ABSTRACT
The issue of using audiovisual documentation in ethno musicological research has a long history. In European ethnomusicology, this interest can be traced back to the work of a few pioneers, in particular a seminal paper, 'Esquisse d'une method de folklore musical', in which the Romanian scholar Constantin Brailoiu stresses the importance of the use of photographs and images in musical ethnography. Carpitella was the first to use film documentation in Italian ethnomusicology, with his Beaulieu camera; he shot images of the choreutic-musical therapy of Apulian tarantismo, documenting the 'two phases' of the tarantata dance. Later, Carpitella pursued his interest in visual ethnomusicology, making several documentary films and becoming President of the Associazione Italiana di Cinematografia Scientifica (AICS), organizing the Giornate del film etnografico with AICS and the Istituto delle Tradizioni popolari/Etnomusicologia dell'Universita di Roma 'La Sapienza', and later the MAV at the Museo Nazionale delle Arti e Tradizioni Popolari.
