Group:Tenore "S. Gavino" Oniferi Title of c.d.: Su Banzigu Label: Kuntzertu 2000 c.d.# K001CD http://www.kuntzertu.com Produced by: Gianluca Dessi info@kuntzertu.com

Track list 1. Su Banzigu 2. Muttos 3. Sa Leppa Pattadina 4. A Signorina S. 5. Paules De Vele 6. Unu Disisperu Amorosu 7. Fizu 'E su Giannile 8. Su Socialista A Una Bigotta 9. A S'Andira 10. Su Lamentu

Perhaps it is my Portuguese heritage, but music of the Mediterranean resonates with me. I love music from all over the world, but somehow, I hold a very special place in my heart for the music from the sun washed shores of this region of the world--North Africa to Southern Europe and all the islands--Corsica, Sicily, Sardinia, Crete, Malta, etc. This music speaks of home to me--a home with my father sitting in our living room playing a fado on his guitar. The most current c.d. titled Su Banzigu (translated as The Rocking Cradle) by the group Tenore "S. Gavino" Oniferi is a collection of traditional polyphonic acapella singing that shows that the group has matured from their first casettes in the 80's. They were very good then; they are even better now. The group is composed of three brothers: Francesco Pirisi, the group's director and sa boche (or lead vocal); Carmelo Pirisi, mesu boche (the melismatic highest voice), Giovanni Pirisi, sa contra (alto--or the 5th note of the scale), and a fourth member Raimondo Pidia, su bassu (the guttural bass). Typically in Sardinian tenore singing, the lead vocal sings the melody line and the lyrics and has the greatest vocal freedom. The lyrics can be political or speak of love, happiness, sadness, death, etc. They can be based on traditional lyrics, famous poems, or be improvised. Francesco is an excellent vocalist, his voice is resonant with ornamentation. What is characteristic about the tenore style of singing is the accompanying vocalists. They add "nonsensical sounds" that are reminiscent of Sardinian pastoral life. You can hear the bleating of goats and sheep, the braying of mules, the lowing of cattle and oxen, the sound of the wind and water--all elements of a life spent close to the natural world. These "sounds" provide not only the character of tenore singing but the rhythm. The other element of this style of singing that is unique to very few areas of the world is that the bassu and contra voices in a tenore group use the technique known as throat singing--a method produced by putting pressure on their vocal chords to produce harmonics. On Su Banzigu, Tenore "S. Gavino" Oniferi offer at least two tracks that are the trademark of the style of singing in their village of Oniferi--one of the main villages in central Sardinia that has kept the centuries old tradition of tenore singing alive. They sing a ballu thoppu (translated as "lame dance") on track #10 "Su Lamentu Pro Gisella". They also do a slow air (cantu) Track #4, "A Signorina S..." sung in a typical "a sa seria" style of their village. There are many groups both professional and amateur in Sardinia who perform the traditional tenores but among the connoisseurs of Sardinian tenore singing, the Tenore de Oniferi are considered one of the best and their appearances are a major event. A few other performers in Sardinia of interest are: organetti player Totore Chessa, singer Elena Ledda, and guitarists and vocalists Enrico Frongia and Alberto Balia and of course, the great launeddas players (an instrument unique to Sardinia). There are also some great Sardinian jazz musicians like Riccardo Lay--but that is another story!