Saturday 21st May, 1-4pm
The txalaparta is a specialized Basque music device of wood or stone.
During the last 150 years, txalaparta has been attested as a communication device used for funeral, celebration or the making of slaked lime, or cider. After the making of cider, the same board that pressed the apples was beaten to summon the neighbours.
Then, a celebration was held and txalaparta played cheerfully, while cider was drunk. Evidence gathered in this cider making context reveals that sound emitting ox horns were sometimes blown alongside txalaparta. Actually, cider and cider houses are the only traditional context for the txalaparta we have got to know first-hand. Music is made using the txalaparta by having one or more performers (known as txalapartariak ‘txalaparta players’ or jotzaileak ‘beaters’ in Basque or txalapartaris in Spanish) produce differing rhythms, playing with wood knots and spots of the boards for different tones. Both players perform consecutively by striking with the sticks on the boards. The performance is played intuitively except for the main lines of the performance.
free entry
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