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ZUIGHES – Sardinian “Tenores” of Neoneli Concert – FREE EVENT

With multi-instrumentalist Orlando Mascia

FREE tickets registration: http://tinyurl.com/o766uhvThe “Coro a Tenores CULTURA POPOLARE di Neoneli” was founded in September 1976 at the initiative of Tonino Cau, the only one of the remaining founders who is still conducting his quartet.The group was founded to save the only form of atavic tenor singing, or cuncordu a sa neunelesa that risked disappearing from everyone’s memory, since even the old cantadores hardly sang anymore.Thanks to the indispensable old cantadores guide it has been possible to rebuild exactly the most traditional forms, the technical originals of “su cuncordu neunelesu”. 

It has always been said that the group’s formation thrives from these oral traditions (it has always been this way) of elements that find a starting point in daily life and in real society, therefore the traditional hereditary songs have to be protected and sung, especially if they are of poetic, stylistic value. But nonetheless it seemed, and seems more so today, that the best way to retain and bring to life the millenary tenor singing tradition is to put new and up-to-date content into the songs’ text, using musical forms codified throughout the years. Originally the Neoneli Choir prepared pieces written by the sole Tonino Cau, along with some traditional texts which they continue invariably to sing. This was already an innovation in itself, but afterwards all the members of the choir started composing some texts attracted by the desire to write: for this reason, today the quartet is called (the poets choir) “il coro dei poeti”.

Their songs talk about the environment and emigration, of drugs and discrimination, of pyromania and false balentes, of coastal havoc and charge of abuse, of peace, violence and old age, love, natural beauty, and so on.Therefore to synthesise: traditional unchanged singing forms, some traditional texts which were attained from oral traditions of unvalued beauty, and above all present texts written by us on the above mentioned subjects.

The group doesn’t limit itself to re-proposing musical themes of historical memory: it has also invented happy melodies sometimes enriched by acoustics produced by traditional instruments (launeddas, trunfa, solitu), but also by modern instruments (guitars, mandolins, banjos, percussion instruments) played by artists who time after time take part in the concerts.

   Traditions

The origin of the Sardinian tenor singing (Su tenore) is a hypothesis, being it very ancient and lacking any written testimonies, although for a long time famous anthropologists have tried to find it unmistakably. Most of their theories would lead to believe that tenor singing began almost as an imitation of peculiar sounds and noises typical of the Sardinian countryside: bleating, neighing, grunts, bellows, call and whistles. This way of singing exists only in Sardinia, and in past times it was surely widespread in most of the island while nowadays it remains alive and vital only in the inland, the Barbagia and its neighbouring areas. The town of Neoneli is situated in one of these. “Su tenore” consists, in its most simple structure, of four elements: the bass (su basciu), the contralto (sa contra), the mid-voice (sa mesu boghe) and the soloist voice (sa boghe). Sometimes, there may be more than one soloist voice, but in this case only one of them sings at a time. The singing is “commanded” by the “sa boghe” who intones the song, emitting strange guttural dialectic phonetics without any sense (e.g. bombò, bomborò, billara, bimbara…) which vary from region to region with precise rhythms. These as well change from town to town. The traditional rhythms of a typical Neonelian tenor are: a sa seria, a passu torrau, a ballu tundu, a passu ‘e trese, a ballu tzopu, a mutos, a gocios, a bogh’e note.

 

   The Members

Tonino CauBorn in 1955, founder and group organiser, he still composes most of the texts. He is the coordinator of the ANAP professional formation school at Santa Giusta. In the choir he plays the role of the bass (su basciu). He is the author of the books “VERSOS DE CUNCORDIA, Storia e canzoni del Coro di Neoneli”, “ISTEDDOS, Rimas e logos amenos”, “VITE FUORI, Storie sconosciute di sardi lontani” (with Paolo Pillonca) and of the video “TERRA NOSTRA, Coro di Neoneli: un contributo per l’ambiente”.

Nicola LoiBorn in 1958,he has been part of the group since 1977 and plays the role of contralto (sa contra). He is a school employee by profession. He plays the Jew’s harp (sa trunfa) with exceptional skills and is the author of some of the choir’s repertoire songs.

Ivo MarrasBorn in 1954, he teaches physical education. He is the mid-voice (sa mesu boghe) of the group which he has been a member of since 1979. Also a skilful trunfa and triangle (triangulu) player, he is the author of some of the choir’s repertoire songs as well.

Angelo PirasBorn in 1984, he is a building surveyor. Gifted with a warm intense attractive voice, pre-eminently Sardinian, he is in fact the soloist voice, sa boghe, determinant role. He passes gracefully from classic tenor singing to contralto. Some of the choir’s repertoire songs are his.


Orlando MasciaBorn in 1959, he is one of the best multi-instrumentalists of Sardinia, a magical launeddas player. He collaborates with the choir of Neoneli since 1997.   ZUIGHES

The group avails itself of the precious collaboration of multi-instrumentalist Orlando Mascia, an excellent Launeddas player, and also an able Jew’s harp (trunfa), diatonic organ (organitu), shepherd’s flute (solitu), Sardinian tambourine (tumborro) and guitar (chiterra) player.As a quintet, the formation is able to present some songs accompanied by Orlando’s instruments, but above all to perform others which would be impossible to perform in four. This surprisingly enriches the concert’s artistic value.The word “ZUIGHES” in Logudoresian means tenor singing, but also harmony. ZUIGHES is a varied concert in which different sounds, cadenzas, rhythms and melodies alternate. The lyrics are mainly historical themes of Sardinia.

Artistic Director: Tonino Cau

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