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Music & vocals by Fary Faraji, lyrics from the RMRS repertoire of marching chants. Please note that this isn’t reconstructed Ancient Roman music, only modern music with Ancient Roman instrumentation and features. With this song, I wanted to create a synthesis of modern Sardinian music with Ancient Roman instrumentation. The most notable feature of Sardinian music I utilised is Cantu a Tenòre, a polyphonic style of singing native and unique to Sardinia, which utilises overtone throat singing. The specific model I based myself on is that of the region of Orgosolo, where main vocals deliver lyrics in a highly ornamented way, usually in the major scale, before being paused by the accompanying choir of three or more singers, who perform harmonies, often in parralel fifths. Sardinian overtone throat singing is the only known form of overtone throat singing found in and native to Europe. Another aspect of their traditional chant is the accompanying of main vocals with nonsense syllables like “bam ba.” The instrumentation consists of drums, an ancient cymbal, two ancient lyres, a pan flute and an aulos.
