Singing, music and dancing in Sardinia

Sardinian traditional music, both instrumental song that is one of the oldest and richest in the Mediterranean. Thanks to its long tradition, Sardinia has become a rich heritage of music and songs, which are different and characteristic for each region of the island.

On the song content

The song is a tenor singing a polyphonic four items performed without the aid of any musical instrument. Besides being a distinctive sign of precise identification for the culture of Sardinia, is one of the oldest musical traditions of the Mediterranean, is still widespread and deeply rooted in Barbagia in Marghine in Baronia or high Ogliastra.

The quartet that makes up the song is a standard format by sa bogue (voice soloist who directs the singing), and sa contra bassu (items accompanying that mark the syllables with guttural sound), sa mesa bogue (half page, is to amalgamate the chorus). The soloist begins singing, the chanting rhythm and tone, and the other members of the group followed him into a musical accompaniment arranged impressive.

The track usually rimata is a poem that is performed in different ways depending on the metric that is set will can sing a longa or bogue bogue and 'night, which provides a more serene and melancholic. Or a sa seria, with large and clear execution of the text, or bogue Lestra, rhythmic song for dance. Very nice it is on dillu, lively song to dance, and mutu, poetic form which is specific wording in executive mode.

The area of present distribution of the song is quite content to wide and includes more than sixty countries in the north of the center, each community has developed over time a code, a local musical language, and each community is thus a different way to sing a tenor. Live performances of singing a tenor can be heard especially in the summer, during the festival patron.

Today, thanks to the efforts of groups such as the Bitti and Tenores Tenores of Neoneli, singing a tenor is known throughout the world, so that in 2005 was r ECOGNITION by UNESCO as oral and intangible heritage of Humanity.

Cantu to chiterra

In Gallura Logudoro and has spread to the cantu chiterra, a particular type of song was born from contact between the musical traditions Aragonese and Spanish, and Sardinian-logudoresi. The guitar, from Spain and widespread the island as early as 700, with the voice of cantadore stresses and the most virtuous, the guitar is sometimes accompanied by accordion. There are different types of cantu a chiterra, the most common are the Mutu, the Canto (bogue) in D, the Nuorese, the Corsicana, the Tempiesina and Firugnana. This type of hand is practiced in many occasions, especially in village festivals, during the which the most talented singers take turns and sometimes lead to real competition between cantadores.

Traditional musical instruments

The most typical of the tools is sardi sa launedda, wind instrument dating back to polifono nuragica still used in processions and dances. The tool, which still retains its original structure, is formed by three rods of different length, a length of 60 cm, said tumbu which produces serious note, a second tube of about half that Mancos (ie mancina since played with the left hand), who intones the hymn, and just over a third Short of this, that mancosedda (or dextrin, as played with the right hand), which accompanies the song, and the Mancos and mancosedda are equipped with four rectangular holes.

Widespread in Sardinia is the use of 'diatonic accordion (organittu or sonu), a small accordion used to accompany singing monodic. L 'organittu is the primary tool for on ballu tundu (round dance), the most characteristic dances of sardines, whose name contains the image of the dancers gathered in a circle. In Sardinia, the dance is an integral part of religious and folk festivals, is accompanied by the sound of instruments, both for the rhythm of singing a tenor.

During religious events for Holy Week are used i s zaccareddas, also known as arranas Strocchi (literally "mimic frogs"), ranixeddas or reulas, and is matraccas that symbolize, by their great, the insults directed at Jesus on the road the ordeal. Other two instruments are still used lu piffaru, a small flute made of wood or metal, and lu tamburu, a drum which is played with two sticks, both during de li Faradda candlesticks Sassarese, before the parade in costume and give the Gremi the pace to carry the candlesticks.

Other instruments, which can be found in the dances and festivals are on solittu (breath, breath), a wind instrument, sa trunfa (the game) on pipaiolu, a pipe-like zufolo of the shepherds on tamburinu, a typical drum Aidomaggiore and Gavoi, sa clamp, consisting of a large barrel, a bag and a swollen tight rope that is rubbed with a bow of a shrub called evergreen tree.