Search - Tenores Di Bitti, Michael Brook :: S' Amore 'E Mama

Traditional Sardinian Sheepherding Music

Barbara J. Chaplin | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan Canada | 03/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Tenores di Bitti are a group of four male singers from the Italian island of Sardinia. This music is very old: probably its origins are as far back as the pre-Christian era; supposedly, it comes from the songs of sheep and goat herders. From this, don't expect light-hearted, lilting melodies played on a flute. Rather, it sounds something like a combination of Gregorian chant and Tuvan throat-singing. Although strange, its sound is definitely less weird than that of Huun-Huur-Tu, the most famous exponent of Tuvan music. Sardinian music is also quite similar to that of Corsica.
I'm a big fan of this kind of music, and I liked it at first listen, but I'm pretty sure not everybody would: definitely listen to the samples before buying.
They sing in a dialect of Italian. The lyrics are not included in the packaging, unfortunately. An explanation, rather than a translation, of the lyrics in English is provided.
To sum up, it's an interesting cd which I highly recommend, and believe me, traditional Sardinian sheepherding music doesn't get any better than this!"