAspera 2009 conflicts with the original material sent to the event organisers. The original English and Spanish curriculum versions are also preserved as archival sources.

Cross-check against contemporaneous submissions, 2009–2010

The records sent at the time are more precise about the titles than the later curriculum. On 15 April 2009, Alessandro Gulino submitted Untitled as the title of the Gulino–Rico–Scorza trio’s work for La Voce del Corpo. On 9 June 2009, Rocío Rico Romero wrote to the perAspera organisers explicitly identifying the new work as ALBA, a development of the earlier performance. Her contemporary text describes an improvisational practice combining flamenco vocal technique and electronics.

On 29 December 2009, Vincenzo Scorza informed Gianni Scardovi that the ensemble had settled on the name Màntica and that the performance title for HeroeShima was Alba 2.0. On 17 January 2010, he supplied an original artistic description of the developed piece. Correspondence from April 2010 documents the emergence of the title Architettura in Sol# Minore.

Documented sequence: Untitled (April 2009) → ALBA (June 2009) → ALBA 2.0 (attested under this name from December 2009) → Architettura in Sol# Minore (2010). The retrospective curriculum remains intact as a source, but its retrospective dating of ALBA 2.0 to June 2009 does not override the titles actually provided to organisers at the time. No further performances are inferred from this reconciliation.