Both powerful and delicate, the Corsican songs — known as polyphonies — are entirely part of the island’s identity. Listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO, they are the island’s soul, resonating between sea and mountains, carried by deep, vibrating voices that seem to come from ancient times.
Born from pastoral life and religious traditions, these songs have long accompanied key moments of the community: celebrations, mourning, prayer and shared joy. The most famous form, polyphonic singing, unites three male voices in a subtle, almost mystical balance. Each has a precise role: the Secunda gives the tone, the Bassu provides the harmonic foundation with a deep, steady line, and the Terza rises into the high, embellishing the melody with impressive variations. The lyrics often evoke nature, exile, love and freedom — reflections of a proud, poetic identity.
These chants were, and still are, moments of community life, once echoing through fields, evening gatherings and religious ceremonies. Listening to a group like A Filetta or I Muvrini is like traveling through a living memory, where each note carries a collective emotion.
“To sing in polyphony is to lose oneself in order to better find oneself in the voices of others.”
A Filetta, one of Corsica’s emblematic groups