Bertsolaritza
Bertsolaritza is the art of singing extemporary composed songs in Basque according to various melodies and rhyming patterns. Bertsos can be composed at a variety of occasions but generally either by a solo bertsolari, in company between more than one bertsolari amongst friends or at a competition. Such a sung piece of composition is called a bertso, the person who sings it is called a bertsolari and the art of composing bertsos is called bertsolaritza in
Basque. Traditionally these were sung by men but there is an increasing number of young female bertsolaris today.
Usually the Basque terms are used in Spanish and French but the Spanish terms versolarismo and bertsolarismo and the French terms bertsularisme (from Zuberoan bertsularitza) and versification are also used.
The Bertso
A bertso consists of two main components: the spontaneous verse and the melody to which it is sung. The famous modern-day bertsolari Xabier Amuriza defined it in a bertso as:
| Neurriz eta errimaz | Through metre and rhyme |
| kantatzea itza | to sing the word |
| orra or zer kirol mota | that is what kind of sport |
| den bertsolaritza. | the bertsolaritza is. |
Many different forms of metre exist for bertsos but 4 of the commonly encountered ones are the zortziko txiki "small of eight", zortziko handi "big of eight", hamarreko txiki "small of ten" and hamarreko handi "big of ten". An example of a Zortziko Txiki is the first stanza of the bertso Aitorren Izkuntz Zarra "Aitor's Ancient Language" by Z. Andonegi:
| Basque | English |
|---|---|
| Aitorren izkuntz zarra | Aitor's ancient language |
| nai degu zabaldu | we want to spread |
| munduaren aurrean | in front of the world |
| gizonki azaldu | courageously present |
| baldin gure zainetan | as long as in our veins |
| odolik badegu | we have blood |
| euskaldunak euskeraz | we Basques in Basque |
| itz egin bear degu. | must speak. |
The zortziko txiki is called the "small of eight" as the first lerro or "line" contains 8 oinak or "syllables" (literally called "feet"), followed by 7 syllables in the next line. Such a pair of lines is called a puntu, a "point", 4 puntu (or 8 lines) in total form one stanza in a zortziko txiki. The rhyme is carried in the lines of 7 syllables. The zortziko handi on the other hand contains 10 syllables in the first line, followed by 8 in the second. The hamarreko txiki and hamarreko handi only differ in the number of lines, of which they have 10 rather than 8.
An error in the rhyme is called a poto.
Music
There are thousands of possible tunes which can be used for singing a bertso. They are all, however, unaccompanied.
Occasions and Presentation
Bertsos can be composed in a variety of settings and manners. The most elaborate forms are usually encountered at a formal bertsolari txapelketa, a "bertsolari competition" where a group of bertsolaris compete against each other for the txapela, the "winner's beret". At a formal competition the bertsolari are called upon to compose and sing different kinds of bertsos by the gai-jartzaile, the "subject setter". The gai-jartzaile informs the bertsolari(s) of the type of challenge, which tune they have to use, and the metre. Some common bertso challenges include:
- Hasierako Agurra "The Initial Greeting": the bertsolari has to address the audience at the start of the day's competition, usually with a free choice of metre and topic
- Gartzelako Lana "Prison Cell Task": the bertsolari has to compose and sing a bertso to a given topic.
- Elkarrizketa "Conversation": two bertsolaris have to deal with the topic together, singing the stanzas in turns and responding to the previous statement. Again the topic is given.
- Puntua Jarrita "Point Given": the jartzaile sings a puntu and the bertsolari has to complete it, staying within the given tune and metre.
- Hitza Emanda "Word Given": the jartzaile gives a key word to the bertsolari who has to compose a bertso containing this word.
- Oinak Emanda "Rhymes Given": the bertsolari is given the four (or more, depending on the metre required) rhyming words and is required to compose the bertso "around" these rhyming words.
- Txapeldunaren Agurra "The Winner's Farewell": here the bertsolari is allowed to compose their farewell to the audience.
Topics
Any topic can occur in a bertso, anything from world politics to a humorous discussion about sex. A bertsolari might for example be asked to pretend to be a 17 year old girl who has come home at 3am to realise she has lost her house keys and must ring the doorbell. Bertsolaris may be required to compose an argument between two family members or to look at a topic from a philosophical point of view. The audience and the judges value wit as much as poetic value.
Language
Bertsos are always sung in Basque. Because it is primarily an oral artform, every bertsolari is free to use his own dialect so there is no requirement to use Standard Basque. For this reason the orthography and grammatical forms used in publications of bertsos often diverge from the standard language to accommodate for dialect forms. For example, as h is silent in Western dialects it is generally not written and ll and ñ are used much more often than in Standard Basque. The use of dialectal forms may ease finding a suitable verse.
For example the bertso Ürz' aphal bat by Etxahun was composed in his native Zuberoan dialect. If this was given in modern Standard Basque, it would not only be altered radically but also break the syllable structure of the bertso:
| Zuberoan | Standard Basque | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ürz'aphal bat badügü herrian tristerik | Pagauso bat badugu herrian tristerik | We have a sad wood-pigeon at home |
| Nigarrez ari düzü kaloian barnetik | Negarrez ari da kaiolan barnetik | It is crying from the cage |
| Bere lagün maitiaz beit' izan ützirik | Bere lagun maiteaz baita izan utzirik | Having been left by its beloved friends |
| Kuntsola ezazie ziek adiskidik. | Konstola ezazue zuek adiskideak. | Friends, console it. |
History
It is unclear how old this tradition is but the modern recorded history of bertsolaritza dates back to the beginning of the 19th century. In this period two kinds of bertsolari were distinguished, the eskolatuak, the "studied" bertsolaris who were aware of written Basque literature and the eskolatu gabeak the "unstudied" bertsolariak who were not as literate. Many of the most famous bertsolaris of this period came from the central province of Gipuzkoa. One of the earliest and most famous of these was a man called Fernando Bengoetxea Altuna. He was commonly known as Pernando Amezketarra, "Pernando from Amezketa (a village in Gipuzkoa)" and both a much loved bertsolari and trickster.
Coinciding with a turbulent period in Basque history (the Carlist Wars, World War I and World War II, the Spanish Civil War, Spain under Franco) bertsos were a popular way of reflecting on current issues. Although bertsos which were considered to be worthy of passing on had been passed on orally before, the bertso-paperak, "bertso papers", became popular in this period and are the main source of information on these early bertsos today.
The first major championship was held in 1935 but after the second championship in 1936, the Spanish Civil War put a halt to the championships until 1960.
Today the championships are conducted both at the provincial level and at the national level. Since having started again they have drawn increasingly large crowds and the popularity of certain bertsolaris coupled with a renewed effort to foster traditional Basque culture have rejuvenated this tradition in recent years. Many young people today have the opportunity to study bertsolaritza as a school subject or attend one of the many bertso schools for adults which today can be found in all 7 provinces of the Basque Country.
Basque Television routinely broadcasts the championships and has programmes about bertsolaritza such as Hitzetik Hortzera which has been running since 1988.
Famous Bertsolaris
Most historic bertsolaris were generally known by their nickname, not their given name (given in brackets).
Historic Bertsolaris
- Basarri (Inazio Eizmendi, 1913-1999) Gipuzkoa
- Bilintx (Indalezio Bizkarrondo, 1831-1876) Gipuzkoa
- Bordel (Joan Etxamendi Larralde, 1792-1879) Navarre
- Etxahun (Pierre Topet, 1786-1862) Zuberoa
- Etxahun-Iruri (Pierre Bordazarra, 1908-79) Zuberoa
- Etxamendi (Jean Etxamendi 1873-1962) Lower Navarre
- Lazkao Txiki (Joxe Migel Iztueta Kortajarena, 1926-1993) Gipuzkoa
- Mattin (Mattin Treku Inhargue, 1916-1981) Lapurdi
- Otaño (Pello Mari Otaño Barriola, 1857-1910) Gipuzkoa
- Pello Errota (Pedro Jose Elizegi, 1840-1919) Gipuzkoa
- Perndando Amezketarra (Fernando Bengoetxea Altuna, 1764-1823) Gipuzkoa
- Piarres Ibarrart (1838-1919) Lapurdi
- Txirrita (Jose Manuel Lujanbio Erretegi, 1860-1936) Gipuzkoa
- Urretxindorra (Kepa Embeita Renteria, 1878-1942) Biscay
- Uztapide (Manuel Olaizola Urbieta, 1909-1983) Gipuzkoa
- Xalbador (Ferdinand Aire Etxart, 1920-1976) Lower Navarre
- Xanpun (Manuel Sein, 1928-2002) Lapurdi
- Xenpelar (Frantzisko Petrirena Errekondo, 1835-1869) Gipuzkoa
- Zepai (Akilino Izagirre Amenabar, 1906-1971) Gipuzkoa
Modern Bertsolaris
- Aitor Usandizaga Izagirre (1976) Lower Navarre
- Amets Arzallus Antia (1983) Lapurdi
- Andoni Egaña Makazaga (1961) Gipuzkoa
- Igor Elortza Aranoa (1975) Biscay
- Jon Embeitia Ealo (1950) Biscay
- Maialen Lujanbio Zugasti (1976) Gipuzkoa
- Mañukorta (Gregorio Larrañaga Mandiola, 1943) Biscay
- Oihane Perea Perez De Mendiola (1977) Álava
- Unai Iturriaga Zugaza-artaza (1974) Biscay
- Sustrai Colina Akordarrementeria (1983) Lapurdi
- Xabier Amuriza Sarrionandia (1941) Biscay
- Xabier Silveira Etxeberria (1976) Navarre
Similar traditions
Other cultures have traditions of sung extemporary verse not unlike bertsolaritza. Amongst them are the Bavarian Gstanzerl and the Sardinian cantadòres.
Modernly bertsolaris have established contact with the Spanish-language traditions of Argentinian payadores and Cuban décimas. The singer Fermin Muguruza has experimented with bertso-hop, drawing from bertso and rap music.
References
- Amuriza, Xabier Zu ere bertsolari, Elkar 1982