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This kalejira (passacaglia, a ring dance) by Joxan is inspired by his many trips to Italy. It's the first time a brass instrument features on an Alboka track.

'Txipititxonian' is an expression used in Hernani for the way people dance in the fiestas to the rhythm of the txarangas (brass bands), a tradition deeply rooted in the town:

Txipiti-Txopiti-niian...!

I never thought Joxan would, could, compose a straightforward kalejira like this.

 

But he made a swift and complete recovery and I'm happy to say the arrangement is pure Goikoetxea.

 

 

 

Fiestas of St John’s in Hernani (1940-50)ies

 

 

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Silvio Teot (tamburello), Nani Teot (fluglehorn)
and Luigi Bolognese - Uaragniaun group from Puglia (Italy).gi Bolog

 

Video from the Basque Film Institute.
Fiestas of St John’s images around 1940 in Hernani.
Txarangas (brass bands) at the end of the videoclip.

 

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My mother aways says that my father, like a good Goikoetxea (like all the Goikoetxeas, really), is a bad dancer. My father recalls that in the fiestas of St John’s Eve people danced to the txaranga holding each other in a very odd way. My mother says that indeed it must have been odd if my father was doing the dancing...

I’d never composed a passacaglia, so it was time to do one. Anyway, I already had the name. I had to bring back my father’s Txipititxonian, which was otherwise falling into disuse in Hernani.

 

I wanted to recreate something of the atmosphere of another pasacalle we’d recorded, ‘Sakabiren biribilketa’ (Lau anaiak, 2004), especially as we’d played it on tours of Italy together with Balen Lopez de Munain’s group (in a lineup we christened the Euskamerata, until we found out this had resonances of the Duce), and also with the group Uaragniaun from Puglia in the South.

The likeness of the passacaglia to the tarantella meant that it was a popular rhythm on an Italian tour. We take this opportunity to dedicate this tune to all the great friends we made in those warm and wonderful lands: Balen, Francesca, Xabi, Salvatore, Geoff, Mario, Antonio, Jamal, Alessandro, Francesco (La Fontana), Luigi, Maria, Silvio, Nani, Filippo, Michele, Luciano, Angelo, Nico, Carlo, Vania, Gigi, Dario and Andrea... And al lthe others that have fallen into the black hole of my memory.

Special thanks to Silvio and Nani, who joined us on the track and gave it the definitive flavour we were looking for.

Does anyone remember Chuck Mangione?

Segi Aztarna...