Traditional music
In Galicia as in Asturias or Cantabria, folklore is a living material to be conjugated in the present. Each region carries it high, through celebrations or festivals, updating generation after generation this elementary aspect of their identity. The success of the gaïta, the famous bagpipe telling the story of the Celtic past of the region, testifies to this. Common in the thirteenth century, it declined in popularity later before experiencing a renaissance in the early twentieth century - initiated by the iconic gaitero Perfecto Feijoo - along with a revival of Galician folklore. Under Franco, the traditional styles were eclipsed and it was not until the fall of the regime in 1975 that Galician and Asturian music really re-emerged, consecrated through numerous recordings. At the end of the 1970s and beginning of the 1980s, the Galician group Milladoiro became a reference in the world of Celtic music and began to spread the sounds and traditions of the region. A decade later, figures such as Uxía appeared, one of the patrons of Galician music, whose songs took the genre to more contemporary lands. Around the same time, the gaita player and flautist Carlos Núñez emerged, and he particularly popularized the region's musical traditions around the world. His album A irmandade das estrelas, released in 1996, sold more than 100,000 copies and received great media attention. Núñez has since become a fixture in the world of Celtic music. Other modern gaiters include the Galician Xosé Manuel Budiño and especially Susana Seivane, who paved the way for many other female artists in the field.
It was also in the 1980s and 1990s that traditional Asturian music was revived, led by artists who have become mythical such as the gaiter José Ángel Hevia or Celtic folk groups such as Llan de Cubel, Felpeyu and Tejedor. It is partly thanks to them and their works that Asturian musicians are increasingly present in events such as the Festival Interceltique de Lorient. Today, the traditional music of these regions is in good hands. First those of Mercedes Peón, iconic figure, activist for women's rights and the protection of Galician culture, who mixes tradition with rock or electro. Then those of Baiuca, a Galician musician seeking to preserve local folklore by marrying it with electronica, house, cumbia or techno.
Although the gaïta is a must, it is far from being the only traditional instrument of the Spanish Northwest. There are also some wind instruments such as the pitu montañés, the Cantabrian clarinet, the requinta, a kind of Galician fife, the pito pastoril, a flute. In the strings, we should mention the zanfona, a hurdy-gurdy that is centuries old. The region also has some percussion instruments such as the tamboril, a drum suspended from the player's belt and played with two sticks. It is the drum that, along with the bombo, a bass drum beaten with a single stick, generally accompanies the bagpipes. There is also the pandeiro, a drum on a frame, and the tarrañolas, wooden strips that are held between the fingers. Also emblematic of Galician music, the charrasco is a large pole with a frame at the top decorated with tambourine rattles. It is played by rubbing a string along the pole with a stick.
The region has two very popular folklore events, first the famous Interceltic Festival of Avilés, but also the International Festival of the Celtic World of Ortigueira. The latter, usually held in the first half of July, has been declared of international tourist interest and welcomes more than 50,000 visitors each year. Otherwise, many folkloric concerts also take place during religious festivals such as the Feast of the Apostle Santiago in Santiago de Compostela or the Semana Grande de Santander (also around Santiago's day, July 25).
Classical music
In the very long list of Spanish classical composers, there are some notable names from the northwest of the country. The region first shone softly during the Spanish Renaissance with Diego Pisador (1509-1557), a vihuela player from Salamanca, and especially Tomás Luis de Victoria (1548-1611), the most famous polyphonist of the Spanish Renaissance, who was entirely devoted to sacred vocal music. However, it is especially during the 19th century that this part of Spain becomes famous. Among others, Marcial del Adalid (1826-1881), a pianist who settled between Chopin and Galician folklore, Juan Montes (1840-1899), one of the most representative Spanish composers of his time, was born, Tomás Bretón (1850-1923), violinist and composer of operas and zarzuelas, Rafael Calleja Gómez (1870-1938), a prolific composer of zarzuelas, and Andrés Gaos (1874-1959), a violinist also associated with Argentina. On the contemporary side, let's not forget to mention the eminent Alberto Posadas (1967) who is well known for his mathematical approach to composition. Almost all of them are played by symphonic ensembles of the region, such as the Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias (OSPA) of Oviedo, founded in 1991 and very much focused on Spanish symphonic works of the 19th century, the Symphony Orchestra of Castilla y León, which has recorded for such major labels as Deutsche Grammophon and Naxos, the Real Filharmonía de Galicia, founded in 1996 and based in Santiago de Compostela, and the Symphony Orchestra of Galicia, one of the country's leading orchestras.
The dances
Given the richness of the region's folklore, it is not surprising to find many traditional choreographic expressions. One of the best known is the muiñeira, a traditional dance of Galicia and Asturias that is performed to the sound of the gaïta. Very gallant and playful, it sees dancers form a circle and perform jumps synchronized to the percussion. Carlos Núñez and Susana Seivane have played some notable muiñeira. In Asturias, the danza prima is one of the most important. A collective dance in which the members join hands or intertwine their little fingers, forming a circle that turns or moves back and forth. Other Asturian dances include the saltón, respingu, pericote, rebudixu, corri-corri and xiringüelu.
Characteristic of the Cantabrian folklore tradition are the dances of weapons such as the danzas de palillos ("dances of the stick"),the danzas de espadas ("dances of the sword") and the danzas de arcillos ("dances with decorated bows"). Of course, dances that exist in other regions, such asthe jota, fandango, mazurka, polka, rumba and pasodoble, can also be seen in the region.
