Born on November 3: Jean-François Bernardini places Corsica on planet earth with I Muvrini

Corsican singer and poet, Jean-François Bernardini was born in Furiani (Haute-Corse) in 1957. With his group I Muvrini, he popularized the famous Corsican polyphonies.

Born into a family deeply rooted in Corsican culture, he grew up in an environment where the Corsican language, poetry, and traditional song—the cantu in paghjella—held a central place. With his brother Alain, he founded the group I Muvrini in the 1980s. The name was clearly not chosen for its heavy metal connotations, as it refers to the mouflon, a symbol of freedom and resistance in Corsica.

While preserving a centuries-old tradition is I Muvrini's primary driving force, the two brothers have always strived, with undeniable success, to reconcile local musical heritage with a global perspective. The group thus revisits polyphonic tradition while blending it with modern sounds, combining acoustic instruments with Celtic, African, and pop influences.

Their first album, "I Muvrini... Ti Ringrazianu" (1980), laid the foundations for an absolutely unique style, rooted in Corsica yet subtly universal. Their message of peace, brotherhood, and attachment to the land quickly resonated far beyond the Mediterranean.

Collaborations multiplied without the group losing its soul. A true feat. Over the decades, I Muvrini has forged connections with numerous artists from diverse backgrounds. One example is Sting, with whom they recorded a cover of "Fields of Gold" in 2000, a song the former bassist of The Police originally composed in 1993. This encounter perfectly symbolizes the fusion of Anglo-Saxon pop and Corsican poetry that the Bernardini brothers sought to achieve in order to further popularize their folklore. Mission accomplished!

For his part, Jean-Jacques Goldman contributed to the album "Alma" (1999), while Patrick Bruel, MC Solaar (for the moving "A Jalalabad"), Youssou N'Dour, Florent Pagny, and Zucchero also contributed, at one time or another, their voices to this edifice of peace that I Muvrini has been building album after album.

Beyond the stage, Jean-François Bernardini is an advocate for non-violence and an ambassador of Corsican culture. In 2002, he created the "Umani Foundation," which works for peace, education, and the transmission of these core values. Far more than Donald Trump, it is this Corsican poet who truly deserves to one day win the Nobel Peace Prize!

(MH with Stéphane Soupart- Photo : © Etienne Tordoir)

Photo: Jean-François Bernardini with I Muvrini on stage at the Dranouter folk festival on August 6, 1999