Traditional songs from Sare, Ascain and Saint-Pée sur-Nivelle

Members of the Oxtikenekoak association from Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle have been collecting and spreading traditional songs from their village and the surrounding area with the public at large for a number of years. The organisation of "Kantu Xaharraren Eguna", the first traditional song festival, is witness to this exemplary work, and since 1999 has regularly brought together song enthusiasts around a memorable meal punctuated by songs which are part of the local community's collective memory.

The first anthology of songs "Senpereko Kantu Xaharrak, published in 2001, was based on the repertoire collected during this festival and also thanks to investigation work carried out by the association's members in family archives.

The second anthology entitled "Sara-Senpere-Azkaingo Atzoko Kantuak" was published on the occasion of the 2006 edition of the Writers' Biltzar in Sare.

The songs contained in this 150 page book come from handwritten notebooks written during the last century in Sare by Jean-Baptiste Arruferia and his sister Frantxa.

The anthology includes:

• More or less well known songs from these notebooks (about love, war as well as other subjects ...)
• Songs collected during Oxtikenea singing meals (home to the Oxtikenekoak association) and corrected or amended songs from the first anthology published in 2001

This work illustrated with musical scores and beautiful photographs is both a tribute to the collective oral memory and a tool for passing on this linguistic and musical heritage to today's generations.

It is on sale at the Oxtikenekoak association and in selected bookstores.

Further details ...

• Listen to songs recorded during a singing meal at Oxtikenea (2001)
• The Oxtikenekoak