page_title: Basque music
section_title: A collective soul
hierarchical_section_title: Basque music / Traditional music / Singing tradition / A collective soul
caption_attribution_description: Euskara: Garaizarko Mahatsorriak abesbatza Begoñako basilikaren inguruan.
context_page_description: Basque music refers to the music made in the Basque Country, reflecting traits related to its society/tradition, and devised by people from that territory. While traditionally more closely associated to rural based and Basque language music, the growing diversification of its production during the last decades has tipped the scale in favour of a broad definition.
context_section_description: The Basque people are especially given to singing. Basque language has stuck to the oral tradition stronger than Romance languages, and its literature was first recorded in writing in the 16th century. There are ballads dating from the 15th century that have been passed from parents to children by word of mouth, e.g. Ozaze Jaurgainian from Soule, which relates events six centuries ago and has come down to us in different versions (the best known was popularized by Benito Lertxundi), or Alostorrea, from Biscay. These ballads were crafted and spread by minstrels or bertsolaris, were kept in popular memory, and were transmitted in the so-called kopla zaharrak, sets of poems with a characteristic rhythmic pattern that could be sung: this is similar to traditional practices elsewhere in Europe. So, for example, the first work of literature in Basque Linguæ Vasconum Primitiæ (1545) by Bernard Etxepare shows long verses that, while deceptively fashioned in metres resembling those used in Romance poetry, follow an internal rhythmic pattern similar to a kopla, so they can be popularly sung. Even today, it is not unusual to see groups of people marching around a town at some local festival singing and asking the neighbours for a food, drink or money donation, while the most famous celebrations following this pattern across the whole Basque Country may be those taking place on Christmas Eve (Olentzero) and the Saint Agatha's Eve, with singers dressing up in traditional costumes.
  It follows that traditional singing is closely related to bertsolaris, improvising bards, who even nowadays hold an important status in Basque culture. They voice the people's concerns by means of a formal tradition coming from the people (tunes, linguistic devices), and act as their spokespersons. A considerable corpus of traditional songs was gathered by Resurrección María de Azkue and Aita Donostia, two religious scholars interested in Basque folk culture, at the turn of the 20th century; and also later on, in Cancionero popular vasco (1918) and Euskal Eres-Sorta. Cancionero Vasco (1922), to mention but a few works.
  In the present day, the band Hiru Truku (comprising the celebrated musicians Joseba Tapia, Ruper Ordorika and Bixente Martinez) has chosen several ancient songs from all over the Basque Country, updated the music brilliantly and released them in a number of albums. Another current long-standing and renowned group who elaborate on traditional songs is Oskorri: The band set about singing traditional songs in public performances previously handing out to the audience a repertoire bill including the lyrics and encouraging them to sing along. The band has launched a couple of albums of this kind so far and performed on various tours to public acclaim, becoming especially popular with middle-aged parents.
  A key figure bridging the old singing tradition of Soule and the folk song revival of the 20th century is Pierre Bordazaharre (1907–1979), aka Etxahun Iruri. A xirula player and singer, he collected old songs and fashioned new ones, which eventually caught on and spread, take for instance, Agur Xiberoa. He also contributed to new pastoral plays in the tradition of Soule, reshaping the pastoral and adding new topics.
  There is also a tradition of choral music all over the Basque Country. Church choirs were set up in some towns to meet the religious musical needs. Yet at the turn of the 20th century some ensembles became established outside the ecclesiastical context, e.g. the Sociedad Coral de Bilbao (founded in 1886), Orfeón Donostiarra (founded in 1897) or the Coral Santa Cecilia from Donostia (founded in 1928). Later on, other ensembles were formed, such as Oldarra Abesbatza from Biarritz (founded in 1947), made up of men and sometimes putting on performances as an ochote (see below), or the reputed Coral Andra Mari from Errenteria, established in 1966, featuring Basque folk music and Aita Donostia's several scores. Nowadays many minor choral ensembles, largely offering the Basque folk repertoire, dot the Basque territory. In Bayonne and Donostia
caption: Basque traditional choir
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