Bitti, Multimedia Museum of Tenor Singing

The first Sardinian museum of “tenor singing” is located in the center of the town, in the ancient district of Monte Mannu, a few steps from the parish church. It is housed in a wing of the Museum of Pastoral and Rural Civilization and was founded in summer 2005 thanks to the commitment of the Bitti Municipal Administration. The museum is located inside a typical local house with “taulatu” wooden floors and a ceiling made of juniper reeds and beams.
It collects the sound material of the most famous Sardinian vocal complexes and aims to study and enhance the various “tenor songs” of the island, but also to program conferences on Sardinian and Mediterranean singing. It is an important center for studying polyphony in central Sardinia, which collaborates with countries where traditional singing is still practiced today and also wants to become a research center and a place of reference for scholars, researchers, groups of singers, enthusiasts and visitors.
'Tenor sing' is the most archaic musical expression in central Sardinia. It comes from four singers called 'bassu' (bass), 'contra' (contralto), 'mesu oche' (half voice), and 'oche' (voice), arranged in a circle.
It is difficult to establish the origins of tenor singing, which, according to some, date back to when the shepherd lived in the solitude of the countryside, in close contact with the cattle and with nature: it is possible that “sa contra” was born from the imitation of the sheep's call, “su bassu” from that of the cow and “sa mesu oche” from the imitation of the sound of the wind.
The museum is unique in its kind, also due to the presence of some innovative technological aids. The 'tenores' area, for example, consists of four totems, equipped with monitors and an audio system that can be activated by the spectator, arranged in a circle like the 'tenores' during the singing, which allow the visitor to interact with virtual singers. The four voices, in fact, synchronized with each other, are also audible separately so as to be able to capture the single component together with the result of the polyphony.
You can then listen to music from the various areas of the island. There is also an area dedicated to video clips where the visitor can simultaneously select perfectly synchronized sounds and images.

Why is it important to visit it
The “tenor song” is one of the most original expressions of Sardinian traditions. It has been included by UNESCO among the “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity” and therefore included in the “Intangible Heritage of Humanity”.