172- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Relax, we’re talking about ethnic music, about
indigenous styles that have evolved over centuries,
not about the bearded warblers of ‘new folk’.
The good old sort, passed between generations,
gathering new flavours along the way, holds the roots of
Spanish music. Few spheres of Spanish culture better
emphasise the nation’s position at a crossroads: in
‘Green Spain’ the Celtic vibe of northerly latitudes is
pervasive, while southern regions are tugged by African
and Arabic traditions.Traditional music continues to
evolve, pushed along by a healthy revival that has given
new life to old styles since democracy arrived. Purists
aren’t always impressed, but for most the expression
of regional identity through music is appreciated.Roots revival
While we know that Spain has been dragged this way
and that since Antiquity, it’s hard to trace native music
back further than a couple of centuries.The fallibility of
the ‘oral tradition’ and an absence of musical notation,
CD burners and the like made music out in the sticks
an oft-changed art form before the 20thcentury. Later,
Franco’s distrust of anything regional didn’t help with
preservation. When he did allow traditional music to
air he manipulated it, coughing up a kitschy version
that gave folk music a bad press until after his death.
Nevertheless, different regions have kept their long held
quirks – varying, but often related, styles of essentially
peasant music that have endured to modern times and
now find themselves revived and adapted.
By the way, most have accompanying dances (see
section 4.2.3.).Folkfest
The biggest Celtic
music festival in Spain,
the Festival Internacional
do Mundo Celta de
Ortigueira, kicks up its
heels in the Galician
fishing port of Ortigueira
on the second weekend
in July. Elsewhere, most
smallfiestasin Spain
will contain some form
of local music and dance.
4.1.1 Folk tales: the roots of Spanish music