Improvised Poetry & Song in the Basque Country

IMPROVISED POETRY & SONG IN THE BASQUE COUNTRY

History and development
Competitions and championships
Masters of improvisation
Becoming a bertsulari
Basque Country Improvisation Championship 2009

Partners :

Aquitaine BNSA
EJGV

Improvisation

Well before it was ever written, the Basque language was witness to an intense form of oral expression, nourished in particular by sung, versified and rhyming improvisation known in the Basque Country as ‘‘bertsularitza’’.
Andoni Egaña - Actuel champion des bertsularis du Pays Basque - Azken bertsularien txapelketaren irabazlea
Andoni Egaña – Current improvisation champion of the Basque Country

Although it is not specific to the Basque Country, this tradition has however developed remarkably here in inns, cider-houses and other meeting places.

Today bertsularisme is taught in schools and through its championships it has achieved an unprecedented artistic level.

Discover in sound and images this particular art in the company of five improvisers or bertsularis who will be your guides.

They will tell you their anecdotes in the right hand menu as you visit the site’s different sections.

By way of an introduction, you can watch a video which briefly explains what bertsularisme is.

Bertsolaritza
Flash video (2007 - Author: Digitalak - Batekmila exhibition)

Other Video (general presentation)

Windows Media Player

Low-speed (low quality) - 620 KB

High-speed (ADSL 512 Kbps recommended – 3.8 MB)

Real Media Player

High-speed (ADSL 512 Kbps recommended – 4.63 MB)

 

For further details visit the site of our partner, the "Xenpelar" improviser resource centre





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The guides

You will be accompanied throughout this site by improvisers. During your visit: click on their photos to discover what they have to say.