Canto a Tenore – An ancient singing tradition in Sardinia

Sardinia, also known as the ‘little continent’, remains a world unto itself even in times of increasing globalisation. Ancient traditions have been preserved here that exist nowhere else in this form. A particularly impressive example of this is the Canto a Tenore, a specifically Sardinian form of music whose origins date back to the Bronze Age.

Canto a Tenore is a male preserve

These archaic Sardinian shepherd songs, which are always sung by a group of four men, sound correspondingly strange. Contrary to what the name ‘Canto a Tenore’ might suggest, however, they are by no means sung by four tenors. In this case, the word ‘tenore’ refers to this special form of singing, which has nothing in common with tenor singing as we know it from opera. Each of the four singers has a specific role. There is a lead singer (oche), the ‘half voice’ (mesu oche), which roughly corresponds to an alto voice, the contra (baritone) and the bassu (bass). The sounds produced by the four singers seem otherworldly and are difficult to describe in words. You have to hear these Sardinian songs for yourself. An impressive example is provided by the group Tenore Supramonte Orgosolo, which uses one of the caves of Supramonte as a natural resonance chamber:

Sounding UNESCO World Heritage from Sardinia

Musicologists disagree on how to classify Canto a Tenore. Some classify it as a form of polyphonic singing, while others consider it to be more akin to throat singing or overtone singing, as practised in Mongolia or Bulgaria, for example. Its cultural and historical significance is undisputed, however, which is why Canto a Tenore has been declared an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO.

Encounter with the origins of Canto a Tenore in the hinterland of Sardinia

The original home of Canto a Tenore is Barbagia, the rugged, inaccessible mountain region in the centre and east of Sardinia. This region has always been home to an indomitable shepherding people who successfully resisted Roman rule and were consequently described by Cicero as ‘barbarians’, a circumstance to which the region owes its name. Even today, Barbagia is one of the most sparsely populated areas in Europe. The Sardinian language is still predominantly spoken here, and other traditions that have long since been lost elsewhere have also been preserved. All visitors to Sardinia who want to delve deeper into the history and present of Canto a Tenore in an entertaining way are recommended to visit the ‘Museo multimediale del Canto a Tenore’. It is located in the picturesque mountain village of Bitti in the hinterland of the seaside resorts of Cala Liberotto and Orosei.

Prominent fans of Canto a Tenore Sardegna: Peter Gabriel and Frank Zappa

The Tenores de Bitti, who have collaborated with jazz greats Lester Bowie and Ornette Coleman as well as rock musicians Peter Gabriel and Frank Zappa, prove just how alive the tradition of Canto a Tenore still is in Sardinia today. The latter was a declared fan of Canto a Tenore, which he affectionately and mockingly referred to as ‘cattle music’.

With a Sardinian ‘Adiosu’, I bid you farewell for today.

Yours, Joachim Waßmann