euskalkultura.eus

Donostia-San Sebastian.  The North American Basque Organizations (NABO) has wanted to make its songbook HI Kantari available to its members on the web and has now published the lyrics and music of nearly 80 songs that are part of that collection on-line.   This online song book, nevertheless, can also be useful for Basques in other regions around the world, since it includes 79 Basque songs, traditional and contemporary, suitable for singing around the table, at meetings or at whatever event in general.  Now it is not in vain when you hear “Where there are three Basques there is a choir.”

The songs vary from well-known classics Nere herriko neskatxa maite, Oi ama Eskual Herria, Guk euskaraz, Triste bizi naiz eta, Lau teilatu… to some less famous, but that are worth learning and preserving so that they are not lost.

The compilation of songs that is now available on the web was created a few years ago by NABO facilitator John Ysursa and a group of collaborators and friends of NABO including Jean Flesher, Darrin Schuck, Begoña Echeverria, Andrea Bidart Oteiza, Genevieve Ysursa and Joseba Etxarri.  The goal of the collection was to encourage the use of the Basque language through song, while at the same time, revitalizing the Basque singing tradition among Basques in North America.

-Hi Kantari, online, here