BILBOKO UDAL MUSIKA BANDA – OLAETA BALLETS ELKARTEA

On the eve of St Thomas’s Day, in Bilbao’s run-up to Christmas, two 20th century cultural mainstays in our city, Ballets Oleata and the Bilbao Municipal Band, join forces to evoke Basque folklore through a fusion of music and dance. The ballet Lau Urtaroak (“The Four Seasons”) composed by the then-conductor of the Bilbao Municipal Band, José Franco Ribate, provides an allegory of the four seasons by reworking other traditional rhythms. Ballets Olaeta created a mythical choreography for this suite in the 1950s.

On the other hand, the famous Diez melodías vascas by Jesús Guridi Bidaola also pay homage to Basque folklore. The suite, dedicated to the prestigious conductor, Enrique Jordá (San Sebastián, 1911–1996), compiles the harmonisation and instrumentation of ten popular songs from the Basque Country. Eight of them come from the Popular Basque Songbook of Resurrección María de Azkue (1923-1924). The sixth song will come from Charles Bordes’s songbook and the tenth from the Euzkel Abestijak collection, composed by Father Donostia (with the pseudonym of “Udalaiz”), Father Arrúe and Guridi himself. Ballets Olaeta offers us a choreography based on different scenes from Basque culture performed to the sound of Guridi’s music.

Music and movement are the same element of artistic expression and identity for a people and a culture, which roots us to a land and which we are proud to share. Identity and generosity are the two main aspects of what is known as “Christmas spirit”.

PROGRAM

1st Part

José FRANCO RIBATE (Cariñena, 1878- Bilbao, 1951)
LAU URTAROAK (Dantzaldia, 1933)
1. Udaberria
2. Udara
3. Udazkena
4. Negua

2nd Part

Jesús GURIDI BIDAOLA (Vitoria-Gasteiz, 1886-Madrid, 1961) Arr. Tomás Aragüés
DIEZ MELODÍAS VASCAS (1940)
1. Narrativa (Sant Urbanen bezpera)
2. Amorosa (Aritz adarrean)
3. Religiosa (Garizuma luzerik)
4. Epitalámica (Jentileri un)
5. De ronda (Alabatua)
6. Amorosa (Ala baita)
7. De Ronda (Aisko naiz)
8. Danza (Zortziko de Lekeitio, sin letra)
9. Elegíaca (Zorabiatua naiz)
10. Festiva (Neure maitia)