Great success for the Neoneli tenors , accompanied by the musicians Orlando Mascia and Matteo Muscas, in the very recent two days in Lapland . The tenors had already been in Lapland last November, guests of the University of Rovaniemi and the Italian Cultural Institute of Helsinki. During the new expedition, the Sardinian artists took part in the biennial conference of the Finnish National Association of Anthropology, organized by the Anthropology research team of the Arctic centre, University of Lapland. The island musicians had the opportunity to perform at the Museum of Modern Art, offering a sample of the concert which was then held the following day at the Lappia-Talo theater in Rovaniemi, where requests for an encore and standing ovations were not lacking.
In the concert , preceded by a solo by the famous singer of the Sami people, Wimme Saari , who with his typical juoiggus song prepared the audience to listen to the songs and music of the Neoneli tenors (Tonino Cau, Ivo Marras, Angelo Piras and Roberto Dessì) and Orlando Mascia and Matteo Muscas, the public listened to a capella songs and songs with musical accompaniment , some of which included the local singer.
Tonino Cau , one of the founders of the Tenores of Neoneli, recounts his experience in Lapland: «In Lapland the culture of the Sámi people and the attachment to their customs and traditions is still very much alive. Reindeer breeding still represents today the link between culture and identity, and one of its important expressions is precisely the jouoiggus, which is the song to the transhumant pastoral tradition of the Sámi».
A culture , the Sàmi, which has strong analogies with the Sardinian one : «As the Sardinian shepherd followed his sheep herd, so the Sámi did and still do with their reindeer - explains Cau -, unfortunately, with the increase of technologies and the climatic impact these migrations have diminished to the point of almost disappearing in some places, but not their songs, which are still strong identity and cultural expressions. This is why the "Fogos & Logos" concert, which involves both elements of mere popular tradition and climatic emergency, fundamental for the Neoneli tenors, hit the mark». In short, it was not just a concert to appreciate objectively captivating sonorities, but also to listen to «vital themes».
«The interesting aspect of the concert, fundamental in the context of the Biennale - adds Cau -, concerned precisely the affinities between Sardinian pastoralism and the nomadism of the Sámi people , but even more important was the live confrontation through song, relating between these two cultures. The audience rewarded our performance with continuous applause. They were exciting moments, also because anthropologists from all over the world complimented the excellent performance, unprecedented at these latitudes».