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

Oral improvisation in the world

Versified and sung improvisation is a universal phenomenon.

To access the ARGO database on oral improvisation throughout the world, click on the different areas of this map (www.argodat.com)

 

The priest Manuel Lekuona (1894-1987), chairman of the Basque Academy for many years, was the first great researcher to undertake serious studies on the primitive and universal nature of improvisation. In his work he considers versified improvisation to be a relevant part of oral literature and he says that throughout the world this phenomenon is both very rare and surprising.

Although at the beginning of the 21st century it is tending to disappear across the world, this tradition still remains well alive in the Basque Country.

Furthermore, it is worth highlighting the fact that although bertsularisme (improvisation) is mostly found in the Basque Country, it is also present amongst the 10 million Basques living across the world, namely in the United States ...

Oral improvisation in the world

Europe

West and East Asia

Africa, South and central America

 

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




 

EUSKAL KULTUR ERAKUNDEA - INSTITUT CULTUREL BASQUE

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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.