The Basque Country (pdf, 4,3Mb) - Kultura Saila - Euskadi.net

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Juan Crisóstomo Arriaga.
Mausoleum of Julián Gayarre.
El Roncal, Navarra.
The Orfeón Donostiarra at a
performance of “Faust” by La Fura dels
Baus at the Salzburg Festival.
7.3.2. Music
The Basque peopleʼs love affair with vocal and instrumental music
is long-standing. It is often said that three Basques sharing a meal
make a choir. In fact choral groups have a long-standing popular
tradition, and although they have experienced a certain decline in
recent times, there are more than 80 choirs in Iparralde alone.
There is evidence of musical continuity during Roman times and
also in the Middle Ages, as shown by the numerous cantares
(poems set to music), such as Batalla de Beotibar, Cantar de
Bereterretxe, Lelo il Lelo, as well as laments. In the Renaissance,
the cantares continued (de Olaso, Cancionero de palacio...) and
polyphonic music appeared, with Joannes Anchieta (1462-
1523) as its maximum exponent. The Baroque period brought a
proliferation of musical groups and master organ makers, as well
as carols, folksongs, and pastoral plays.
The nineteenth century, especially the period of Romanticism,
was splendid, with composers such as Bilbao-native Juan
Crisóstomo Arriaga – who died very young and was called the
Basque Mozart for his Sinfonía en re (Symphony in D) and Los
esclavos felices – and Navarrese Hilarión Eslava (composer
and pedagogue), Pablo Sarasate (violinist) and Julián Gayarre
(tenor). Also from Navarre was Pascual Emilio Arrieta, who
composed the opera Ildegonda, and successful zarzuelas such as
Marina (later made into an opera) and El dominó azul”. There was
also upsurge in popular music (groups of txistu players, choral
societies, choirs, bands, pastorals and bertsolarismo) and a great
increase in all the capital cities of conservatories, symphonic
orchestras, choral societies, and philharmonic societies.
The twentieth century is marked by two internationally acclaimed
composers: the impressionist Maurice Ravel (1875-1937), born
in Ziburu, Iparralde, author of Pavana para una infanta difunta,
Conciertos para piano, operas, ballets, and the famous Bolero;
and Álava-born Jesús Guridi (Amaya, El Caserío or Diez melodías
vascas...). But during this period there was also a genuine musical
renaissance with a treasure-trove of magnificent composers including
José María Usandizaga, Francisco Madina, Tomás Garbizu, Tomás
Aragüés, Jesús Arambarri, Luis Aramburu, the neo-Romantic Pablo
Sorozabal and the impressionist Aita Donostia.
There are not many Basque operas. The first (Pudente), with music by
José Antonio Santesteban and libretto by Serafín Baroja, premiered
in Donostia in 1884. In recent years some of the operas by Basque
composers have made a comeback, including Mendi-mediyan by
Usandizaga, Amaya by Jesús Guridi and Larraldeko Lorea by Aita
Donostia. Other operas that have debuted over the years include
Zigor (1963) and Gernika (1986) by Francisco Escudero (Zarautz,
1912-Donostia, 2002), whose body of work spans a wide range of
genres, his music straddling musical renovation and avant-gardism.
In contemporary classical music Carmelo Bernaola, Luis de
Pablo and Antón Larrauri deserve special mention, as do more
recent names such as Félix Ibarrondo, Ramón Lazkano and
Gabriel Erkoreka. Composers of music for films include Alberto
Iglesias – whose musical scores earned him Oscar nominations
for the films The Constant Gardener and The Kite Runner – Angel
IIllarramendi and Bingen Miendizabal.
Basque performers giving concerts all over the world include San
Sebastian harpist Nicanor Zabaleta (1907-1993), Bilbao-born
pianist Joaquín Achúcarro. There have also been innumerable
excellent txistu players, including the txistulari family, the
Ansorenas. The singer of operettas and reviews, Irun-born Luis
Mariano (1920-70) was very popular. In lyrical song the María
Bayo from Navarra, and Ainhoa Arteta should be highlighted.
Traditions, institutions and memory
The most representative instruments, all of which have a very long
history, are the txistu (three-holed flute), the tabor, the dulzaina, the
txalaparta – a percussion instrument made of two wooden planks
presently enjoying a comeback – and the alboka. The trikitixa, a
small diatonic accordion introduced in Euskal Herria at the end of
the nineteenth century, is also a very popular instrument.
Also worth highlighting are the Navarrese traditions of the jota
–a song sung in Spanish in which a short poem is created in the
form of a quatrain– and the auroras, which are sung by groups to
announce important festivities. Raimundo Lanas was the most
famous singer of jotas and brought a spirit of renewal to the art.
As for orchestras, the Basque National Orchestra (Orquesta Sinfónica
de Euskadi, or OSE), the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra (Orquesta
Sinfónica de Bilbao, BOS) – founded in 1922 – and the Orquesta
Pablo Sarasate (Pamplona-Iruña) all have busy performance
schedules. The Basque Youth Orchestra (Joven Orquesta de Euskal
Herria, or EGO.), created in 1997, gives performances twice a
year. Bilbao has an Accordion Symphony Orchestra conducted by
Amagoia Loroño. As for choral societies, the Orfeón Donostiarra
is the most well-known at the international level. Also with long
traditions are the Choral Society of Bilbao, the choirs attached to
the Bilbao Association of Friends of the Opera (ABAO), the Andra
Mari choir (Errenteria), the Easo choir and, in Navarre, the “Orfeón
Pamplonés” and the “Coral de Cámara” chamber choir.
The ABAO ensures the continuity of opera programming, and Musikene,
in Donostia-San Sebastian, is the tertiary-level conservatory of music.
The Basque Archive of Music, Eresbil, is a public foundation devoted
to preserving the Basque musical memory. It safeguards songs, texts,
musical scores, etc. Located in Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, the foundation
has more than 100 collections and a roster of nearly 1500 Basque and
Navarrese composers. It also holds a copy of the legal deposit.