Aragon is a region in northeastern Spain. Aragonese culture is mostly Iberian, meaning it derives from North African sources, but is also characterized by Celtic, Moorish and French influences. Instruments include rattles and, perhaps most distinctively, the guitarro, a unique kind of guitar.
Jota music remains probably the best-known style of music from Aragon. It is popular across Spain, but originates in the southern part of Aragon. Jota is swift and rhythmically complex, characterized by changes in tonality and repeating rhythms. Instruments include tambourines, flutes and castanets, and the voice is also prominent. The jota's origin is uncertain, but possible sources include the Moors and the ancient Celtiberian inhabitants of the area. There are three kinds of jota:
Jota Zaragozana, danced with raised arms with a swift tempo
Jota from southern Aragon, slow and elegant tempo, danced with the feet always on the ground
Jota from northern Aragon, a mix of the above
Drums are prominent in Aragonese music, possibly an influence from North AfricanHamiticBerbers or Tuaregs. Aside from jota, other genres of popular Aragonese music include alboradas and rondas.
The Market is aimed at Aragonese, Spanish and international music buyers, at critics and experts from the media, at artists, managers and agents and at the supplementary industries involved in live music.
Establishing a permanent marketplace for music in Aragon is a longstanding goal, repeatedly called for by music professionals in Aragon.
Music forms the center of the festival, around which there are also be exhibitions, debates/meetings, events for music professionals, cinema and a marketplace for professionals in the music industry, a replacement for the much-missed Music Trade Fair in Aragon, albeit with a more contemporary outlook.
Music notation developed in Spain as early as the eighth century (the so-called Visigothic neumes) to notate the chant and other sacred music of the Christian church, but this obscure notation has not yet been deciphered by scholars, and exists only in small fragments.
The music of the Christian church in Spain was known as the music of the Mozarabic Rite, and developed in isolation, not subject to the enforced codification of Gregorian chant under the guidance of Rome around the time of Charlemagne.
Baroque music in Spain, when it arrived, was a pale imitation of Italian models; musical creativity mainly moved into areas of folk and popular music until the nationalist revival of the late Romantic era.
Feeds |
Contact