The Alan Lomax Collection:
The northwestern province of Galicia is often characterized as the most "Celtic" region of Spain, and the sonic evidence would seem, superficially at least, to support that impression. Hearing the instruments (gaita and gallega bagpipes, panpipes, whistles, tabor or frame drum, tambourine, triangles, bottle percussion, seashells), if aficionados detect Celtic strains, the comparison has real limits. In his work Lomax was primarily interested in vocal styles, and given the many differences, to categorize Gallego music as "Celtic" obscures rather than enlightens. Among the most interesting oral forms are the religious ballads ("�D�nde Vai San Xoan?"), lullabies ("O Neni�o"), occupational songs ("Canci�n de Canteros," a stonecutter's song, complete with the sounds of their work) and the copla (couplet), verses improvised in the moment, sometimes in verbal competition between singers, drawing from a vast oral repertoire primarily concerned with the vagaries of love and courtship.
Arag�n and Valencia begins with an a cappella jota, followed by a jota de baile (danced jota) in which the singer is backed by la�d (a large mandolin-like instrument in the bass register), bandurr�a (a picked, metal-stringed mandolin), and the dancers' castanets. Northward in Arag�n's Teruel region, the jota appropriates the distinctive sound of the dulzaina (double-reed shawm) and drum or, alternatively, on "Mayos de Albarrac�n," guitar, la�d, bandurr�a, triangle and a full-bodied male chorus.
A remarkable suite from the Huesca region of northern Arag�n, "Mudanzas del Dance de Yebra de Basa" comprises voice, chiflo (a three-holed recorder-like flute) and salterio (a six-stringed zither, played vertically, struck simultaneously by the singer-chiflo player as he delineates the melody. The album cover photo depicts this unusual combination. From Zaragoza, in central Arag�n, comes a distinct jota and bolero sound; the examples heard here were actually recorded in concert, revealing that by the early 1950s the folk repertoire was already undergoing commercialization, in urban areas at least.
The CD's second half explores the music of Valencia, whose geography and history necessarily have given a more pan-Mediterranean feel to its music. Instruments include guitar, la�d, bandurr�a, dulzaina and various percussion, including the ximbomba, a friction drum with analogous forms in Italy, Malta and North Africa. Vocal styles reveal distinctive North African elements, as on "A la Vora del R�u, Mare," a haunting unaccompanied song. The fandango, backed by solo guitar or rondalla (chamber string ensemble, sometimes with woodwinds or brass, or both) and the paso doble ("Como las Propias Rosas," performed by a brass band) are two popular Valencian forms. Lullabies, work songs and Christmas devotionals are also heard, including an aguinaldo (processional) with clarinet and bombardino (trombone).
Incomplete and selective though these Lomax Spanish series reissues necessarily are, the music's careful documentation represents an invaluable resource, testimony to the remarkable diversity of Iberian song and dance forms, and their relationship to pan-Mediterranean and transatlantic musics. - Michael Stone
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