Where does the term Niggunim come from?
Niggunim (niggun in the singular form) means in Hebrew “melodies” or “arias”. They are part of the complex Jewish musicological system. It is a form of Jewish religious singing. That of the niggunim is a choral singing technique based on the repetition of the equal. It therefore uses cyclical and repeated forms to encourage the psychic abstraction and spiritual recollection of the faithful. The same verses of the Torah or some topoi of classical Jewish literature are sung in a repetitive way, in a niggun precisely, to abstract man from the material world. Some niggunim are sung as prayers of lamentation, while others can be joyful or victorious. Niggunim are particularly important in the liturgy of Chassidic Judaism, which has developed its own spiritual forms to reflect the intensity of the joy arising from spiritual recollection. It is the so-called Devekut, or “mystical joy of intense prayer”.

Roberto Paci Dalò is inspired by this form of Jewish religious song to create his own sound architecture, with a refined combination of ancient style and modern design.
In Roberto Paci Dalò’s Niggunim, the musical and electronic performances, both live, are interlaced to form a wise warp of echoes and acoustic refractions. The artist amplifies the sound of his instrument, the clarinet, through which, simultaneously, he performs. Dark and abyssal, deep and cavernous, sometimes relaxed and sometimes excited, the cyclic rhythm that derives from the successful mixture of usual and unusual forms, pushes the minds of viewers to the elsewhere. Manipulating in live electronics the sound of his own instrument, the artist creates ex novo and reconfigures from time to time new visions of worlds. The acoustic nuances multiply, chase each other, explode in a polyphony that transcends and goes beyond the time limits. It is a truly unique moment of collective meditation.

In the year 1418, from May 16 to 18, an important Jewish Congress was held in Forlì, seat of an ancient and flourishing Jewish community. The important congress, which saw the presence of the delegates of the Jewish communities of Padua, Ferrara, Bologna, the cities of Romagna and Tuscany, as well as Rome, was convened in Forli, seat of an ancient and flourishing Jewish community: there decisions were taken on the behavior (ethical and social) that the Jews should have kept and a delegation was sent to Pope Martin V for the confirmation of ancient privileges and the granting of new ones. In particular, they asked to abolish the anti-Jewish legislation wanted by the antipope Benedict XIII (Etsi doctoribus gentium). Martin accepted the requests of the congress.