“Cantu a tenore is four voices that become one. It isn't harmony in the classical sense — it's something older, something that comes from before written music. The first time you hear it, something changes inside you.”
Cantu a tenore is the male polyphonic singing of the Barbagia and central Sardinia: four voices (sa boche, sa mesu boche, sa contra, su bassu) that UNESCO proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005, before inscribing it on the Representative List in 2008. The guttural voices of the contra and bassu give it an unmistakable sound that you recognise after just a few notes.
You don't learn it at a conservatoire — you learn it in su zilleri (the village bar), in wine cellars and at festivals, in the evening, among men who have known each other all their lives. It is a social, communal song that has survived for centuries in the villages of the interior. It is still alive today — and hearing it live in a courtyard in Oliena or Orgosolo is an experience you won't forget.
In 2005 UNESCO proclaimed Sardinian cantu a tenore a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity; in 2008 it was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage — the same list that today includes Spanish flamenco and Japanese Nō theatre. The UNESCO entry names the Barbagia and central Sardinia as the area where most of the singers live; among the villages with the best-known tenores are Oliena, Orgosolo, Bitti and Fonni.
Launeddas are a wind instrument made of three reed pipes of different lengths: su tumbu (the drone, with no finger holes) and sa mancosa are bound together, while sa mancosedda, which is free, is played with the right hand and carries the melody. They are played with circular breathing (breathing in through the nose while blowing, so the sound never stops). According to some scholars they date back to the Nuragic age: a small bronze figure found in Ittiri, now in the National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, is often cited as evidence.
The sound is hypnotic and continuous — a low melody and a drone weaving together without pause. Launeddas have always accompanied traditional Sardinian dances (sa dansa, su ballu) and religious ceremonies. The tradition is rooted mainly in south-central Sardinia — Cabras, San Vito, Villaputzu, the Trexenta — and it's there, at village patron saint festivals, that you'll hear them most often. Players are few, but masters and young pupils keep the school alive.
During the Cortes Apertas the tenores perform in the squares and open courtyards of the villages. They're often not scheduled concerts but spontaneous performances: follow the sound and the crowd.
On 28 April, Sa Die de sa Sardigna (the day of the Sardinian people), many villages organise traditional dancing, concerts and gatherings: check the programme of the municipality you're staying in. It can be a chance to see traditional costumes actually being worn.
Bitti's multimedia Canto a Tenore Museum, part of the Museum of Rural and Pastoral Life, tells the story of the singing through recordings and documents. The Tenores di Bitti are among the best-known groups abroad. Check the museum's opening hours and concert calendar before you go.
The patron saint festivals of the Barbagia villages almost always include traditional music and dancing. September and October are full of local festivals: ask locally for up-to-date programmes.
Would you like to plan a stay in Sardinia around a Cortes Apertas with music? Message us: we'll help you match the dates with your holiday home.
