EncyclopediaTxalaparta

The txalaparta is a directly struck idiophone. (Here we will not deal with other variants of the txalaparta such as toberak, kirikoketa, ote-jotzea, etc.)

Description of the instrument

Its appearance has not always been the same in all places. The common features that are constant are the following:

Two stands are placed, which can be baskets turned upside down, or chairs or benches. Over them something that isolates is placed; usually leaves (of corn), dry grass, old sacks... A plank of approximately two meters long is laid on them horizontally, twenty centimetres wide and six thick. The stands are located approximately one-fifth from the end of the plank.

Four sticks are used to play. Their and appearance vary greatly from one place to another. The of the sticks of the Zuaznabar from Lasarte was 52 centimetres, that of the Goikoetxea of Astigarraga 60 cm, and those of the Billandegi farmhouse 88 cm. In all three cases the sticks were tapered.

Way of playing

The interpreters are usually two and them, playing alternately, they make up the music. They hit the plank that is horizontally placed and insulated so that the resonance is not lost from top to bottom, taking the sticks vertically (two for each player). Depending on the place, each interpreter receives a different :

1. ttakuna 2. herrena (the lame)

2. tukutuna 2. urguna (the lame)

As these s indicate, each player has its function. One puts the balance-order and the other breaks what the partner has proposed, creating a disorder-imbalance or lameness. Thus, forming the rhythm and undoing it throughout the performance, they accelerate until reaching an unbreakable balance-order.

There are certain rules for playing the txalaparta, and although these are very specific, they give the txalapartaris a lot of freedom to use their imagination and improvisation capacity.

One interpreter does what is called "Ttakun" or "tukutun", giving two beats-strikes each time, and the other, the double strikes that the "ttakun" gives, plays what corresponds to what is called "herrena" or " urguna ". The "lame" makes the games and changes, introducing two beats, one or nothing, thus forming different combinations.

There are also other resources for making music: playing with the timbre of the sound, the pitch, the volume and the tempo.

History

We could think that the txalaparta, due to its appearance and function, is very old, although we do not have old reports that demonstrate it.

Father Donostia, Manuel Lekuona and José Miguel Barandiaran were mainly those who informed us of its existence. Although brief, the information given by Severo Aguirre Miramón on txalaparta is also very interesting. It is thanks to them that we know what we know about the instrument in ancient times. In addition to what they collected, we add what we directly received from the old txalapartaris that we have known in life, which makes up most of what we know.

In the writings of these researchers the extension of the txalaparta is not appreciated, neither geographically nor socially. What we can say is that in the 20th century it was culturally marginalized until the 1960s and it was not given the importance that was given to other musical instruments.

The following is what we have been able to collect on txalaparta in the oldest documentation and in the investigations received directly.

Where it was used

Donostia-Urumealdea, Lasarte, Usurbil, Hernani, Ereñotzu, Urnieta, Altza-Intxaurrondo, Astigarraga, Ergobia and Andoain have been places that have known these customs in the past.

The txalaparta always appears in rural settings or environments and related to the life of the village.

In the 1960s, there were few couples left in the Donostia-Urumea area: Lasarte, Hernani, Astigarraga, Ergobia and Altza. We have learned what we know about the txalaparta in all these places, but among all of them, Migel and Pello Zuaznabar from the Sasoeta farmhouse in Lasarte and the Asentsio and Ramón Goikoetxea brothers from the Erbetegi-Etxeberri farmhouse in Astigarraga have been our main informants and teachers.

Moments of use and function

The txalaparta has been linked to the chores and the celebration of the auzolan (communal tasks), but always in a festive atmosphere. After mashing the apple, the participants made a dinner and held a party. Sometimes it was a large dinner, sometimes not so much. Ramón Goikoetxea used to say that "sometimes with cod, sometimes with old sardines", but the party always took place. There was never a lack of cider or zizarra (freshly made cider).

After dinner people warmed up a bit, even got drunk; then they would mount the txalaparta right there, usually outside, in front of the house door, and immediately they would begin to play the txalaparta. Then a new part of the party began, with the members of the dinner who were at home and from there the people who after listening to the txalaparta came from the villages in the area, especially the young people.

They say that the txalaparta could be heard 5 kilometers away and that many of those who lived in the surroundings came to the party.

Ramón Goikoetxea said that "while we were hitting the apple on the tolare, we chose the board with which we would later play the txalaparta and when we took the selected board from the tolare it was wet, damp and we put it on the roof to dry it, so that it would give better sound. And by the way, so that people would see and know that there was going to be a party soon. People were alert to know when they would organize the party in Erbetegi-Etxeberri ".

"There we were, jumping, screaming, drinking cider and playing and listening to the txalaparta until dawn." As we can see, also in the past there were considerable evenings, because at that time the nights are long and hard. To understand the festive atmosphere there, here is another curiosity that R. Goikoetxea tells: "Our grandfather, bending backwards, passed under the plank while my brother and I played".

Migel Zuaznabar also told us the same thing about these parties around cider and narrated another event to understand the atmosphere around txalaparta. Once they had a "quintos" (peers) dinner in a Lasarte restaurant and once the meal was over it occurred to them to play the txalaparta, but there they didn't have the necessary things to form the instrument. What did they do? The booth that was located in the passage of the San Sebastián-Bilbao railway was dismantled, taking the necessary material to mount a txalaparta and then it was played without rest.

In some cases, together with the txalaparta other instruments were used. In Lasarte, for example, they blew the horn before each performance.

The belief that txalaparta has been a tool to send messages from one place to another is widespread. But of all the information we have received, the song of the kirikoketa "alakiketa, sagarra dela..." is the only case that could be considered to have these characteristics, but we have not found something similar anywhere else. The old txalapartaris that we have known say that they have never wanted to send any message with their performances. When asked if he was playing to send messages, R. Goikoetxea said: "In the same way that accordionists play Andre Madalen, in the same way we play the txalaparta."

By this we do not mean that it was never used for that purpose or that there was no different code to pass warnings, as in the case of bells. Apart from the case of "Alakiketa", the txalapartaris that we have known have only used the instrument to entertain people and make music and rhythmic games, in a festive atmosphere and always with that form of free and improvised interpretation.

The txalaparta has another peculiarity. In the writings and in all the cases that we have known directly, it is noted that the gigs have been at night. The parties around cider, the “karobi eztaiak” and the celebrations around weddings are examples of this. The only exceptions would be the performances of the ancient txalapartaris in recent years carried out outside their environment and as exhibitions.

This point will have to be studied in depth, because the nocturnal character may not be accidental: the same happens in customs similar to the txalaparta that we know in the world, such as the blows of Swiss carpenters and the practices of shelling rice in Malaysia and Siam (Beltrán, 2009, 36-38).

Current situation

Since the 1960s, the situation of the txalaparta has changed a lot. Today there are many txalapartaris throughout Euskal Herria. Since the instrument passed from the hamlet to the urban environment, the musical and social functions of the txalaparta have greatly expanded. There is a growing diversity and complexity in the utions and in the materials used. Finally, more and more stable groups are doing extensive work. There are several schools for learning to play the txalaparta, and in recent decades there have been significant advances in learning methods and notation.

For all this, we can say without a doubt that txalaparta, just as it has a past and present, will probably also stay in good health in the future.

SOURCES

Bibliography

AGUIRRE MIRAMÓN, Severo de. (1882). Fabricación de la sidra en las provincias vascongadas y su mejoramiento. Capítulo IX: “Majada o trituración de la manzana.” Sección 1ª “Majada o pisón”. Establecimiento Tipográfico de los Hijos de I. R. Baroja. San Sebastian. [Ed.: 1910? Casa editorial Maucci. Barcelona]

BARANDIARAN, Jose Miguel De. (1972). Diccionario Ilustrado de Mitologia Vasca. OC Tomo I. Bilbao: Editorial La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca.

BELTRAN ARGIÑENA, Juan Mari. (1996). Soinutresnak euskal herri musikan. Hernani: Orain. 

(2004). Txalaparta eta beste aldaera zaharrak. La txalaparta. Antecedentes y variantes. La txalaparta, origines et variantes. The txalaparta. Forerunners and variants. Oiartzun: Herri Musika Bilduma, 3. HM Txokoa.

(2007). Hernaniko txalaparta eskolaren 11 ikasturte. Jentilbaratz 9. Cuadernos de Folklore, 9. Donostia: Eusko Ikaskuntza.

(2009). Txalaparta. (libro+CD+DVD). Donostia-San Sebastián: Editorial Nerea / NO-CD Rekords.

DONOSTIA, Aita. (1924). Toberak. Obras Completas del P. Donostia. (Tomo I, 71-90). Bilbo: La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca.

(1952). Instrumentos Musicales Populares Vascos. Obras Completas del P. Donostia. (Tomo II, 257-309). Bilbo: Ed. La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca.

LEKUONA, Manuel. (1920). El Epitalamio Vasco- Las toberas. Idaz-lan Guztiak, 365-378. Tolosa: Kardaberaz Bilduma - 23. 1978.

(1978). Toberak eta Txalaparta. Idaz-lan Guztiak, 359-363. Tolosa: Kardaberaz Bilduma - 23. 1978.

Discography

ARZE, J.-A. ALEMAN. (1986). Txalaparta. Elkar ELK-118.

BELTRAN ARGIÑENA, Juan Mari. (2017). Soinu-tresnak Euskal Herri Musikan. 1985-2010. Elkar-Soinuenea Fundazioa. KD DVD-E 968.

(2009). Txalaparta. (libro+CD+DVD). Donostia-San Sebastián: Editorial Nerea / NO-CD Rekords.

OLAIZOLA, Imanol. (1963). Txalaparta con adarra en el Caserio Billandegi. (13:52). [Grabación en directo en cinta, digitalizada por Eresbil, copia en Soinuenea]

ZUAZNABARTARRAK. (1975). Antología de instrumentos vascos. Columbia BC 3896.

Filmography

BASTERRETXEA-LARRUQUERT. (1968). Ama lur / Tierra madre. Euskadiko Filmategia.

BELTRAN ARGIÑENA, Juan Mari. (2017). Soinu-tresnak Euskal Herri Musikan. 1985-2010. Elkar-Soinuenea Fundazioa. KD DVD-E 968.

(2009). Txalaparta. (libro+CD+DVD). Donostia-San Sebastián: Editorial Nerea / NO-CD Rekords.

EUBA UGARTE, Argibel. (2016). BASKER; 1960ko hamarkadako euskal kulturari buruzko suediar dokumentalak. Bilbo: EHU. [Libro+DVD]

LARRUKERT, Fernando. (1978). Euskal herri-musika. Euskadiko Filmategia.