Singer and composer Amelia Cuni (1958-2024) was the first European woman to pursue a professional career in the male-dominated field of dhrupad, a music genre rooted in the temple and court traditions of pre-modern South Asia. Cuni’s pioneering work not only continues to inspire generations of Westerners but also gave dhrupad a contemporary orientation, also influenced by her experiences with avant-garde music.

This CD book, twelve edition of the editorial series “Intersezioni Musicali” edited and curated by the Intercultural Institute for Comparative Music Studies is a sonic and written tribute to the artist who recently passed away. The volume includes a recording of a concert that Amelia Cuni performed in Venice in 2000, along with a text by Giovanni Giuriati that describes the long-standing role of the Institute (IICMS) of the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in fostering South Asian music and dance traditions. This publication is complemented by Francesca Cassio’s essay on dhrupad, which helps situate Amelia Cuni’s biography and recordings in the specific historical and musicological contexts. The audio tracks on the CD can also be accessed through the QR code in the book or on the publisher’s website.

Francesca Cassio, ethnomusicologist, is Full Professor at Hofstra University, Long Island, United States, where she also serves as the Sardarni Harbans Kaur Chair in Sikh Musicology. She has conducted extensive ethnographic research in India, focusing on the Dāgar and Gurbānī dhrupad traditions, of which she is also an accomplished performer. Author of a monograph on dhrupad, Cassio has published several essays on the musics of the Indian subcontinent from the precolonial traditions to those of the contemporary diaspora.