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Polyphonic singing

22 public knowledge systems connected to this registry facet.

UNESCO representative list1 sources

Ahellil of Gourara

L’Ahellil du Gourara

Performed during collective ceremonies, the Ahellil is a poetic and musical genre emblematic of the Zenete population of Gourara. This region in southwest Algeria includes some one hundred oases populated by over 50,000 inhabitants of Berber, Arab and Sudanese origin. The Ahellil, which is specific to the Berber-speaking part of...

AfricaAlgeriaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Albanian folk iso-polyphony

L’isopolyphonie populaire albanaise

Traditional Albanian polyphonic music can be divided into two major stylistic groups as performed by the Ghegs of northern Albania and the Tosks and Labs living in the southern part of the country. The term iso is related to the ison of Byzantine church music and refers to the drone accompanying polyphonic singing. The drone is...

EuropeAlbaniaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Bistritsa Babi, archaic polyphony, dances and rituals from the Shoplouk region

Les Babi de Bistritsa, polyphonie, danses et pratiques rituelles archaïques de la région de Shoplouk

The traditional dances and polyphonic singing found in the Shoplouk region of Bulgaria are still performed by a group of elderly women, the Bistritsa Babi. This tradition includes diaphony, or what is known as shoppe polyphony, ancient forms of the horo chain dance and the ritual practice of lazarouvane, an initiation ceremony for young...

EuropeBulgariaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Cante Alentejano, polyphonic singing from Alentejo, southern Portugal

Le cante alentejano, chant polyphonique de l’Alentejo (sud du Portugal)

Cante Alentejano is a genre of traditional two-part singing performed by amateur choral groups in southern Portugal, characterized by distinctive melodies, lyrics and vocal styles, and performed without instrumentation. Groups consist of up to thirty singers divided into groups. The ponto, in the lower range, starts the singing,...

EuropePortugalNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Canto a tenore, Sardinian pastoral songs

Le Canto a tenore, chant pastoral sarde

Canto a tenore has developed within the pastoral culture of Sardinia. It represents a form of polyphonic singing performed by a group of four men using four different voices called bassu, contra, boche and mesu boche. One of its characteristics is the deep and guttural timbre of the bassu and contra voices. It is performed standing in a...

EuropeItalyNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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UNESCO urgent safeguarding list1 sources

Cantu in paghjella, a secular and liturgical oral tradition of Corsica

Le Cantu in paghjella profane et liturgique de Corse de tradition orale

The paghjella is a male Corsican singing tradition. It combines three vocal registers that always enter the song in the same order: a segonda, which begins, give the pitch and carries the main melody; u bassu, which follows, accompanies and supports it, and finally a terza, the highest placed, which enriches the song. Paghjella makes...

EuropeFranceNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Cossack’s songs of Dnipropetrovsk Region

Les chants cosaques de la région de Dnipropetrovsk

Cossack songs are sung by communities of the Dnipropetrovsk region which tell stories about the tragedy of war but also the personal relationships of Cossack soldiers. Singers practise the tradition in three different groups: Krynycya, Boguslavochka and Pershocvit. The songs are sung for pleasure and so practitioners can have a...

EuropeUkraineNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Georgian polyphonic singing

Le chant polyphonique géorgien

Popular singing has a highly valued place in Georgian culture. Polyphonic singing, in the Georgian language, is a secular tradition in a country whose language and culture have often been oppressed by invaders. There are three types of polyphony in Georgia: complex polyphony, which is common in Svaneti; polyphonic dialogue over a bass...

Middle EastGeorgiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Glasoechko, male two-part singing in Dolni Polog

Le glasoechko, chant d'hommes à deux voix dans le bas Polog

Male two-part singing in Dolni Polog is a traditional form of vocal music, known locally as Glasoechko, which is characteristic to the region. Songs are sung in a polyphonic manner with the drone voice moving contrapuntally in relation to the melodic leading voice, often accompanied by a shepherd’s flute and a bagpipe. Glasoechko is...

EuropeNorth MacedoniaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Grand song of the Dong ethnic group

Le grand chant du groupe ethnique Dong

A popular saying among the Dong people in Guizhou Province in southern China has it that ‘rice nourishes the body and songs nourish the soul’. Their tradition of passing on culture and knowledge in music is exemplified in the Grand Song of the Dong ethnic group, multi-part singing performed without instrumental accompaniment or a...

East AsiaChinaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Hua’er

Le Hua’er

In Gansu and Qinghai Provinces and throughout north-central China, people of nine different ethnic groups share a music tradition known as Hua’er. The music is drawn from an extensive traditional repertoire named after ethnicities, towns or flowers (‘Tu People’s ''ling’,'' ‘White Peony ''ling’''), and lyrics are improvised in keeping...

East AsiaChinaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Klapa multipart singing of Dalmatia, southern Croatia

La klapa, chant à plusieurs voix de Dalmatie, Croatie méridionale

Klapa singing is a multipart singing tradition of the southern Croatian regions of Dalmatia. Multipart singing, a capella homophonic singing, oral tradition and simple music making are its main features. The leader of each singing group is the first tenor, followed by several tenori, baritoni and basi voices. During performances, the...

EuropeCroatiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Lakalaka, dances and sung speeches of Tonga

Lakalaka, danses et discours chantés du Tonga

The Tonga archipelago lies in the South Pacific approximately 2,000 kilometres north-east of New Zealand. It is the only constitutional monarchy in the Pacific region. Often considered Tonga’s national dance, Lakalaka is a blend of choreography, oratory, and vocal and instrumental polyphony. This cultural expression is practised by...

PacificTongaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Multipart singing of Horehronie

Le chant à plusieurs voix de Horehronie

The Multipart Singing of Horehronie is characterized by a variable solo melody of pre-singing and more static choir answers, either by men or women. The singing culminates in intertwined parallel melodies with rich variations, consisting of two or three parts; each section presents a variation of the initial melodic formula. The song...

EuropeSlovakiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Mystery play of Elche

Le mystère d’Elche

The mystery play of Elche is a sacred musical drama of the death, the passage into heaven (known as the Assumption) and the crowning of the Virgin Mary. Since the mid-fifteenth century it has been performed in the Basilica of Santa Maria and in the streets of the old city of Elche, situated in the region of Valencia. It is a living...

EuropeSpainNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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UNESCO urgent safeguarding list1 sources

Ojkanje singing

Le chant Ojkanje

Ojkanje two-part singing, found in the Croatian regions of the Dalmatian hinterland, is performed by two or more singers (male or female) using a distinctive voice-shaking technique created by the throat. Each song lasts as long as the lead singer can hold his or her breath. Melodies are based on limited, mostly chromatic, tonal scales,...

EuropeCroatiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Register of Good Safeguarding Practices1 sources

Polyphonic Caravan, researching, safeguarding and promoting the Epirus polyphonic song

La Caravane polyphonique, recherches, sauvegarde et promotion du chant polyphonique de l’Épire

The Polyphonic Caravan is a longstanding project aimed at researching, safeguarding and promoting the Epirus polyphonic song. Performed for centuries, the Epirus polyphonic song is performed by a group of singers with two to four distinctive roles among them, and touches on almost every aspect of life, such as childhood, marriage,...

EuropeGreeceNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Polyphonic singing of the Aka Pygmies of Central Africa

Les chants polyphoniques des pygmées Aka de Centrafrique

The Aka Pygmies living in the south-west region of the Central African Republic have developed a distinctive vocal musical tradition, which involves a complex type of contrapuntal polyphony based on four voices, mastered by all members of the Aka community. Music and dance form an integral part of Aka rituals including ceremonies...

AfricaCentral African RepublicNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Seto Leelo, Seto polyphonic singing tradition

Le Leelo seto, tradition chorale polyphonique seto

For the Seto community living in south-eastern Estonia and the Pechory district of the Russian Federation, the tradition of ''leelo,'' an ancient polyphonic singing tradition, is a cornerstone of contemporary identity. Performed to traditional melodies and in traditional costume, leelo features a lead singer who delivers a verse line...

EuropeEstoniaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Sutartinės, Lithuanian multipart songs

Les Sutartinės, chants lituaniens à plusieurs voix

Sutartinės (from the word ''sutarti ''– to be in concordance) is a form of polyphonic music performed by female singers in north-east Lithuania. The songs have simple melodies, with two to five pitches, and comprise two distinct parts: a meaningful main text and a refrain that may include nonce words. There are almost forty different...

EuropeLithuaniaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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Two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale

Le chant et la musique à deux voix dans la gamme istrienne

On the Istrian peninsula in western Croatia, several varieties of two-part singing and playing in the Istrian scale are preserved by Croatian, Istro-Romanian and Italian communities. The style is characterized by vigorous, partly nasal singing. It involves a degree of variation and improvisation in both vocal parts but always ends with...

EuropeCroatiaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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UNESCO representative list1 sources

Visoko multipart singing from Dolen and Satovcha, South-western Bulgaria

Le chant à plusieurs voix visoko de Dolen et Satovtcha, Bulgarie du Sud-Ouest

Visoko is a traditional practice of multipart singing that is unique to the Bulgarian villages of Dolen and Satovcha in the Blagoevgrad region. There are three types of multipart songs typical of Visoko: low-pitched, high-pitched and a combination of the two. Low-pitched singing consists of sustained singing by two vocal parts....

EuropeBulgariaNot specified in UNESCO dataset
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