Music From The Basque Country

Marches, marches, and more marches. Admittedly, there's more to Basque music than just that, but one would be hard pressed to come away with a different impression on a casual listen. Music from the Basque Country is, to some degree, different from any other music of Europe, but in many ways it retains a fair bit of similarity. Much of the music is based around a diatonic accordion that seems to power the full ensemble. Flutes and oboes fill in much of the harmony, and rhythm is taken care of by a couple of large drums and one very large relative of the xylophone (the txalaparta, like a series of tuned fence posts). With the interplay of xylophones and flutes in a march-like meter, the music often comes across as vaguely like many South American parade forms. More marches. Other dances, polkas, and more are present as well, but the instrumentation and meter tend to make them come off as marches as well. Happy, bouncing marches to sadder marches, but still in similar forms. The occasional vocal interlude helps throw the course a bit, but the ensemble eventually returns again -- to marches. An interesting instrumental ensemble by any account, but the music may become rather monotonous quickly to all but the most devoted listeners. ~ Adam Greenberg|