Meaning of cantu a tenore | Babel Free

Definitions

A style of a capella vocal music native to Sardinia featuring a quartet of men singing a four-part harmony, and is characteristic for its use of throat singing.

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Examples

“Cantu a tenore (Canto a tenore in Italian) is a type of localized, multipart singing based on chords that is found in areas of the island of Sardinia (Macchiarella 2008).[…]The Sardinian term cantu a tenore describes the local variants practised in some 80 villages of the centre-north of the island;[…]On 25 November 2005 Unesco included the Canto a tenore in the Third ‘Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity’.”

“If ever music could encapsulate the spirit of Sardinia’s rugged mountains and pastoral landscapes, it is canto a tenore. It is performed by a four-part male choir, the tenores, made up of sa oghe (the soloist and lead voice), su bassu (bass), sa contra (contralto) and sa mesu oghe (countertenor).[…]Canto a tenore is most popular in the centre and north of the island, with the best-known groups coming from the Barbagia region.”

“Zappa had been “astonished” by the recordings of the cantu a tenore, the chilling polyphonic singing quartets fashioned traditionally by shepherds. UNESCO enshrined the vocal skills and ancient songs as part of the “intangible cultural heritage of humanity.””

CEFR level