Emergence and Spatial Directionality of Sa Quintina in the Sacred Vocal Tradition of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy: An Early-Stage Sonological–Acoustical Study

Dapelo R, Brusoni F, Frigo L, Sarolli M. Emergence and Spatial Directionality of Sa Quintina in the Sacred Vocal Tradition of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy: An Early-Stage Sonological–Acoustical Study. In: Express Paper. Audio Engineering Society; 2026.pp. 433:1-. Available from: https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23158

@inproceedings{Dapelo2026_23158,
  author = {Dapelo, Riccardo and Brusoni, Felicita and Frigo, Luca and Sarolli, Martino},
  title = {{Emergence and Spatial Directionality of Sa Quintina in the Sacred Vocal Tradition of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy: An Early-Stage Sonological–Acoustical Study}},
  pages = {433:1-},
  year = {2026},
  month = may,
  publisher = {Audio Engineering Society},
  url = {}
}

TY  - CPAPER
TI  - Emergence and Spatial Directionality of Sa Quintina in the Sacred Vocal Tradition of Castelsardo, Sardinia, Italy: An Early-Stage Sonological–Acoustical Study
AU  - Dapelo, Riccardo
AU  - Brusoni, Felicita
AU  - Frigo, Luca
AU  - Sarolli, Martino
SP  - 1
M1  - Paper 433
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/05/28
UR  - https://aes.org/publications/elibrary-page/?id=23158
PB  - Audio Engineering Society
LA  - en
AB  - Sa quintina is a distinctive emergent vocal phenomenon, associated with the sacred four-voice male polyphonic tradition linked to ceremonies during HolyWeek in Castelsardo (Sardinia, Italy), and is perceived as an autonomous fifth voice that arises during collective performance. Although widely documented in ethnomusicology, its formation mechanisms remain only partially explored within acoustical research. This paper presents a descriptive sonologicalacoustical case study proposing new hypotheses on the formation of Sa quintina as an emergent spectralspatial acoustic field. The phenomenon is interpreted as a physically grounded outcome of interacting factors, including non-tempered harmonic relationships among four voices, differentiated vocal emission techniquesstrained phonation (iscravatu/ arridu) versus softer emissionintentional formant tuning through vowel adjustment, and the circular spatial configuration of the singers. The analysis reveals a dual nature of the phenomenon: a persistent underlying spectral structure, active throughout most of the signal, and an intermittent perceptual emergence associated with localised reinforcement. This behaviour is described within a spectral coherence framework that emphasises distributed spectral organisation beyond fixed harmonic models. To investigate the spatial dimension, a Quintina Directionality Index (QDI) is introduced, measuring the relative concentration of spectral energy within frequency bands associated with sa quintina as a function of direction. The index is evaluated using ambisonic recordings in a semi-anechoic chamber and multi-microphone recordings in a controlled environment. Results indicate that sa quintina corresponds to spatially localised regions of enhanced spectral organisation within the acoustic field, supporting its interpretation as a physically grounded emergent phenomenon rather than a discrete harmonic component or a directional sound source.
ER  -