The Canto a Tenore is one of the most popular poetic-musical practices of central-northern Sardinia. It is a type of polyphonic singing performed by a group of four men using four different voices, called bassu, contra, boche, and mesu boche. The most distinctive feature of this style of singing is the presence of guttural vocalizations of bassu and contra, tuned between them in a fifth interval. Vocalizations like these give it a unique feel. The Boghe is the band's soloist. He sings the main musical line, while the other three singers follow in accord, supporting his song with deep tones. The Boghe is always the only one to pronounce the lyrics, instead of causing the other singers to utter nonsense syllables, turning the other singers' voices into musical instruments, creating chords and timbres. The term tenore is used to describe the entire quartet, but the term can also be used to describe the trio of guttural voices that support the tenore.
Traditionally, Canto a Tenore is part of the Sardinian pastoral culture. The majority of practitioners live in the region of Barbagia and other parts of central Sardinia. This art of singing has been incorporated into the daily life of the local communities, often in local bars called su zilleri, but they are also performed at more formal occasions, such as weddings, shearings, and religious festivities or the Barbaricino carnival. There are several melodies of Canto a Tenore, such as the Serenade Boche e Notte ('the voice of the night'), and dance songs, such as mutos, gosos, and ballos. These are usually either ancient or contemporary poems that discuss present-day issues, such as emigration, unemployment, and politics. In this sense, they can be regarded as both traditional and contemporary cultural expressions.
Throughout the centuries, the musical culture of Cantu a Tenore has developed and been transmitted through oral tradition as a musical poetic expression of the Sardinian agro-pastoral culture, referred to as Pastoralism, which was prevalent in large areas of the regional territory. In the last century, as it happened throughout the world to both local cultures and to European ones, both pastoralism and Cantu a Tenore have undergone a significant decline due to technological, economic, social, and cultural revolutions. The interior of the island could be the best area to preserve pastoralists' cultural and social practices. In Sardinia, the pastoral culture remains widely practiced, and pastoralism still represents one of the key sources of income and sustainability for the community. Unfortunately, the Canto a Tenore is especially vulnerable to socio-economic changes, including the decline of the pastoral culture and increase in tourism, as well as the decrease in the traditional intimate manner in which the music was performed. While tourists have performed it on stage, this has also affected the diversity of the repertoire and the intimate manner in which it has been performed in its original context.
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