2024
The Basque Caountry and Sardinia, united by music
12.º Populos et Cuncordos - Chiesa Santa Maria degli Angeli - Santu Lussurgiu (Cerdeña, Italia) - 02/02/2024, 18:30
ERAGIYOK & Cuncordu Luzzurzesu & Cuncordu di Castelsardo
26.º Cantigos in Carrela - Santu Lussurgiu (Cerdeña, Italia) - 03/02/2024, 16:00
ERAGIYOK & Tenore Monte Bardia & Cuncordu Lussurzesu & Coru Boni Ighinu & Coro di Florinas & Coro Renato Loria & Coro Gabriel & Lorenzo Mele & Matteo Scano & Francesco Fais & Gruppo Folk Ammentos Lussurzesos
Agur, Maria (Pascual Aldave) // Aita Gurea (Francisco Madina) // Kitolis (Luis Aramburu) // Ator, mutil (Jesus Guridi) // Aurtxoa seaskan (Gabriel Olaizola) // Agur zaharra (Sabin Salaberri) // Boga, boga (Jesus Guridi) // Kanta berri (Pablo Sorozabal) // Segalariak (Josu Elberdin) // Nere maitiarentzat (Jose Juan Santesteban)
ERAGIYOK kicked off 2024 with an international performance after receiving the invitation from the organisers of the 'Cantigos in Carrela' festival in Sardinia to perform as a representative of the Basque Country. The festival was born in 1997 with the purpose of bringing together on the weekend before Carnival choirs from the island that practise traditional Sardinian singing , as well as inviting every year an international choir, representative of a characteristic and generally minority choral and cultural tradition. Over the years, groups from Italy, France, Portugal, Catalonia, Asturias, Scotland, Bulgaria, Georgia and the USA, among others, have performed through the festival.
Populos et Concurdos
The first day of the festival, Populos et Cuncordos, took place on Friday afternoon to present the international guest choir. ERAGIYOK performed to a packed Santa Maria degli Angeli church in a concert in which they alternated between sacred and popular Basque repertoire. It was accompanied by Cuncordu Lussurzesu and Cuncordu di Castelsardo, two groups representing the cuncordu, one of the traditional forms of singing practised in Sardinia.
The initial greeting of the festival was given by Giovanni Mura, president of the AIDOS Cultural Association that organises the two days, and Diego Loi, mayor of Santu Lussurgiu. Both highlighted the importance of maintaining the centuries-old tradition of Sardinian singing, before giving way to the two local groups, which performed religious and secular songs.
The last to perform was ERAGIYOK. The audience followed attentively the explanations that preceded each intervention of the choir, which emphasised both the similarities between the Basque and Sardinian cultures, which have preserved their melodies and texts thanks to the oral transmission from generation to generation, and the differences in the evolution of both traditions since the end of the 19th century.
The language barrier was not an obstacle for the public to appreciate the Basque melodies and rhythms, which were shown in all their diversity: from sacred works such as Agur, Maria and Aita Gurea to classic works of our folklore such as a vibrant Kitolis with its zortziko and ezpatadantza and our iconic work, Ator, mutil .
After handing over a souvenir figure as a symbol of friendship and fraternity to the organisers, the concert ended with a sweet Aurtxoa seaskan and a solemn rendition of Agur zaharra.
Cantigos in Carrela, a hymn to tradition
The second day had a completely different character, bringing together all the Sardinian music groups and ERAGIYOK. They all took part in an itinerant journey through the historic centre of the town, one of the best preserved medieval sites in Sardinia.
Starting from the Market Square, the organisers set up various stages where the choirs and the local dance group performed, while the locals and visitors joined in the spectacle by surrounding and interacting with the artists between performances. This went on until well into the night, in a show that sought to take music out of the enclosed spaces and reconnect with the popular tradition of singing in the street, and which ended in a festive atmosphere of fraternisation.
In tribute to Valentín Larrea
Udaberriko Kulturaldia - Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción - Gabiria - 21/04/2024, 12:15
Agur, Maria (P. Aldave) // Otoya (M. Moreno) // Eresiak (V. Larrea) // Villancico al Niño Jesús (V. Larrea) // Agur, Itziarko (Aita Donostia) // Nere etxea (Aita Donostia) // Euskal-Erria (J. J. Gainza) // Kitolis (L. Aramburu) // Bigarren kalez kale (P. Sorozabal) // Euskalerria (P. Sorozabal) // Maite, eguzki eder (P. Sorozabal) // CHANTON PIPERRI: Euskalerriko semeak gera (B. Zapirain) // Nere maitiarentzat (J. J. Santesteban) // Boga, boga (J. Guridi) // Aurtxoa seaskan (G. Olaizola)
ERAGIYOK offered a Basque music concert within the cultural agenda of the Gabiria Town Council, in which the main protagonist was music by Valentín Larrea.
Born in Gabiria, he was a prolific musician and pianist: he wrote works for piano, organ, string ensemble, choir... In 2019, Larrea's family launched a project to promote his work. Since the end of 2023, ERAGIYOK has been working to recover his choral legacy, with a view to celebrating the 150th anniversary of his birth in 2026.
The ensemble performed two works by Larrea. The first had already been premiered at the Christmas concerts at the end of 2023, VIllancico al Niño Jesús .
On this occasion, in moreover, it was a work that won an award at the Euskal Jaiak (Basque Festival) of 1900, Eresiak , which could be heard for the first time in Gabiria after many years in oblivion. It is a complex and extensive composition, prepared expressly for the competition: changes of tempos, dynamic contrasts, closed-mouth passages, movement with the intervention of a soloist... All these are the ingredients that make up the piece based on a poem by Emeterio Arrese. Based on the response from the audience, which included the composer's own family, the work itself and the choir's performance deserved a standing ovation.
Our music, our musicians
The rest of the concert programme was set in this context, where the work of Basque composers in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in order to harmonise and arrange old melodies, tunes collected in songbooks, etc, at the time of the creation of Basque choirs and choral societies, was brought up.
In the first part of the concert dedicated to sacred music, Agur, Itziarko, sung for the first time, stood out, with the whole choir and a quartet alternating in the interpretation of the different verses. Along with this, some of the usual works in the ERAGIYOK repertoire, such as Kitolis or Nere etxea , in which various soloists participate, garnered the public's attention.
As on other occasions, Pablo Sorozabal's music also had a special place, with the kalejira Bigarren kalez kale and the zortzikos Euskalerria and Maite, eguzki eder , all of them accompanied on accordion and piano by Miren Gabirondo. And, of course, in a concert with this theme there could be no better song to end than the final hymn of the opera Chanton Piperri , Euskalerriko semeak gera .
After presenting the mayor of Gabiria with a souvenir, the encores lifted the audience from their seats with three great classics: a fervent Nere maitiarentzat , a Boga, boga full of strength, and an Aurtxoa seaskan that once again sounded sweet and full of emotion.
A brilliant epilogue to a concert that will leave great memories.
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Hots Abesbatza inaugurates the 2nd edition of AHOBER
2nd choral cycle of equal voices AHOBER - Erribera kulturgunea - Astigarraga - 04/27/2024, 19:00
Il est bel et bon (Arr.: J. Leavitt) // Cantate domino (HL Hassler) // Tota pulchra est (Maurice Duruflé) // Psalm 23 (F. Schubert) // Laudate pueri (F. Mendelssohn) // Ave Regina caelorum (J. Jensen) // Revelation (Z. Randall Stroope) // O Sapientia (T. Vulc) // Goizian argi hastian (Arr..: Melody-Ky) //Errota (J. Guerrero) // Elementuen kantuak (E. Ugalde): I. SUA; II. AIREA // Itxasoa ari zat (I. Azurmendi) // Gaueko andreak (J. Guerrero) // Bi bihotz (J. Guerrero)
Conductor: Aitor Bian Bidarte || Pianist: Amaia Zipitria Zugasti
The music lovers who gathered at Erribera kulturgunea were able to enjoy the concert by ensemble from Oñati. The group of 30 women, all of them conducted by Aitor Biain and accompanied on the piano by Amaia Zipitria, presented a programme made up of sacred and Basque music from different periods and styles.
Thus, the first part of the concert began with melodies from the 16th century, passing through the Romanticism of Schubert and Mendelssohn, until reaching the impressionist music of Duruflé and contemporary works by two female composers such as Joni Jensen and Tadeja Vulc.
Hots Abesbatza also wanted to highlight the work of women composers in the Basque music section with the choice of pieces by Junkal Guerrero, Eva Ugalde and Idoia Azurmendi.
Once the official programme was over and after receiving a souvenir from the organiser ERAGIYOK, there was time for an encore. In this case, Bi bihotz, a melody full of feeling that describes through music the whole process that a woman goes through during her pregnancy. A perfect end to the second edition of AHOBER.
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Il Trovator! Io fremo!
2024 Season of the Luis Mariano Lyric Association - C. C. Amaia (Irun) - 11/05/2024, 19:00
IL TROVATORE (drama in quattro parti) - Music: Giuseppe Verdi - Libretto: Salvatore Cammarano
Manrico: JAVIER TOMÉ // Leonora: MARÍA RUIZ // Azucena: MARÍA LUISA CORBACHO // Conte di Luna: MANUEL MAS // Ferrando: ANDREA TABILI // Ruiz: IKER CASARES // Inés: KLARA MENDIZABAL // ERAGIYOK abesbatza // Orchestra and Luis Mariano Choir // Stage direction: Ana Ramos // Scenography, lighting and video scene: Alejandro Contreras // Musical direction: Aldo Salvagno
ERAGIYOK took the stage of the Amaia Theatre in Irun for the fourth time within the 21st season organized by the Luis Mariano Lyric Association, this time to perform Il Trovatore , the well-known opera by Giuseppe Verdi.
As happened in 2022 in Rigoletto , on this occasion too the staging by Producciones Telón was simple but very functional. With a large cross in the background presiding over the wholo scene, together with a platform dividing the stage into two different heights, the eight scenes of the opera were set with a few accessories and a very effective set of projections.
Five main protagonists
Once again, the difficulty of programming Il Trovatore was evident, largely because it brings together five principal soloists.
The soprano María Ruiz played the role of Leonora. In her two main solo arias, Tacea la notte placida and D'amor sull'ali rosee, she was confident, showing a beautiful voice. In the parts that she shared with the other protagonists, she was credible in the expression of all his feelings: love, sadness, fear...
Nor did Javier Tomé find it easy to bring out all the facets of Manrico's role: fervent lover, grieving son and brave warrior. In its best known moment, the aria and cabaletta Ah, sin ben mio... Di quella pira , was reciprocated by the public.
María Luisa Corbacho put all her experience at the service of the character of the gypsy Azucena, to whom she gave in equal parts a dark and pathetic tone when she told her story and that of her mother, and a heartbreaking force when she is captured by the Conte di Luna and his followers.
Manuel Mas gave voice to the evil Conte di Luna. He was able to show in his song the jealousy of Leonora's love for Manrico, and the desire for revenge towards the gypsy Azucena and her mother. His highlight, the aria Il balen del suo sorriso , was greeted with a standing ovation.
Finally, Andrea Tabili as Ferrando, adequately coped with his long opening scene, perfectly supported by ERAGIYOK, who responded to the terrible story he was telling.
The choir plays a leading role
The male choir is a main element in this opera. ERAGIYOK performed on this occasion in the role of the followers of Ferrando and the Conte di Luna and took advantage of their interventions to show off a rounded sound, perfectly guided by the clear baton of maestro Aldo Salvagno.
In addition to the opening scene with Ferrando, it stood out throughout the first scene of the third act. In Or co 'dadi… Squilli, echeggi the guerrilla tromba it sounded forceful and in the final concertante of that same scene with Azucena, Leonora, Conte di Luna and Ferrando it was involved scenically and musically in the action of the arrest, showing in its singing the contempt for the gypsy who is going to be condemned to fire. This scene drew from the audience one of the loudest ovations of the evening.
The climax came in the fourth act, with the Miserere masterfully sung a cappella by the choir at the beginning, and where four planes join and alternate: the ringing of the bell that announces the death of Manrico, the monks (ERAGIYOK) praying for the troubadour's soul, the desperate pleading and singing of Leonora ready to sacrifice herself for love, and Manrico's farewell at death's door. The scene as a whole was masterful and made the audience's hair stand on end.
Also to the audience's liking was the intervention of the Luis Mariano choir in the well-known gypsy chorus Vedi! Le fosche notturne spoglie at the beginning of the second act, and in the nuns' choir at the end of it, as well as the accompaniment to Manrico in Di quella pira .
Dedicated audience
As in La fille du regiment in 2022, the Amaia Cultural Center was filled to capacity and the 'Sold out' sign was hung. The audience rewarded all the participants in the evening with a great round of applause, a sign of the success of a performance that also featured unexpected special effects, with the sound of the strong storm coming from outside, which added to the realism of the performance.
Aita Donostia Musical Week
Aita Donostia Musical Week - Church of the Capuchins - San Sebastián - 14/06/2024, 19:30
Agur, Maria (P. Aldave) // Otche nash (N. Kedrov) // Ave, verum corpus (V. Goicoechea) // Aita Gurea (F. Madina) // Otoya (M. Moreno) // Ara nun diran (JM Glez. Bastida) // Euskal-Erria (JJ Gainza) // Kitolis (L. Aramburu) // Agur, Itziarko (Aita Donostia) // Nere etxea (Aita Donostia) // Xarmegarria zira (Aita Donostia) // Ama (Aita Donostia) // Jeiki, jeiki, etchenkuak (Aita Donostia) // Illunabarra (R. Sarriegi) // Boga, boga (J. Guridi) // Segalariak (J. Elberdin) // Torrevieja (R. Lafuente) // Goizeko izarra (JJ Santesteban)
This festival was born in 1998 under the auspices of the Aita Donostia Choir and the Gaztedi association, and over the years it has been attended by great groups from the Basque Country and beyond. ERAGIYOK performed in the second concert of the 27th edition and prepared a very attractive programme for this event, with many classics from the Basque repertoire and some works that were new to the choir.
In homage to Aita Donostia
The choir wanted to dedicate a special space to Aita Donostia, after whom the cycle is named. The musicologist, composer, folklorist and writer from San Sebastian did monumental job in the first half of the 20th century collecting melodies from village to village and from house to house, and arranged many of them in different ways, for example, for choirs.
In this way, along with works that ERAGIYOK already had in its repertoire such as Agur, Itziarko , Nere etxea and Ama , they could be heard for the first time in the voices of the choir Xarmegarria zira and Jeiki, jeiki, etchenkuak .
It is worth mentioning that among the five pieces performed, the group presented eight different soloists in different formats (solo, duets, trios and quartets), which made the harmonisations of these beautiful melodies even more special.
Sacred music, classics of Basque music and an eye on Torrevieja
In addition to the aforementioned, the concert was made up of sacred pieces and Basque folklore. In the religious music section, Ave, verum corpus by Goicoechea stood out, this time in an a cappella version. Also notable was the well-known Aita Gurea from Madina, which brought the first part of the performance to its climax.
In the Basque music section, ERAGIYOK performed some of the works that the first choirs and choral societies created at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century included in their repertoire at the beginning, all of them very well known and to the public's taste. Thus, pieces such as Illunabarra and Boga, boga. Segalariak, the work by Josu Elberdin that has been performed by dozens of choirs from the five continents, brought the official programme to a close to the applause of the audience.
After the customary exchange of memories, the encores brought another novelty, as ERAGIYOK sang for the first time Torrevieja , Ricardo Lafuente's habanera. Not in vain, this will be one of the works that ERAGIYOK will take to the International Habaneras and Polyphony Contest to be held in Torrevieja at the end of July, and the concert in San Sebastian was the perfect test bench for the Alicante event.
After this, and to close the circle initiated at the beginning of the concert, they performed the classic Goizeko izarra, which brought the audience to its feet to a standing ovation and brought a magnificent evening to an end.
To the rhythm of habanera in Torrevieja
70th International Habaneras and Polyphony Contest - Municipal Theater - Torrevieja - 26/07/2024, 22:30
July 23 – Choir State Capella of Ucraine Trembita (Lviv, Ukraine) / Choral FACE-ULA (Mérida, Venezuela) / Beijing Wuzi Riparian Choir (Beijing, China).
July 24 – Voskresinnia Chamber Choir (Ivano Frankvivsk, Ukraine) / Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana Polyphonic Choir (Bucamaranga, Colombia) / Raniza Girls Choir (Belarus) / Telkom University (Bandung, Indonesia).
July 25 – Chamber Choir of the Music Department of the University of Guadalajara (Jalisco, Mexico) / Novi Sad Chamber Choir (Novi Sad, Serbia) / Novo Concertante (Manila, Philippines).
July 26 – Dancing Choir (Valencia, Spain) / Coro Encanto (Griñón, Spain) / ERAGIYOK / Los Cantantes de Manila (Manila, Philippines).
ERAGIYOK: Con un beso (A. Martínez) // Son tus ojos (R. Lafuente) // Torrevieja (R. Lafuente) // Kanta berri (P. Sorozabal) // Kitolis (L. Aramburu)
The contest held since 1955 is one of the most renowned among those held in Spain, and the pioneer and most important within the habanera genre. The 2024 edition was held between 21 and 27 July, and of all the choirs that applied, 16 were selected in the first instance, with ERAGIYOK among them, although finally there were 14 that competed, as there were two last-minute withdrawals. The organisers prepared this 70th anniversary edition with great care.
ERAGIYOK had to take the stage on the last day of the competition, Friday 26 July. There was equal parts excitement and nervousness among the members of ERAGIYOK, on the one hand because they were performing at such an important event, and on the other because of the responsibility that comes with a competition.
It was their turn to sing in third place, after having spent the previous moments following the evening on the giant screen installed on the Paseo de las Habaneras. The performance, made up of five pieces, had all the ingredients to be a crowd pleaser. The first three pieces were set to a habanera rhythm: firstly the compulsory piece, Con un beso, and then two others of free choice, Son tus ojos and Torrevieja. The choir adapted well to a genre not usual for them, and highlighted the special character conferred by the low voices in this case as well.
Coming to the polyphony works, it offered a Kanta berri full of nuances, appropriately interspersing pianos and fortes, and offering a performance full of strength. Last came one of the choir's most beloved works, Kitolis , which turned out excellent. The two soloists, Markel Azkue and Ramon Santxez, excelled in their performances, and the choir as a whole accompanied them perfectly in the zortziko and the ezpatadantza.
The theatre, which was packed to capacity, gave the choir a two-minute standing ovation at the end of the performance, and the singers had to reciprocate by saluting three times before leaving the stage. Likewise, all those gathered in the Paseo de las Habaneras who were following the day's performance on the giant screen, greeted the singers with a multitude of applause when they returned at the end of their performance.
Choral traditions of the world
In addition to the competition itself, the Patronato de Habaneras, responsible for the organisation of the contest, organised various activities in parallel to the festival to mark the 70th anniversary. Among them was the round table held on 27 July with representatives of all the choirs, with the aim of giving testimony of the different choral realities of the world.
After receiving the corresponding souvenirs from the Mayor of Torrevieja, it was possible to listen to the testimonies and songs of each group. ERAGIYOK participated with the talk entitled Traditional Basque repertoire for bass voices: origin and evolution, and after it ended its participation with a vibrant Boga, boga that deserved the applause of all the choristers who filled the theatre.
An unforgettable experience
