Sara Maria Fantini

I grew up drawn to the sounds of distant times and worlds. Throughout the years, I trained in plucked string instruments (mainly lute, gittern, oud) and singing with inspiring teachers like Peppe Frana, Yurdal Tokcan, Francesca Breschi, Patrizia Bovi, Ross Daly and Evgenios Voulgaris. My academic path includes master's degrees in Medieval lute from the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis, under the guidance of Marc Lewon, and in Musicology from the University of Pavia - Cremona, and a PhD in Romance Philology, earned in joint supervision between the University of Siena and the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris.

Since 2012, I've shared stages across Italy and Europe with ensembles like Rubens Rosa, Micrologus, Oneiroï and many others. In 2019 I founded Fragmenta, a project born from a desire to recover and breathe life into forgotten repertoires from the 13th to the 15th centuries.

My work moves between the manuscript and the stage, always searching for a dialogue between distant times and the present moment. I'm drawn to rare, fragmentary sources — music found in the margins, forgotten sounds and lost voices — and to the question of what happens when these melodies meet our sensitivity, our creativity and the world we live in today.

Alongside my performance work, I love sharing what I discover along the way with learners of all ages and backgrounds. Over the years I've been fortunate to collaborate with institutions such as the Fondation Royaumont and the Jeunesses Musicales de France, as well as universities and research centres, on outreach projects and workshops exploring medieval music — for young audiences, amateur musicians, and professionals working in other repertoires.