The

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

( es, albogue) is a

single-reed A single-reed instrument is a woodwind instrument that uses only one reed to produce sound. The very earliest single-reed instruments were documented in ancient Egypt, as well as the Middle East, Greece, and the Roman Empire. The earliest types o ...

woodwind instrument Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and Reed ...

consisting of a single reed, two small diameter melody pipes with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn. Additionally, a reed cap of animal horn is placed around the reed to contain the breath and allow

circular breathing Circular breathing is a technique used by players of some wind instruments to produce a continuous tone without interruption. It is accomplished by breathing through the nose while simultaneously pushing air through the mouth using air stored ...

for constant play. In the Basque language, an alboka player is called . The alboka is usually used to accompany a tambourine singer. Although the alboka is native to the Basque region, similar instruments can be found around Spain including Madrid (), Asturias (), and Castile and Andalusia (), but in those cases they only have a single pipe. The name is derived from the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

(), which means "the trumpet" or "the horn". Hornpipes are made of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with fingerholes, and a bell traditionally made of animal horn. An animal horn reed cap usually encompasses the idioglot reed. These instruments are descended from single-reed idioglot instruments found in Egypt as early as 2700 BCE. During the Old Kingdom in Egypt (2778-2723 BCE), memets were depicted on the reliefs of seven tombs at Saqqarra, six tombs at Giza, and the pyramids of Queen Khentkaus. Horns were later added to the reed pipe to increase resonance. Horn caps were also added around the reed, and the player would blow into the hornpipe to activate the reed instead of holding it in their mouth. The alboka has two cane pipes, a wood handle, and a horn at each end. It may be descended from the Moroccan double hornpipe, which has two cane pipes, each fitted with a cow horn. The alboka was established in Spain by the end of the 13th-century. Representations of it can be found in the and surviving medieval sculptural church decorations. Notable players are

Ibon Koteron Ibon Koteron (born in Bilbao in 1967) is a Basque musician renowned as a player of the alboka. His 1996 debut release was a joint record with Kepa Junkera, entitled '' Leonen Orroak'' (''the roarings of Leon'', a homage to the great ''albokalari'' ...

and Alan Griffin. It is also being integrated into modern bands, such as .

Gallery

Image:Alboka.jpg, An alboka on a table. Image:Alboka.png, A diagram of an alboka in the Basque language. Image:Albokadetail.jpg, A medieval painting of two alboka players. Image:Albokari.jpg, An alboka standing upright.

Bibliography

* Barrenchea, José Mariano y Riezu, P. Jorge de, "Alboka. Entorno folklórico" Archivo Padre Donostia. Lecaroz (Navarra), 1976.

Gallery

See also

Bibliography

Discography

References

External links