Being a flute player I am always interested in how the irish - or, to take it wider, simple system flute is used in traditions other than Irish. We all know that the flute is now well established in Breton music though the flute tradition itself in Brittany seems to be no older than 40 years or so. There is flute playing in Galician and Asturian music. Many know the requinta - a small flute from the center of Galicia which is often played along with gaitas. There is a good article about the flute in Galicia on “The Flow” site telling that apart from the distinct requinta tradition of the center of Galicia other transverse flute plaing was known in other parts of the country though not so well documented and now almost forgotten. Despite all said I don’t know any of modern galician trad flautists. All the players I’ve listened to turn out to be from the neighbouring area - Asturia. I don’t know anything about flute playing tradition in Asturia but for now I know at least four players who perform Asturian music on Irish flute.
They are (I provided a link to YT video to each name for those who never listened to this kind of music):
Borja Baragaño who is a member of this board, as far as I know, who plays/played with the band DRD
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2G61GUzv53I
A flautist from the first DRD lineup whose name I forgot.
Marcos Llope from the band Llan De Cubel who made an Eb flute for Brian Finnegan and for whom he wrote an eponimous jig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_rptjZyH9o
Pepin de Muñalen from the band Tuenda
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxWa0R7cHQU
All of them are great players and despite an obvious Irish influence in some playing techniques play their local trad music on the simple system flutes with or without ther bands.
Are there more good flautists who play Asturian music? Who can tell? What about Galicia? Is irish flute less popular there ? I don’t mean playing Irish music, local traditions are what I am talking about.
One more interesting moment - in one thread here someone from Asturia, I suppose, said that you needed a keyed flute to play Asturian music. Trying to play some Asturian (and Galician) tunes I understood it was true. The modes are different from those of Irish music. If they involve a lot of accidentals why not to use a modern silver flute? Shouldn’t it be more comfortable for these melodies? Yet, interesting that trad musicians chose simple system. Intuitively I know the answer for myself, but what other think?