Bettina Joy de Guzman (https://www.bettinajoydeguzman.com) is a multi-instrumentalist and Classicist, composing with replica ancient music instruments and ancient poetry, based on study and research. She collaborates with an interdisciplinary, international group of Classicists, musicologists, archaeologists, and instrumentalists who experiment with making and playing ancient instrument replicas, and research ancient music. She is a highly energetic and dynamic performer, and her concerts explore the musical transposition of ancient poetry and brand-new compositions inspired by antiquity. Bettina is presenting to the Italian Licei students who attend the Sapienza professional training (Italian PCTO course) her multiple skills, creations, and experience with ancient music and replica instruments. The video also includes the very first presentation of the artistic process embedded in the music she created in collaboration with Angela Cinalli on the concept of the PoetiVaganti project. For the PoetiVaganti project, Bettina has re-purposed a song she wrote for a stage performance in New York where Aphrodite is summoned by means of Sappho’s verses. Sparking from a brainstorm with Angela Cinalli, Bettina has re-adapted the Aphrodite instrumental part to some selected lines coming from epigraphs regarding itinerant artists from the Hellenistic period. As a form of reconversion and contemporary reperformance, this piece is an example of ancient music reception. Bettina and Angela give new purpose to meaningful texts about ancient performers of music and poetry by putting them to music, so that these ancient artists’ deeds will shine anew in modern times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLami4nTYR4
Video of the lecture Bettina held at Sapienza
