Caminos Ibéricos

New releases from Spain, by Steve Winick

[From Dirty Linen #45 April/May '93]

First up is O Chapeau de Merlin (Merlin's Hat) [Sonifolk CDJ1023], by the Galician group Trisquel. Although both their name and the album's title indicate Celticist leanings in the group, and although they include tin whistles and bodhráns in their arrangements, there is no overt attempt to emulate the Irish tradition. Indeed, all of this music sounds at home next to other Spanish music rather than next to Celtic groups.

The album is composed of both songs and dance tunes, all of them either original compositions in Galician style or traditional Galician. The musicianship, on instruments like flute, zanfona, guitar, requinta, accordion, piano and percussion is of a high standard. Nancy Mouriño's singing is also excellent, full-throated and robust. Of particular interest to history buffs are the Cantigas de Amigo, love songs written by the Gallego-Portugués Trovadores, Galicia's answer to the Troubadours. The album features two of these among its treasures. Unfortunately, all the notes in the booklet are in Gallego, a difficult dialect for some of us to decipher... still, it's fun to try.

Another young Galician band, Leixaprén, have released a recent disc entitled Gáitropos [Sonifolk CDJ1024]. The album title refers to a medieval legend of a trickster-demon, half-man, half-bagpipe. This is appropriate, I guess, in that half of Leixaprén's members play the bagpipe... but I wouldn't want to press the analogy too far.

This group is definitely a progressive traditional band. They incorporate syncopated strumming of guitars and mandolins behind some of their tunes, piano or synthesizer accompaniments behind others. In most cases, the melodies are taken up by the flute and/or bagpipe; that's the sound that's really at the heart of the group. On some tracks, an accordion leads the tune, but usually it fills in with rhythmic chording here and there. Underneath it all is bass and percussion of all sorts; castanets, bones, drums, tambourines.

The repertoire they perform includes traditional and popular tunes as well as the group's original compositions. Most of them are well-known Galician dance forms; muneira, pasodobles and waltz all are found on this CD. Although there's not much variation from track to track in the group's sound or style, there's enough toe-tapping here to keep the interest of any dance music fan.

Despite the assertion (by a certain Castillan group who shall remain nameless) that there is not much of a song tradition in the provinces of Castilla and León, two different groups have released richly varied albums of songs from the area. My favorite of the two is by Candeal, a group composed of singers/guitarists/bandurria players Felix Perez and Tonio Ortega, along with musicians Mario Garrote and Alfonso Gato who add zanfona, accordion, organ and a few other instruments. The album is called Por El Camino de Santiago (On the Pilgrimage to Santiago) Vol.1 [Several SCD-607]. As the title suggests, it is composed of songs collected along the route of the famous medieval pilgrimage as it crossed Burgos, Palencia and León on its way into Galicia and Santiago de Compostela.

One thing particularly interesting about this album is the variety of songs that Candeal include. There are lively carnaval dance songs as well as gentle lullabyes and love songs. There's also a subdued drinking song, a fast-moving counting song and two romances, old ballads very similar in theme to both English and French language ballads. Most of the songs are accompanied by guitar and bandurria, and many feature other instruments. One slight disappointment was the fact that, even though there are at least two hurdy-gurdies in every photo of the group, the instrument only appears on two tracks; the romances, as it happens. But that does little to harm an otherwise fascinating album which is also an excellent introduction to the folksongs of central Spain, complete with full lyrics and a brief bibliography.

The other album of Castillan songs, Gañanes, Gancheros y otras Faenas [Several S-609-DI] covers the areas of Madrid and La Mancha. It's by Aljibe, a seven-man group who sing and play guitar, accordion, bandurria, laud, flute, dulzaina (shawm), bass and percussion. Their accompaniments are tinged in some cases with Flamenco, featuring briskly strummed guitar and castanets. On other songs, the influence of rock music (electric guitar and a full drum kit) is evident, while still others feature jazz-style whistle solos. Overall, the accompaniments are full, well-performed, varied and consistently interesting.

Like Candeal's album, this one features a wide variety of songs from its chosen region. Unlike Candeal's work, though, this one focuses on songs sung by the people of the area themselves, rather than by people passing through. It contains songs of town life like "Canción de Matanza," containing lyrics like "Como vives en frente de la botica/ la cara de vinagre no se te quita." Many occupational songs appear (hence the title), like "Ganchero," concerning the logging industry, and "Gañanada," one of the plowing songs that are so well known in Castilla. There's also a beautiful Christmas carol called "El Reloj del Portal." This one's full of catchy melodies, so hummers beware. Complete lyrics and notes as well as cute cartoons fill the accompanying booklet.

The word "villancico" has a number of meanings in Spanish. Originally the diminutive of villano, or peasant, it was then applied to a kind of pastoral song centuries ago. Sometime in the history of the villancico, religious themes began to dominate the texts. As a result of this change, the word means "Christmas carol" today. Thus, the title of La Bazanca's album, Escuchen los Villancicos [Several SCD-610], carries a happy double meaning: both "listen to the carols" and "listen to the peasants." Whichever you prefer to listen to, you should enjoy this album. La Bazanca's two members, Paco Diez and Salvador Cacho, sing and play a variety of traditional instruments, including percussion, flutes, tamboril, bagpipe, guitars, fiddles, and accordions. They use their talents to produce a whole album of traditional Spanish carols.

As one might imagine on this type of recording, although the arrangements are tastefully designed and flawlessly executed, it is the songs and the singing that are stressed the most. The singing is a blend of two very different voices; Diez's deep baritone dominates many of the tracks, while Cacho's tenor harmonizes. This can be disconcerting at first, since European traditional singing tends to be in the higher registers, but after a few listens it becomes as comfortable as any of the other albums here. In any case, the higher and clearer voice takes center-stage on several songs as well. The melodies are beautiful; some are joyful, some more solemn, but all of them carry the emotional intensity that many English carols have lost for us through over-familiarity. These villancicos deserve to be listened to year-round.

If traditional singing is your bag, you should really check out Chemins Iberiques (Iberian Roads) [Recidive REV 89002], the solo album by Equidad Bares. Bares is well-known as a performer of both Spanish and Occitan songs, and can be heard on one track of one domestically-released album, Lo Jai's Acrobates et Musiciens. If the power of her voice impressed you there, you can now have a whole album of it. It is a strong voice, with a fierce but controlled sound that belies great energy and passion for singing. Although the songs are often slow in tempo, the tension of the voice creates an impression of nearly explosive energy; you won't be kicking up your heels and dancing but you will be closing your eyes and listening.

Bares draws her song repertoire mostly from two regions; Asturias, in the extreme north of Spain, and Andalusia, in the extreme south. She also sings several songs of Sephardic Jewish origin. To complement her voice, she has devised arrangements that reflect Spanish tradition and her own personal taste. The Arabic and Sephardic influence in her singing is mirrored in the Middle Eastern and Indian instruments, which are played by native masters, while the southern Mediterranean culture is represented by two Frenchmen: Jean-Christophe Maillard adds Asturian bagpipe and Guy Bertrand of Lo Jai plays flutes and soprano saxophone. The arrangements are for the most part sparse, and surround her singing with brittle percussion here, nasal bagpipe there, subtly suggestive flute trillings now and again. The arrangements and the singing are absorbing and will reward repeated wanderings down Iberian Roads.

The province of Catalunya developed a high profile for a while due to the Barcelona Olympics. Long before those games, though, Catalunya had a vibrant folk culture in both rural and urban areas. Clau de Lluna, Catalunya's hot young traditional band, developed out of impromptu gatherings of musicians and dancers for Easter celebrations in the towns of Figueres and Girona, playing the traditional dance music of the area and inviting the participation of anyone interested. Now, the group has coalesced into a more organized entity that plays regularly around their province and has recently completed an album, Cercle de Gal'la [Sonifolk CDH039].

On this album, the group consists of two original members and two later additions. The veterans are Cesc Sans, who plays a distinctly Catalunyan version of the flute and tabor (ingenious keyed holes give this version a greater range than the three-holed variety common elsewhere in Spain) as well as a type of shawm and tambourine, and Pere Pau on diatonic accordion. The additions are Toni Pujol on electric bass and Simone Lambregts, a Dutch emigrée, on fiddle. With this limited arsenal of sonic weapons, the group sets out to battle boredom, indifference, and care. Their subdued but consistently pleasant sound is light and open, and really fun. The album collects Catalán tunes as well as some from both related cultures (Occitan) and those with musical, political and social affinities (Breton). Fluidly melodic as well as infectiously rhythmic, this music is reasonably paced for dancing or for plain listening. Any fan of acoustic traditional music should enjoy this upbeat presentation of lovely music.

Fans of Milladoiro may be disappointed by Galicia No Tempo [Green Linnet GLCD 3073], the group's latest release. It's not that the album doesn't have some nice, even beautiful, moments. It simply lacks that spark of excitement that generally characterizes the group and its music.

This is probably more a function of the album's intended use than a reflection on the taste or talent of the group that produced it; it was initially background music, intended to accompany an exhibit of sculpture and goldwork that was held at a breathtaking monastery in Santiago de Compostela, itself a wondrous medieval city of stone architecture. Perhaps the music is subdued so as not to steal the show or distract viewers from the exhibit. Perhaps it is the removal of the inherent excitement of the event that leaves the album sounding rather lifeless at home.

I don't mean to be overly negative, as there's some really fine music on this disc. To offset the interminable "overture," there are some beautiful melodies later in the suite. Toward the latter end of the album, some of the lively music for which Milladoiro is known makes a brief appearance. The last third, in fact, is akin to what you might hear at a Milladoiro concert's more subdued moments. The pick-up comes a little too late, though, and the disc ultimately fails to transcend its original identity as a scenic backdrop to a more exciting event.

La Musgaña's first album, El Diablo Cojuelo [Sonifolk CDH028], has recently been made available on CD. Although it's a bit rough compared to the group's later work, it still shows why this group went on to win awards and to negotiate international record deals. It features three extra tracks that mark the recording debut of the current line-up, and even a few appealing aspects that they left out of some of their subsequent recordings.

One of these aspects is Quique Almendros' wonderful dulcimer playing. This fellow is so talented that he had American dulcimer makers promising to build him free instruments last time he visited the U.S., and their enthusiasm is not misplaced. His gentle, melodic picking adds a lot of grace to the album. Another nice feature is Rafa's singing of "Un Soldado Menos," a romance (ballad) quite similar to the French "Pierre de Grenoble" in storyline. In this one, the commander lets his underling return home to see his sweetheart on the principle that "even with one soldier less, the war will also end." Quique's tamboril adds an appropriately martial sound to the arrangement, and José's gaita de fole leads out with a marvelous bagpipe rant.

Most of the album is made up of instrumental music, melodically gorgeous, played on their original combination of instruments including dulcimer, guitar, fiddle, rebec (two-stringed fiddle) and albogue (shawm) in addition to their current arsenal of zanfona (hurdy-gurdy), flute and tabor, flute, electric bass and bagpipe.

While quite beautiful melodically, the album did cause the group some chagrin. After it was released, they realized that they suffered from a lack of percussion and a concentration on flutes and gently plucked strings that left their music sounding too light and airy. This helped them adjust their sound at future concerts and on future discs, but it hampered the appeal of this first album. During the re-mixing of this for CD, Luis Delgado sat in and recorded new percussion parts; his percussion is also featured on the three extra tracks. This goes a long way toward solving that problem, producing a very satisfying introduction to the more traditional side of La Musgaña.

Y entonces, amigos, I continue along my Chemins Iberiques... or should that be Caminos Ibéricos? In any case, I hope I'll meet you all somewhere down the road.

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