Folk Songs | 24 Feb 2026

Black is the Colour is the opening track of Luciano Berio’s Folk Songs, a cycle that will be performed this Tuesday in the Sala Suggia by soprano Eduarda Melo, accompanied by the Remix Ensemble.

Believed to have originated in Scotland, the song is thought to have reached the Appalachian Mountains, where it evolved over the generations. Collected in 1916 by Cecil Sharp, the melody that would eventually become best known was written by John Jacob Niles, a renowned singer-songwriter who collected ballads and traditional songs across the United States.

It was precisely this version that Berio chose for his Folk Songs. Whilst on Niles’ recordings we hear his almost ghostly voice accompanied only by a dulcimer, in Berio’s arrangement we essentially hear two instruments accompanying the singing: the viola, imitating a folk violin, and the harp, which echoes Niles’ dulcimer.

Other singers, such as Joan Baez and Nina Simone, each in their own way, also included this song in their repertoires. 

The journey through diverse landscapes, languages and musical traditions, guided by Berio, is scheduled for this Tuesday at 7.30 pm. The Remix Ensemble’s programme is rounded off with works by Daniel Martinho, Hèctor Parra, François-Bernard Mâche and Johannes Schöllhorn.