The Song as Vocal Gesture 
In this article, we will try to draw the operating criteria that govern the repertory of southern Italy work songs by analysing physical perception – and not only acoustical and “purely musical” – experienced by the traditional singers. What is at stake in this study is the way the subject lives in his environment. We study how the interaction of the body with the physical and social space can be meaningful from the point of view of the construction and implementation of a vocal practice. The study of the expressive and conceptual references, as well as of the corporal behaviours patterns, should allow us to understand the generative principles on which the performance of arie called “del trainieri” sung by Martano peasants, a village of southern Italy, are based.