Kia ora, こんにちは, hello and welcome to Many Voices: A world music podcast. Some call music “the universal language” - but how many songs do you know in one of the world’s 6,000+ languages besides English? Every week, I ask a guest who speaks one of those languages to share six songs from their own culture, and their thoughts on the science behind the world’s musical diversity. I’m your host, Dr Patrick Savage, author of the 2026 book, Comparative musicology.

For today’s episode, I talked with Professor Andrea Ravignani of the Sapienza University of Rome, one of the world’s leading scientists of the biology and evolution of music and language. Andrea shared Italian songs from his homeland like the anti-fascist anthem “Bella Ciao”. But interestingly, Andrea didn’t see being “Italian” as his primary identity. So he also shared non-Italian European instrumental music like John Powell’s music from “How to Train Your Dragon”. Andrea also shared his thoughts on topics like how and why musicality might have evolved, and the importance of interdisciplinary dialogue between the humanities and sciences. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Andrea as much as I did!

For more information on Andrea’s research, see the description for the link to his Google Scholar profile (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=WKijbGUAAAAJ). For rights reasons, we only share short excerpts, but for playlists with full recordings of music from these and other Many Voices episodes, visit http://many-voices.com, where you can also find links to video or audio-only versions of all episodes wherever you get your podcasts. And please like and subscribe to help us keep the whole world singing!

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:35 #1 (traditional): Trio Sonata op. 1 no. 12 RV 63 "La Follia" - Composed by Antonio Vivaldi, Performed by Cilea Saxophone Quartet (https://youtu.be/g7sOlOnM9JA)

06:08 #2 (contemporary): “I Cento Passi” - Modena City Ramblers (https://youtu.be/KUpcxdg2Iqs)

08:01 #3 (happy): “Test Drive” (from the “How To Train Your Dragon" - John Powell (performed by London Music Works) (https://youtu.be/zTSXiF_cxG8)

12:12 #4 (sad): “Goldberg Variations”, BWV 988 - J. S. Bach (performed by Andreas Staier) (https://youtu.be/Jq-ahSRT1lA)

14:24 #5 (dance): “Libertango” - Astor Piazzolla (performed by the Russian Philharmonic) (https://youtu.be/kdhTodxH7Gw)

16:53 #6 (bonding/meaningful): “Bella Ciao” - versions by Modena City Ramblers (https://youtu.be/_92gzyoaQLk) and by Andrea Ravignani for Ozaki et al., 2024, Science Advances (https://osf.io/uxmtp)

20:25 Broader thoughts on music and science

Credits:

Recorded on April 19 2026 in Leiden, the Netherlands

Guest: Prof Andrea Ravignani

Presenter/producer/editor: Dr Patrick Savage

Intro/outro music: "Hearing music evolve" (Patrick Savage, Hideo Daikoku, Kenta Ueda, Yoichi Kitayama, Marin Naruse, The HU, Timbaland, Gakuto Chiba, Sona Jobarteh, et al., https://youtu.be/Qe1R-R1-Q7A)

Many Voices logo design: Dr Florence Nweke

For today’s episode of “Many Voices”, I was delighted to welcome our guest, Brenda Suyanne Barbosa, to teach us about the Guaraní music of her culture. Born in Brazil, Brenda has recently moved to Germany to pursue a PhD at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar, where she is also a Research Associate in Transcultural Studies.I’ve previously collaborated with Brenda on scientific experiments comparing singing and speaking across languages, but I really enjoyed hearing her beautiful singing voice and hearing more about her upbringing and what Guaraní music means to her. I was fascinated to learn how young Guaraní are adapting hip-hop musical and visual culture to Guaraní contexts, using warpaint and feathers as symbols of resistance against political and environmental oppression. Brenda explained how Guaraní dance is inseparable from music and life, even being used to train children to move silently through the jungle. I also loved hearing Brenda’s thoughts on combining science with Indigenous knowledge to understand the value of music for bringing us together. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Brenda as much as I did!

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction

02:06 1 (sing): Apykaxu - Guaraní traditional, sung by Brenda Suyanne Barbosa

06:40 2 (traditional): Ñande Reko Arandu - Memória Viva Guarani Children’s Choir (https://youtu.be/l469uaunv6A)

09:24 3 (contemporary): Resistência Nativa - Brô Mc's, OZ Guarani, Owerá Mc (https://youtu.be/G-TqAeyj4_s)

14:01 4/5 (happy/dancing): Xondaro / Xondaria dance - Lucas Keese, Centro de Trabalho Indigenista (CTI) Programa Guarani (https://youtu.be/4FbUVwDwp9U)

17:38 6 (sad): Flor E O Beija-Flor - Marília Mendonça (https://youtu.be/Ukb0vLbg53g)

20:04 Broader thoughts on music, science, and Guaraní culture

Credits:

Recorded 19 March 2026

Guest: Brenda Suyanne Barbosa

Presenter/producer/editor: Dr Patrick SavageIntro/outro music: "Hearing music evolve" (Patrick Savage, Hideo Daikoku, Marin Naruse, The HU, Timbaland, Gakuto Chiba, et al., https://youtu.be/Qe1R-R1-Q7A)

Many Voices logo design: Dr Florence Nweke

For today’s episode of “Many Voices”, I was delighted to get to chat in person with Dr Nori Jacoby (https://norijacoby.com) from Cornell University while we were both in the Netherlands for a symposium about music and evolution. I enjoyed hearing Nori share music from his own performance of thousand-year-old songs to contemporary songs adapting rap to teach the ancient Hebrew alphabet.

Nori is one of the world’s leading scientists in the cross-cultural study of musical diversity, and one of the smartest scientists I know. But his scientific articles are usually focused on technical details and don’t give a sense of his personal background or his talents as a composer and performer, so it was a real treat to hear this side of him too. It was also special to hear about the complex ways he wrestled with questions about music, science, and cultural identity as a secular Israeli raised speaking Hebrew and now living in the USA, and the hopes he had that music might help bridge some of the deep divides in his homeland during these troubled times of war in the Middle East. I hope you also enjoy hearing Nori share his music and personal story.

For more information on Nori’s research, composing, and performing, visit https://norijacoby.com. And as always, for playlists with full recordings of music from these and other Many Voices episodes, visit http://many-voices.com, where you can also find links to YouTube, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. Tune in next week for our next episode with Brenda Suyanne Barbosa sharing the music of her Indigenous Guaraní culture from Brazil. And please like and subscribe to help us keep the whole world singing!

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

02:32 1 (meaningful): “Laila” (https://youtu.be/SIdljPIHYr8)

07:14 2 (traditional): “Moshe” - Tafillalt (https://youtu.be/SCmWXvo3XOs)

13:08 3 (contemporary): “The Aleph-bet song” (Hosha'ana) - Victoria Hanna (https://youtu.be/Bl1epz3tSSA)

16:07 4 (happy): “The Princess and the Hedgehog” (excerpt) - Nori Jacoby (https://youtu.be/playlist?list=PLDA0E15B98880AB9E)

18:44 5 (sad): “Let Me Hear Your Voice” / “השמיעני” - Victoria Hanna (https://youtu.be/C4a8bpss9Ng&t=109)

21:49 6 (dance): “Adir Adirim” (feat. Victoria Hanna) - Balkan Beat Box (https://youtu.be/2Dgt27ILk8g)

26:37 Broader thoughts on music, science, and identity

Credits:

Recorded on April 19 2026 in Leiden, the Netherlands

Guest: Dr Nori Jacoby

Presenter/producer/editor: Dr Patrick Savage

Intro/outro music: "Hearing music evolve" (Patrick Savage, Hideo Daikoku, Kenta Ueda, Yoichi Kitayama, Marin Naruse, The HU, Timbaland, Gakuto Chiba, Sona Jobarteh, et al., https://youtu.be/Qe1R-R1-Q7A)

Many Voices logo design: Dr Florence Nweke