the genocidal terrorism that the State of Israel has
been exercising against the Palestinian People.
December 3rd is celebrated as Basque Language Day and Navarre Day.
December 6th is the feast day of St. Nicholas.
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Basque , or Euskara , is a European, ergative, and agglutinative language spoken primarily in the Basque Country (Euskal Herria) . There are also Basque-speaking communities in Europe and the Americas . Basque is an official language, along with Castilian Spanish , in the Spanish-controlled Basque Country and the Basque-speaking area of Navarre , while it does not have official status in the French-controlled Basque Country . It is one of the few non- Indo-European languages in Europe and the only isolated language on the continent. The origin of the Basques is unknown; although there are multiple hypotheses, none has been definitively proven. Its possible connection to other languages of prehistoric Europe and its unique characteristics have attracted the interest of linguists and anthropologists worldwide.
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, unlike the piano, which is a struck string instrument , or the violin, which is a bowed string instrument . After centuries of evolution, the modern guitar consists of a soundbox with a large soundhole at the top, and a neck with six strings running from the bridge to the headstock , whose tuning pegs are used to tune the strings. The neck is covered by a piece of wood called the fingerboard , divided into frets that separate the strings into semitones. The guitar's origins date back to 1000 BC, when the Assyrians already had plucked string instruments with a soundbox. The six-string guitar, with its current tuning, was introduced in the 18th century by Jacob Otto .
Euskaraz. The piece we are offering today is part of " Euskaraz ," a recording that includes the premiere of pieces composed for guitar by Grammy and Latin Grammy- winning composer Carlos Fernando López . The music was created for the acclaimed guitarist from Gipuzkoa , Andrea González Caballero . The collection of works is a journey through a variety of sounds with the guitar as the common thread. Furthermore, in each piece, this solo instrument is accompanied by different musical ensembles such as a string orchestra or electric bass.
George Frideric Handel ( 1685-1759), born in Halle , Germany , is one of the leading figures in the history of music and, certainly, of the Baroque period . He wrote numerous operas, cantatas, and oratorios, among which his masterpiece, the oratorio Messiah , stands out. At the age of 18, he moved to Hamburg, where he joined the opera orchestra. After three years, he traveled to Florence and then to Rome . In 1710, he returned to Germany and from there went to London , where he achieved great success, which encouraged him to settle there under the patronage of various benefactors. Although he was always very protective of his private life, there are countless indications that suggest his homosexuality. In London , he acquired British citizenship and was appointed manager of the Royal Opera House, a position he held until his death in 1759.
An aria (from the Italian aria, "air") is a musical piece created to be sung, usually by a solo voice without a chorus, with orchestral accompaniment, and as part of an opera or zarzuela. In earlier times, it referred to any expressive melody, frequently, though not always, performed by a singer.
Kathleen Battle (1948) is a lyric coloratura soprano. She was initially known for her concert repertoire with the world's leading orchestras. Her operatic career developed throughout the 1980s, working with renowned conductors such as Karajan, Muti, Mehta, Ozawa, Abbado, Solti, Giulini, and Levine .
In this video, accompanied by the Academy of St Martin in the Fields conducted by Neville Marriner , she offers us a selection of Handel opera arias.
Pablo Sarasate (1844-1908) was a composer and violin virtuoso born in Pamplona, Spain . A precocious child, his parents, aware of his musical talent, enrolled him in violin studies, which he furthered in Madrid and Paris . In 1859, he began his public career, giving concerts throughout Europe and America , remaining active until his death. His universal prestige was evident in the dedications that eminent composers such as Max Bruch , Camille Saint-Saëns , Édouard Lalo, Henryk Wieniawski , Antonín Dvořák , and others added to some of his scores. He died at his home, Villa Navarra, in Biarritz in 1908, at the age of 64.
The Navarrese Jota . As the writer José María Iribarren published in the Diario de Navarra (1966): “The Navarrese jota began to take root in the Navarrese soul during the cholera epidemic of 1885; the city of Tafalla found its medicine in the jota; alongside the sulfur bonfires, there were the rondallas to soothe spirits. In this way, the jota became intrinsic to Navarre , and especially to the Ribera region .” To all this, Manuel García Matos adds: “The Navarrese Jota is closely related to the Aragonese Jota ; but it presents a greater linear undulation of phrases, with more abundant and longer melismas, and is not subject to the metric regularity of the latter. It has more melodic refinement than the Aragonese jota, and the introduction and instrumental variations are also different.”
Today we offer the work Navarra by Pablo Sarasate in a version by violinists Aleksander Smakosz and Dobromir Lesiak accompanied by The Karol Szymanowski School of Music of Warsaw conducted by the teacher Marta Kluczyńska .
Aram Khachaturian (1903-1978) was an Armenian composer under the Soviet regime. At the age of 16, he moved to Moscow and enrolled in its Conservatory . He studied with Myaskovsky , among others, and by the age of 22, he had begun writing his first works for piano and chamber music. Later, he ventured into orchestral music, theater and film music (more than 40 works across both genres), as well as ballet music, most notably the ballets Spartacus and Gayaneh , which includes the well-known " Sabre Dance ." At 33, he began publishing some of his major works, such as the Piano Concerto, which brought him fame both within and outside of Russia . Like Prokofiev and Shostakovich , he had significant disagreements with the Party, although after Stalin 's death, he was widely recognized and became a member of the Supreme Soviet . His works reflect the influence of Armenian folk music, to which he was always drawn. In Armenia , he is considered its foremost composer.
Masquerade , composed in 1941, is a suite of incidental music consisting of five movements, the first of which is the waltz that we will be able to attend today under the baton of Małgorzata Sapiecha-Muzioł , a Polish conductor who has led various orchestras in her country and won important awards.
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Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) was a British pianist, conductor, and composer who showed great musical talent from a very young age. At 14, he began private lessons with Frank Bridge , and later with Ralph Vaughan Williams . At the beginning of World War II, he moved to the USA, where he wrote several orchestral and operatic works. After the war, he returned to London by ship and composed several choral works. In 1945, his opera Peter Grimes premiered to memorable success, although his greatest success came with his War Requiem , a work intended as a condemnation of all forms of armed conflict. Criticized for his active pacifism and homosexuality, he is nevertheless considered one of the most emblematic English composers of the 20th century .
A cantata is a musical piece written to be sung by one or more solo voices with instrumental accompaniment, generally structured in several movements and sometimes including a chorus. The oldest type of cantata , known as the cantata da camera , emerged towards the end of the 17th century , composed for solo voice with a secular text, while the religious cantata was created for religious rites. These cantatas were generally structured with an initial chorus in which the sopranos began the musical theme, followed by a succession of arias , recitatives , and chorales , sometimes with passages for solo instruments playing the melody prepared for the voice. The fundamental difference between a cantata and an oratorio is that the latter has a narrative.
The Cantata Saint Nicholas was written for the centenary of the Santa María y San Nicolás School and intended for performance by the amateur choir and the musical resources available to the school, with the addition of a few professional musicians. The work deals with the life of Saint Nicholas and is structured in two parts with a total of nine movements: [0:10] PART I: Introduction .-. [6:00] PART II: The birth of Nicholas .-. [8:38] PART III: Nicholas consecrates himself to God .-. [13:06] PART IV: He travels to Palestine .-. [20:38] PART V: Nicholas arrives in Myra and is elected bishop .-. [27:17] PART VI: Nicholas is released from prison .-. [30:32] PART VII: Nicholas and the pickled youths .-. [36:53] PART VIII: His piety and his wondrous works .-. [41:48] PART IX: The Death of Nicholas .
Today we can watch it under the direction of Stephen Sands, director of Downtown Voices since 1910.
Luigi Boccherini (1743-1805) was a virtuoso Italian cellist and composer. His father was also a cellist; he received his first lessons from him and at the age of thirteen appeared on stage as a cellist. Later, under the tutelage of Vannucci, he perfected his instrumental technique and studied harmony, counterpoint, and composition. He continued his studies in Rome and, after visiting and residing in various European cities, settled permanently in Madrid , where he wrote most of his musical output. Boccherini composed a large amount of chamber music (more than one hundred quintets and ninety string quartets, as well as trios, sonatas, and pieces in other genres), and his orchestral repertoire includes nearly 30 symphonies and concertos.
Quintet with Guitar G 448 D-Major . Of the 12 quintets he wrote (2 sets of 6), it is believed that only 9 were published; and of these, one has been lost. Today we present Quintet No. 4, D Major G448 , known as “Fandango,” structured in three movements: I (0’00”) PASTORALE .-. II (4’18”) ALLEGRO MAESTOSO .-. III (10’44”) GRAVE ASSAI – FANDANGO, from which the quintet takes its nickname. The performance is by the string quartet of members of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra with guitarist Maria Efstathiou .
Francisco Escudero (1912–2002) was a Basque composer born in Zarautz (Gipuzkoa). He began his musical studies at the San Sebastián Municipal Academy of Music and continued them in Madrid , Paris , and Munich . In 1937, he received the National Fine Arts Prize ; in 1945, he was appointed director of the Bilbao Choral Society ; in 1947, he won first prize in the Falla Tribute Competition ; in 1948, he obtained the Chair of Harmony and Composition at the San Sebastián Conservatory of Music ; and in 1957, he received the National Music Prize . Among his most outstanding works are the funeral oratorio Illeta , the symphonic poem Arantzazu , the opera Zigor , the Cello Concerto , the Basque Piano Concerto , the Sacred Symphony , Tonemas , Geosymphonic Fantasy , and the opera Gernika .
Zigor (Punishment) is an opera in four acts written by Francisco Escudero in 1962, commissioned by ABAO , with a Basque libretto by Manuel Lekuona based on a story by José Zinkunegi . The action begins with three fairies singing about the bleak immediate future of the Basque Country and the prosperous era that will arrive with Sancho Garcés . The traitor Zunbeltz defies God by claiming the crown of Nafarroa/Navarra . However, Saint Leo assures the Basques that the enemy will be punished. Hence the title Zigor (Punishment): the Normans are punished with defeat, and the wicked Zunbeltz is punished both psychologically (remorse, hallucinations, etc.) and physically, when he accidentally and fatally wounds his daughter, Lore .
Today they offer it to us: Ignacio Encinas (URKO) Pavlo Hunka (ZUNBELTZ) Christopher Robertson (URDASPAL) Ana María Sánchez (LORE) Alfonso Echeverría (BURNI / UN ABAD) Marta Ubieta (OTXANDETA) Mabel Perelstein (URREA) Maite Arruabarrena (SORGIN) Pedro Calderón (UN VIGÍA) José manuel Díaz (SAN LEON) Choir Easo, Bilbao Opera Choir, Bilbao Symphony Orchestra , all conducted by the Italian maestro Antonello Allemandi
Bert Appermont (Bilzen, December 27, 1973) is a Belgian music educator, conductor, composer, and arranger. He studied counterpoint, fugue, orchestra, and conducting at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven . In 1998, he completed his studies there with a double master's degree in music education and conducting (HaFaBra - Harmony, Fanfare, and Brass band music). He continued his studies at the Bournemouth Media School in England , where he earned a Master's degree in Music Design for Film and Television , providing him with extensive knowledge of composition techniques for musicals, film, and television. As a composer, in addition to two musicals, he has composed approximately one hundred works for choir, chamber ensemble, wind orchestra, and symphony orchestra.
Symphony No. 1 Gilgamesh . Written for Concert Band , the Symphony consists of 4 movements: I (4'13") GILGAMESH AND ENKIDU. The first movement introduces the two demigods Gilgamesh and Enkidu . II (9'14") BATTLE OF THE TITANS. In the second movement, the two characters fight each other in a heroic battle and discover they are equally strong. III (16'13") ADVENTURES IN THE FOREST. They become friends and embark on various adventures in the forest, where they fight all kinds of dangerous creatures. IV (21'17") JOURNEY TO UTNAPISHIM . In the final movement, Enkidu tries to find an answer to mortality after the death of his friend Gilgamesh .
Today's performance is brought to us by the Landesblasorchester conducted by the Swiss maestro Isabelle Ruf-Weber
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Maite Itoiz, a producer, composer, and vocalist with a background in both singing and guitar, comes from the classical world, having participated in numerous operatic productions with today's greatest opera singers and conductors, and with several classical CDs on the market. She has skillfully adapted her lyric soprano voice to a wide variety of styles, playing with timbres. She produces everything from pure classical music to heavy metal bands, always adding a symphonic touch to her productions. (last.fm)
The Navarrese Jota . As the writer José María Iribarren published in the Diario de Navarra (1966): “The Navarrese jota began to take root in the Navarrese soul during the cholera epidemic of 1885; the city of Tafalla found its medicine in the jota; alongside the sulfur bonfires, there were the rondallas to soothe spirits. In this way, the jota became intrinsic to Navarre , and especially to the Ribera region .” To all this, Manuel García Matos adds: “The Navarrese Jota is closely related to the Aragonese Jota ; but it presents a greater linear undulation of phrases, with more abundant and longer melismas, and is not subject to the metric regularity of the latter. It has more melodic refinement than the Aragonese jota, and the introduction and instrumental variations are also different.”
Autumn leaves is a popular song and jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945 with original lyrics by Jacques Prévert in French (original French title: "Les Feuilles mortes"), and later by Johnny Mercer in English.
Kenny Barron (1943) is an American jazz pianist. He is one of the leading pianists of post-bop , influenced primarily by Tommy Flanagan and Wynton Kelly , but also by Thelonious Monk, Art Tatum , and McCoy Tyner . He is the younger brother of tenor saxophonist Bill Barron , with whom he made his recording debut, and is known for his lyrical and flexible style. He rose to fame playing piano in Dizzy Gillespie 's quartet in the 1960s; since then, he has worked with hundreds of top musicians. He has been nominated nine times for Grammy Awards and for the American Jazz Hall of Fame , and in 2010 , the National Endowment for the Arts named him a " Jazz Master."
Priscilla Chan (born July 28, 1965) is a Cantopop singer from Hong Kong . She attended Marymount High School in Happy Valley, Hong Kong (formerly known as the Maryknoll Sisters' School ). Active in extracurricular activities and hobbies, she recounts that as a teenager she was encouraged to participate in singing competitions; eventually, she was discovered by a recording company and began her professional singing career at around 18 years old in 1983. She currently resides in Happy Valley, Hong Kong, and is known for expressing great passion and emotion in her love songs, many of which have become famous Cantopop classics.
Alberto Barros (1957), nicknamed "The Titan of Salsa," is one of the most representative artists of Colombian music internationally. He boasts an extensive career as a music producer, composer, arranger, trombonist, and singer. At just 14 years old, he began his musical studies at the Conservatory of the University of the Atlantic , later traveling to Medellín to further his studies in harmony and orchestration. In 2017, he was nominated for the 18th Latin Grammy Awards for "Best Salsa Album." Previously, Barros had been nominated seven times for a Latin Grammy , winning three. He has recorded seven albums of Tributes to Colombian Salsa and four Tributes to Colombian Cumbia , of which we present the first today.
Cumbia is a traditional folk music and dance rhythm from Colombia . It incorporates elements from three cultural traditions: Indigenous, African, and, to a lesser extent, European (Spanish), the result of a long period of cultural mixing. The music features drums of African origin; maracas, guache (a percussion instrument), and flutes (millo cane flutes and gaitas) of Indigenous origin; while the songs and verses are a contribution of Spanish poetry. As for the dance, it is notable for its sensual, gallant, and seductive movements, characteristic of dances of African origin.
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Anton Arensky (1861–1906) was a Russian Romantic composer and music teacher. His parents moved to St. Petersburg in 1879, where he studied composition at the St. Petersburg Conservatory as a student of Rimsky-Korsakov . After graduating in 1882, he became a professor at the Moscow Conservatory . His students included Scriabin and Rachmaninoff . In 1895, Arensky returned to St. Petersburg as director of the Imperial Choir , having been recommended by Balakirev . He retired in 1901, employing his time as a pianist, conductor, and composer. Arensky died of tuberculosis in a Finnish sanatorium in 1906. It is alleged that drinking and gambling ruined his health.
Cléopâtre is a one-act ballet with choreography by Mikhail Fokine and music by Anton Arensky, based on the same composers' earlier ballet, Les Nuits égyptiennes . The sets and costumes were designed by Léon Bakst , and the first production premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on June 2, 1909.
Today we offer this performance from the Rome Opera House with Gaia Straccamore, Vito Mazzeo and Alessia Gay as principal dancers.
Georges Bizet (1836-1875) was a French pianist and composer who did not achieve widespread success during his lifetime. He won several prizes throughout his brilliant career as a student at the Paris Conservatory , including the prestigious Prix de Rome in 1857. He was recognized as an exceptional pianist, although he chose not to capitalize on his talent and rarely performed in public. His most famous opera, Carmen , was a sensational success at its premiere, which he did not live to enjoy, as he died three months later of a heart attack at the age of 39. The rest of his works were largely forgotten and only gradually rediscovered in the 20th century. Despite this, he is now considered a leading figure of the 19th century and a brilliant and imaginative composer.
Carmen is a dramatic opera in four acts with music by Georges Bizet and a French libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Henri Meilhac , based on the novel Carmen by Prosper Mérimée ; the action takes place in Seville in 1820 and stars a beautiful and impulsive gypsy woman with a strong character.
Today we present a choreographed selection from Carmen , performed by two prominent figures in the world of ballet: Roberto Bolle (1975), an Italian dancer who in 2003 received the title of étoile at La Scala and in 2009 became principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre ; and Polina Semionova. (1984) is a Russian ballerina who has received important awards and recognitions since she was the first ballerina of the Staatsballett Berlin at only 18 years old .
The Jarabe Tapatío is a well-known regional dance from the Mexican state of Jalisco ; outside of Mexico, it is known as the Mexican hat dance . This dance from Jalisco represents a man's courtship of a woman, beginning with an invitation from the man to his partner to start a romantic relationship. During the dance, the charro hat that the man wears is placed on the floor, and both dancers perform heel taps around it until the woman bends down to pick it up.
Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán is a Mexican folk music group founded in 1897 by Gaspar Vargas López (1880-1969). Currently under the artistic direction of Rubén Fuentes , with musical direction by Carlos Martínez , the group consists of a harp, a vihuela, a guitar, a guitarrón, three trumpets, and seven violins. They call themselves "The Best Mariachi in the World ," a name suggested by Fuentes himself (when he was artistic director of RCA Victor in 1956). Throughout their long career, they have performed countless live recitals and released numerous recordings.
Xabier Solano Maiza (Hernani, Basque Country, 1978) is a Basque musician who began his musical career playing the trikitixa ( Basque accordion) in the rock band Etzakit , which he founded with Jon Mari Beasain in 1994. With Etzakit, he released two albums: Etzakit and Goiz edo noiz. From 2003 onwards, he began collaborating regularly with Fermin Muguruza .
Bi Mundu. The song was composed by Solano at the suggestion of the Elkano Foundation. The lyrics are by Jon Garmendia Txuriya , a frequent collaborator of the musician. It is a song inspired by Elkano 's first circumnavigation, celebrating diversity, cultural exchange, and the unity of all those who made that voyage possible; all in Basque and from the perspective of the Basque people.
(Extracted from an article published by the Elkano Foundation)
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Various Wikipedia articles and relevant information on Artificial Intelligence were used to prepare these texts.
The texts of Videomusicalis are written in Basque, Spanish and English.
