Càlic - La Cançó Catalana a Sardenya

Càlic La Cançó Catalana a Sardenya Discos del Mediterrani (www.discmedi.com) Formed in 1981, Càlic are accomplished performers and curators of the traditional music of Sardinia (Alghero, Alguer). Personnel have changed somewhat over the past quarter century, but they have continued to develop a repertoire of songs in the local Catalan and Sardinian dialects, while also recovering, reconstructing and integrating a number of island folk instruments into their work. Outside the main cities, where Italian and global pop dominate, traditional Sardinian music persists, as communities of any size, aided by local and regional governments, staunchly support folkloric groups. Phoenician, Arab, Roman, Spanish (Aragon) and finally, Italian rule all have left their musical traces, with an instrumental array that reflects the island's history as a cultural crossroads. The group's seven members combine vocals, guitar, oud, mandola, violin, viola, double bass, serragia (Sardinian bowed, single-stringed stick zither with pig-bladder resonator), piano, accordion, flutes, benas (Sardinian reed clarinet), drums and regional percussion (e.g., the ximbomba or Mallorcan friction drum). La Cançó Catalana a Sardenya, their fourth recording, is entirely dedicated to Sardinian songs sung in Catalan, dating from c. 1400 into the present (those who read French or Spanish may be able to decipher something from the transcribed lyrics). Mallorca native and singer of Catalan folksongs María del Mar Bonet lends her striking voice on "Mariner" and "Què teniu vos." North African ("Los Barandons"), Aragonese ("Cobles de 1412"), Sephardic ("Lo matrimoni") and Italian ("Oh Alguer, Alguer") strains echo throughout. Claudio Gabriel Sanna (voice, guitar, mandola, ximbomba) arranged or co-arranged all the material, and his expressive tenor especially brings these songs to life, giving the ensemble its characteristic feel. - Michael Stone CD available from cdRoots

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