Basque Musical Influence: The Choral Component

       The main 4 choral 'components' of a Basque choir are the person, the cultural object, the community, and the product. The first, the person, refers to the individual singers in the choir. Basques sing fairly often in their day to day life, at church, after dinner, to their children. This article describes the reasons for joining a choir as first and foremost to become a better singer. However many Basque singers also find it is a great way to express their emotions. Because they are prideful, Basque people do not want to broadcast their emotions. Joining a choir is a great way to express themselves through song while maintaining their emotional privacy.
       The cultural object in this case is represented by the songs the Basque sing. Because Basque territory crosses the border between France and Spain, their musical influences are that of those countries. Even though their music style is influenced by these two countries, they make it their own. Basque country has its own unique language that aids the people in developing a style of their own. This article discusses how Euskara, the language spoken by those in Basque, has a melodic pattern to which it is spoken as well as fairly simple pronunciation. While this means that anyone can join a Basque choir and be able to sing, these people will still have trouble the complex meanings behind the lyrics.
       Community may seem like a straight forward term to most people, a group who all share a common area or interest. However the Basque choral community is more of a close knit family than anything else. Not only are there numerous rehearsals every week, but they also embark on the same emotional journey the music takes them on. Music is a huge basis for bonding in the Basque community because of the emotional ties it has. Basque culture highly values music and their distinct culture. In order to be accepted in a choir one has to respect music and embrace the 'Basque-ness' of it.
       The product is the final component to a choir. This product is the choir itself. Choirs are a distinct characteristic of Basque in that they are everywhere. There is an old saying that says " Put three Basques together and they'll form a choir". This fact demonstrates how significant music and choir is to their culture. In this section the article also discusses how mass is almost completely done in song. Music is such a huge part of their everyday life that it is custom to and melody to that which would be spoken in most any other place.

Bergadaa, Michelle and Thierry Lorey. 2015. "Preservation of Living Cultural Heritage: The Case of             Basque Choirs And Their Audience." International Journal of Arts Management Vol. 17, No.             3, p 4-15. Retrieved November 17, 2016