The Paghjella is a traditional Corsican polyphonic song. It is composed of six verses, with eight syllables per verse. Each word in the paghjella forms a rhythm, creating poetry. This tradition, as with many other European polyphonic traditions, was only recorded after the Second World War. Felice Quilici and Wolfgang Laade were instrumental in documenting this tradition in the 1940s and 1950s. There is a considerable polyphonic activity found in inland areas, far from the coast, and often representing the mountains in the north and central parts of the island. In the 1940s, when this tradition was formally recorded and documented, the performers were mostly local shepherds at informal gatherings. Because of the music's low status and diminishing tradition, its reputation suffered. Starting in the 1970s, Corsican Polyphony became a symbol of the Corsican political movement and became an international phenomenon.
Paghjella is performed mostly by male singers. However, two brilliant female singers (Patrizia Poli and Patrizia Gattaceca) are leaders of the internationally renowned group Les Nouvelles Polyphonies Corses. The paghjella uses three different registers, which enter in the same order: a segonda, which begins the song by setting the pitch; the bassu, which follows and supports the segonda; and finally the terza, which enhances the song. The singing styles are harsh and strained, especially in the top voices, and more relaxed in the bass. The performers usually stand close to one another, with hands cupped around their ears, and they often sing with closed eyes. Paghjella is sung in many languages including Corsican, Sardinian, Latin, and Greek. The tradition is performed on festive, social, and religious occasions as a secular and liturgical oral tradition: in the bar or village square, at liturgical masses and processions, and during agricultural fairs.
In most cases, transmission is oral, primarily through observation, listening, imitation, and immersion. This is starting with the daily liturgical offices of young boys and continues throughout adolescence through the local church choir. Despite the efforts of paghjella practitioners to revitalize their repertoires, the music is steadily losing its vitality, due to an impoverishment of its repertoire resulting from the emigration of the younger generation, which has sharply decreased intergenerational transmission. Without action, paghjella will cease to exist in its current form, only surviving as a tourist product lacking the community links that give it meaning.
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