Ramallosa  Musical

Galician Traditional Music

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Traditional Galician music is characterized by its forms (muiñeiras, jotas, maneos, alalás, aturuxos, etc.), instruments (Galician bagpipes, tambourines and shells, among others) and musical groups. As a traditional music that has evolved orally, it shares common features with those of the neighboring areas of Asturias, Portugal and León and in general with the musical tradition of Western Europe [1].

HISTORY:

The origin of traditional Galician music is obscure. The first references go back to medieval music, but several are still preserved  songbooks  they generally do not include musical notation. There are some exceptions like  Martin Codax  (troubadour of the  thirteenth century ) or  Don Dinís , because two parchments with the letter and music of their composition are conserved ( Vindel parchment  e  Sharrer parchment ). Significant are also the  Cantigas de Santa María  of  Alfonso X , not only for including the musical part, but for its extension and qualities underline the importance of the Galician culture of the time, both in the musical and literary field.

It is known that a  bagpipe  it was common at that time, and that in general the main instruments present in the musical tradition already existed: bagpipes,  hurdy-gurdy  and string instruments appear in codices, Romanesque capitals, or in the well-known  Porch of Glory  yes  Cathedral of Santiago . These representations allow the reconstruction of the instruments and make possible the current interpretations of medieval music.

Coinciding with  Dark centuries  and the decline of the cultured use of the Galician language and culture, traditional music becomes the only way of transmission to oral, which can be reconstructed through the  panxoliñas ,  lullabies ,  of the blind  and other musical samples that have come down to the present day.

It was not until the end of the  19th century  and beginnings of the  twentieth century  when a vindication of tradition took place, sometimes at the hands of political nationalism. On the one hand there were the first systematic and published collections:  Martial del Adalid ,  Isidoro Hernández  e  José Inzenga  they are the first in a long list of researchers who have tried to study our music. On the other hand, they highlighted figures like  Perfect Feijoo , bagpiper and hurdy-gurdy player, who would found  Airs of the earth . This  coral  for 14 years he would take Galician music through distant geographies and make the first commercial recording of Galician music in  1904 . This would be one of several  Galician choirs  who saw the light at that time and who drank from traditional sources for their repertoire, which they then performed in front of urban elites, within the European music movement called  choralism .

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Also during the first half of the century the figures of  Ricardo Portela  or  Avelino Cachafeiro , who are a source of inspiration for many later musicians and who dignified the bagpipe instrument and its social significance.

Parallel to that claim were certain conditions that, as in other ethnic entities  Europeans , spontaneous interpretation was fading; on the one hand, the rural environment was changing and the communal works disappeared, main moments where music arose. On the other hand, a  emigration  which affected Galicia during the 19th and 20th centuries prevented a complete oral transmission.

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During the  Francoism , traditional music was forced to adapt to the political vision of the time, and the most colorful demonstrations were transformed into patriotic shows, which led to the decline in popularity of traditional styles (" folklorism "), the Spanishization of lyrics and misrepresentation both of the musical forms as well as of the dances that accompanied them. It would not be until the disintegration and fall of the Franco regime that the tradition has not been taken into account again, both by new groups ( Fuxan los ventos  is the most notable case in this sense) as by folk groups, which have continued to some extent with the forms imposed by  Education and Rest  and groups of  Choirs and Dances  yes  Spanish phalanx , or delved into the collection and reconstruction of traditional music. At that time many traditional forms were recovered, an attempt was made to dignify the bagpipe and festivals appeared, such as the  International Festival of the Celtic World  ( 1977 ), who helped establish musical groups. Some groups of these early times that relearned traditional styles were  Os Areeiras de Catoira ,  The Rosales ,  Os Campaneiros de Vilagarcía , Os Morenos de Lavadores , e  The Graceiras Brothers .  Antón Corral  created a popular music workshop of great influence in the  Popular University of Vigo . The most notorious formation that appeared at this time was  Milladoiro .

In the last decades of the  twentieth century , many Galician musicians began to consider that Galician music was at least partially " Celtic " in origin, so they sought influences in the music of  Ireland  e  Scotland , as well as da  French Brittany . Although this relationship is much debated, the result has been the international projection of our music, coinciding with a general spread of traditional music in response to more commercial music.

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From the 1980s many young groups and singers appeared who, based on traditional music, merged it with other, much more modern music (the  pop  or o  techno , for example) or from other cultures, especially the so-called  Celtic countries: Ireland, Scotland, French Brittany ... giving rise to a current of folk music.  Uxía Senlle , who had started with  On the moon  Luar na Lubre , the bagpiper  Carlos Núñez  e  Milladoiro  they have been the most popular in Galician music, nationally and internationally. The album by Carlos Núñez  The Brotherhood of the Stars  of  1996  sold more than 100,000 copies. Alongside this are also born groups that try to recover and maintain traditional music and dance as band schools of which it is an example.  Abertal .

A  Celticization  of Galician music also had an important repercussion in the bagpipe bands. These formations are the source of a strong controversy, commonly called  bagpipe war . The main points of criticism are its aesthetics, both visual and musical, the instruments used, and in general for its departure from what is considered traditional. A  Royal Bagpipe Band  is the most significant case of this type of groupings.

Other modern bagpipers are  Xosé Manuel Budiño ,  Susana Seivane  e  Cristina Pato . The appearance of these two women in the world of the bagpipe definitely broke with the strictly masculine vision of the bagpiper. Another woman with great projection is  Mercedes Peón , possessing a powerful voice and who delves both into the vindication of tradition and its reinterpretation in modern musical languages. Groups of renowned tambourine players have also emerged in recent years, such as  Leilía , or within the most modern current,  Anubia ,  Faltriqueira ,  Ialma  or  Weasels .

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                                                                      SOURCE: GALIPEDIA

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