Music played a significant role in the conversion to Judaism of a small group of Catholics in Sannicandro Garganico, a village located in Northern Apulia, Italy. At the end of the 1920s, Donato Manduzio (1885- 1948), a quasi illiterate cobbler, decided to start a new religious movement, possibly inspired by the revelatory and prophetic nature of Protestant confessions that had made proselytes in early twentieth century Southern Italy.
In spite of its very strong messianic orientation, Manduzio soon rejected the Christological tradition and stressed instead the literal observance of most of the prescriptions contained in the Pentateuch. When in 1946 his followers and he officially converted to Judaism, a proper ritual had already been established and put into practice in Sannicandro. Services were performed in Italian, and hymns were written either by Manduzio or by the women of the group. After most of the Jews of Sannicandro made aliyah in the aftermath of the establishment of the State of Israel, the ritual in Sannicandro came to be performed exclusively by women.
The songs of the Sannicandro Jews were recorded in the 1950s in Israel by Leo Levi (1912-1982). A new recording has been made available by Francesco Lotoro and Paolo Candido, who, in their volume, offer a transcription of the autograph manuscripts of the "Hymnal" of Donato Manduzio and provide new and interesting insights into the importance of music in the Sannicandro community.
