1. 7th Framework Programme ICT - Information and Communication Technologies www.i-treasures.eu Introduction Paolo Bravi, Marco Lutzu, Sebastiano Pilosu

2. THE FOUR VOICES

3. ONE SOLOIST AND THREE ACCOMPANYING SINGERS The a tenore song choirs comprises four male singers. Each of them has a specific role in the choir. One singer, which is usually called boghe (‘voice’), is the one who sings the lyrics of the song. The other three voices, called bassu, contra and mesu boghe, provide the soloist with a typical vocal accompaniment using nonsense syllables.

4. Melody and timbre The four voices of a tenore song choir sing on different registres, using melodies and timbres that may vary from one village to another and from one singer to another. On the whole, nevertheless, there are some features that are both common through villages and individual singers and typical for each of the four voices.

5. Melody and timbre In the next presentation, you can find a synthetic description of the most important of these common features relevant to each a tenore voice. The voices of the singers of the Tenore Osana from Orosei and the Tenore Luisu Ozanu from Siniscola will be used to give a demonstration of the main features which characterize the four voices in the a tenore choirs and for the tests.