Tenores Di Bitti

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Tenores Di Bitti · Tenores di Bitti is a traditional vocal group from the village of Bitti in Sardinia. The group sings in a polyphonic style that is also described as overtone singing, and which according to tradition is thousands of years old. The tenore of Bitti is regarded as one of the best and most traditional groups on the island. There are several groups in Bitti, and the best known is the Tenore di Bitti Mialinu Pira.

Music and breakthrough

Each singer has a part of his own. The boke is the soloist and carries the melody, the bassu gives the root note, the contra sings the fifth and the mesu oke completes the chord with the note an octave above the fifth. In this way it sounds like a single rough, deep chord with the solo floating above it. The group improvises or recites poems. On their albums Romanzesu in 1993 and Ammentos in 1996 this singing reached a wider audience. On the album S'amore 'e mama, released on Real World, you can also hear ambient sounds from the places in Bitti where the recordings were made, such as churches, streets and cafés.

Influence

For pop history the group is important because it brought a centuries-old vocal tradition, by way of a world music record label, to an audience outside Sardinia.

Listening

• 
  Cantu a Ballu Seriu · Tenores Di Bitti, 1994

Discography

Studio albums

• 1993Romanzesu
• 1996Ammentos
• 1996S'amore 'e mama
• 2004Caminos de pache
• ?Intonos

See also

• Cantu a tenore