The
alboka is a double
hornpipeThe hornpipe is a class of woodwind instruments consisting of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn. A reed cap of animal horn is also placed around the reed to contain the breath and allow circular breathing for constant play...
or
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
native to the
BasqueThe strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it may be argued that it is made in the Basque Country, that it reflects traits related to that society/tradition, and that it is devised by...
CountryThe Basque Country as a greater region is a European cultural region in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain, on the Atlantic coast....
.
Although the
alboka is a woodwind instrument, its name is derived from the
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
"al-bûq" (
البوق) (literally "the trumpet" or "the horn"). Though long identified with the Basque people, according to some scholars the instrument was originally native to Asia and may have been brought into Iberia by the Arab conquest.
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The
alboka is a double
hornpipeThe hornpipe is a class of woodwind instruments consisting of a single reed, a small diameter melody pipe with finger holes and a bell traditionally made from animal horn. A reed cap of animal horn is also placed around the reed to contain the breath and allow circular breathing for constant play...
or
clarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet...
native to the
BasqueThe strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it may be argued that it is made in the Basque Country, that it reflects traits related to that society/tradition, and that it is devised by...
CountryThe Basque Country as a greater region is a European cultural region in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain, on the Atlantic coast....
.
Although the
alboka is a woodwind instrument, its name is derived from the
ArabicArabic is a Central Semitic language, thus related to and classified alongside other Semitic languages such as Hebrew and the Neo-Aramaic languages. In terms of speakers, the Arabic macrolanguage is the largest member of the Semitic language family. It is spoken by more than 280 million people as...
"al-bûq" (
البوق) (literally "the trumpet" or "the horn"). Though long identified with the Basque people, according to some scholars the instrument was originally native to Asia and may have been brought into Iberia by the Arab conquest. It was evidently already established in Spain by the time of the 13th-century "Poema de Alexandre," in which it is mentioned by name, and there are apparent representations of the instrument in surviving medieval sculptural church decorations.
Among recent players of the instrument are
Ibon KoteronIbon Koteron 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 ....
and Alan Griffin, an
IrishIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
-born member of a Basque ensemble named after the instrument.
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