so i was just watching LinkTV’s ‘World Music’ program, and they played some videos of this great spanish/basque group that plays spanish-influenced Celtic music… and their whistler broke out what looked like a ram’s horn, and started playing it like a flute. the sound it made was something like a bagpipe chanter without the drone…
here’s a link to a youtube clip of one of their performances- he breaks it out here, too, tho it’s a bit difficult to distinguish the sound of it with the other instruments: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHCuxMbPzFg
on the Calabash music site, http://alboka.calabashmusic.com/
the sample for ‘Jauntxoa’ has a segment that could be the txalaparta- i’m not really sure, since it does sound so much like a bagpipe.. hm.
anyway!
i’m interested to know if anyone here owns one/ has played one/ can give any practical info about them: ie- how many holes do they have? are they easy or hard to get familiar with? do they TASTE like a ram’s horn (which, having blown one of those, i can attest to them tasting like old, thick fingernails (BLECH!))… anyone? anyone? beuller?
The only reference to txalaparta I have isn’t a wind instrument, but a percussion instrument from Basque. It consists of a long board that is beaten by two players together.
YEAY STAN!! that WOULD make sense, since they named their group ‘Alboka’!! the announcer on World Music had said that the ‘interesting instrument they were playing was called a txalaparta’, so i just ASSUMED it was the same thing! oops!
ok, so it’s called an ALBOKA. anyone know anything about those? are they difficult? do they taste funny? any idea what kind of horn they’re made from?
~Z
I tried one at a music store once, tho it was made in… bulgaria or something. Not Basque country. Anyway I think it was cowhorn. It tasted just fine. Was very difficult to get a clean tone outta tho. But taht mighta been the reed, I didn’t examine it but it looked a little gunky.
I should think that both instruments would easily be described as interesting!
From the image, it appears to be a cow’s horn (or some similar bovine). I should think that you wouldn’t taste the horn (I agree, that’s an awfull taste! ), but the wood might have a folksy flavour! Spoonie’s gemshorn reference wouldn’t be too far off the mark either. They taste putrid.
From the image it also appears to be a double reed of the windcap variety. From my limited windcap experience, I’d guess it probably isn’t as hard as a shawm or oboe, but a lot harder to play than a tin whistle. Windcaps kind of fall in the middle, IMO.
If you can find one, why not give it a shot? You’ll have an experience to write home about at the very least!
The alboka is a close relative of the Scottish stock-and-horn. Hornpipe, in short. The difference is that the alboka has a second pipe, that functions (mostly) as a drone. (variable one). The two pipes have both a single reed each, the playing pipe has 5, the other 1 (I think, might be 2 ) fingerholes. Each end is encapsuled in a cow’s horn, the lower one acting as an amplifier, the upper one as a windcap. The music is ancient , at least goes back a very long time. What I mean is that an actual piece you might hear might not be ancient, but the instrument has an unbroken history of umpteen centuries.
tim- thank you for the info!
i’d love to go try one, but since i live in the middle of NOWHERE (western nebraska) at the moment, there’s no way for me to try one without buying it over the internet. thus, i’m living vicariously through all of you! LOL!
Yuri-
the info on the reeds is invaluable! thanks! i play the sax, so i’m good with reeds, but i’m thinking that i’m not really up to taking on a double reed instrument. it’s pretty enchanting to know that it’s such an ancient thing, as well!
), but the wood might have a folksy flavour! Spoonie’s gemshorn reference wouldn’t be too far off the mark either. They taste putrid.
thus, i’m living vicariously through all of you! LOL!