Su Cuncordu Iscanesu of Scano Montiferro province of Oristano Sardinia is a tenor choir that has been carrying out its activity for over twenty years, with the aim of saving, enhancing and spreading the musical heritage of the Scanese tradition.
After a long work of study, research and rehearsals, lasting several years, together with the then custodians of this tradition, (the elderly members of the old “Cuncordu”), “Su Cuncordu Iscanesu” was officially born in 1980. The members of this group, still the same today, after so many years and always motivated by passion, continue to overcome the many difficulties, present in a purely amateur activity.
Pietro Dettori, employee, born in 1950, Sa ‘Oghe; Gian Piero Motzo, employee, born in 1960, Sa Mesuoghe; Antonio Matta, worker, born in 1944, Su Bassu; Antonio Piras, teacher, born in 1950, Sa Contra; these are the voices that express “Su Cuncordu”, and interpret with seriousness and professionalism the pieces of the traditional repertoire:
“A sa seria” “A ballu ‘e cantigu” “A ballu tundu ” “Ballitu” “Mutos”.
The religious songs, of the Holy Week and the Christmas period:
“Miserere”, “Stabat mater”, “Sette ispadas”, “Benennidu”, “Gosos de sa Madonna”, not disdaining, however, when necessary, to range also in the vast ethnophonic heritage of Sardinia in general.
The lyrics of the songs, in addition to the purely traditional and popular ones, are produced by the group, in the person of Antonio Piras, “Sa Contra”. Valuable in this regard are the compositions of “Bisiones” (Title of a recently recorded cassette) and “Torra sa libertade”, which together with the others, form the vast repertoire that the group brings to the squares, on stages, during its now multiple events, regional, national and international. The repertoire also includes poems by various poets from Scana, among which those of the late Antonio Piludu stand out. Not to be overlooked is an activity that the group has always carried out, which is perhaps the one that marks the beginning of the history of the “Tenore”: the accompaniment of impromptu poets, during dialect poetry competitions. So “The group” is certainly a valid interpreter of an important aspect of the popular culture of the Scanesi, very tied to history, language, traditions, customs, dance, poetry, singing….and finds its place and its identity in this context. Today, in the new millennium, this group turns twenty, recording for the occasion another cassette entitled precisely “Vint’annos” (Twenty Years), many songs of which are part of this page.
Hence the hope that in the times to come, other people, perhaps other groups that will form, other friends, will want to continue and if possible improve everything that “Su Cuncordu Iscanesu” has only begun.
Pic by Gianfilippo Masserano
