U Svegliu Calvese and the "Rencontres de chants polyphoniques de Calvi"

September 1989: At the request of the group A Filetta, U Svegliu Calvese organizes a concert in the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist, located within the citadel of Calvi.

A Filetta has just returned from a visit to Sardinia, and the singers wish to return the hospitality shown to them by the people of the village of Orosei. The Corsican voices rise—at once rugged and tender—transitioning from the purest traditional forms to tentative new compositions, which they explore with bold determination, confident that they are crafting the traditions of tomorrow. Then, the Sardinian voices surge forth—powerful, hoarse, and resounding—like an impetuous torrent, bringing with them the full breadth of the secular and sacred traditions of this "sister island." The audience is filled with surprise and joy, discovering, through these two ensembles, the profound emotion born from such a raw, unadorned, and collective form of expression.

The Polyphonic Singing Encounters (*Rencontres de Chants Polyphoniques*) were born from an initial, vibrant, and warm encounter—a form of vocal expression in which individuals find themselves enriched by the role they play within the group, an exchange of sound upon sound, note upon note, that reveals the true essence of a soul.

Thirty years later, under the aegis of the *Svegliu Calvese* association, the group *A Filetta* continues to host visiting ensembles—whether they hail from Georgia, Réunion, Tibet, Brittany, or, of course, Sardinia. Their compositions have matured, growing more substantial and enriched by a thousand such encounters. Yet, the joy remains: the delight of discovering, within these voices—be they near or far—the primal breath of humanity.

For, as Henri Gougaud says: “More beautiful than human beings themselves is the song of humanity. Nothing speaks more bravely of their destitution, their faith, and their unsuspected greatness.”