The duo of pianists presents this Wednesday at San Sebastián Music Fortnight project ‘Amoria’, dedicated to music of basque and navarra, which includes a version with ‘txalaparta’ of iconic composition.
The sisters Katia and Marielle Labèque were born in Bayonne, but his vocation as a pianist he made m leave French Basque Country on a musical pilgrimage through Paris, London and Italy. It became duo piano world’s most prestigious and conquered audiences most important, from New York to Tokyo. But connection with his land was still re. And it is desire of returning to it which has led to project Amoria, dedicated to basque music, which is recorded in an album released by Deutsche Grammophon, and in a show that will be released worldwide this Wednesday in San Sebastian Musical Fortnight.
Amoria meets parts anonymous of XVII century with compositions by Pablo Sarasate, and a Bolero Ravel played at piano with txalapartas and or traditional instruments basques. “We have searched for a long time on File, Basque Music-Eresbil. And we found traditional music very closely linked to classical music,” explains Katia, older of two Labèque, who remembers “enormous work” of Far Donostia-san sebastian “to retrieve melodies basque”. Thus, in this research process, highlighting discovery of “Juan de Antxieta, a master of polyphony of SIXTEENTH century”.
Katia explains that intersection poses in Amoria is one where y cross music popular with educated. “Many of se composers have been inspired from traditional music. For example, Sarabanda of Bernardo Somogy Galdeano is not a traditional song. Or loves my mor, Antxieta, nor is it” traditional, although can not be understood without traditional. The pianist recalls that “composers very serious, such as Stravinski, Bartok, Mozart and Schubert used traditional music for ir works. It is not a new thing. What’s different in this case is that basques have maintained over many centuries”. And with a level of conservation that makes m henchirse of pride. “The basques have not lost ir identity nor contact with ir roots, with its country. And ourselves we feel very tied to tradition.”
Each of pieces of this project “represents century,” in this journey from SIXTEENTH century to TWENTY-first century. “But it is only a selection. There is so much diversity, that we can continue with this project for many years, discovering music that we don’t know”. Katia points to this vitality of Amoria, also for people who have participated. “We have formed a group in which each type of music has musicians ideals to interpret it. Carlos Mena [ bror of director of orchestra, Juanjo Mena] is countertenor more fantastic. Or Elena de Murguia Urreta, a brilliant interpreter of viola de gamba in Basque Country. Or group Hegiak, which is Eñaut Elorrieta, which has its own group of rock [Ken Zazpi], as U2 basques”.
“we’ve Also worked for 12 years with Thierry Biscary“, says Katia, ” group Kalakan“, formation of txalaparta, and or traditional instruments that accompanied Madonna in ir penultimate tour. “Left of Kalakan and we stayed with him,” she says about her contribution to this project.
Katia defends that basque music is “melody rich” and puts as an example most popular piece that appears in Amoria, which is also composition’s most well-known Maurice Ravel (Ciburu, 1875 – Paris, 1937). “The Bolero is basque, rar than Spanish. Many people think that comes from Andalusia, but it is not. Has a lot to do with basque tradition,” he explains. “We did it for first time 12 years ago, in 2006”. They wanted to demonstrate that essence of piece is not in instrumentation, but on basis of melodic and rhythmic. “It’s worth going to this version, because not everybody knows it,” he adds.
indeed, Ravel is perhaps most important pillar on which holds Amoria, as indicated by notes accompanying disc. “His work was always very connected to roots of basque music. is Always spoke of your Basque Country, and no one as he was able to describe it well. So that we had wanted to do it too.”
This Bolero “is a version “more tribal, more savage,” in which a key factor is presence of “instruments created by musicians mselves; you don’t buy a txalaparta, but you do and it works. It is a magical thing.” It is not, according Labèque, ” same roll of doing it with Berlin Philharmonic. But it has that same emotion. Is something that you can not resist, one of few classical pieces that speaks to all”.
Something like Leonard Bernstein, with whom Labèque have always maintained a fruitful relationship and we will commemorate 100 years of his birth. “A musician who did a lot for classical music and also by popular. And, above all, to bring both,” she recalls. “In that sense, is not far from idea of this disk”.
A CULTURE at THE MARGIN OF THE VAGARIES OF HISTORY
“The basque people is one of few that have been left on margin of ups and downs of story, to point of preserving a language that nobody understands,” says Katia. “When I was born, had not ikastolas, because Franco had banned use of euskera, as it had destroyed Guernica”. Is, according to her, story that is repeated: “In SIXTEENTH century y burned witches and people who were not. They destroyed a part of knowledge of basque culture, and also knowledge of plants, traditional medicine. They had to smash it to impose catholic culture. The basques, as says well Ravel in album liner notes, y are still catholic, but with a little bit of irony”.
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