This summer, a song in Euskera about the famous Basque poet sheepherder of Urepel, France is making its way from state to state, played for many audiences across the United States who have never heard lyrics in this language.
I’m telling you this moving story from my personal perspective, as the proud father of the Basque-American musician singing this song, Solange Igoa.
This particular song, Xalbadorren Heriotzean – Upon the Death of Xalbador, is dedicated to the famous bertsolari (troubadour) named Xalbador. Xalbador was born Fernando Aire Etxart in my father’s hometown of Urepel, where he herded sheep and worked on his family farm. Even before his death in 1976, he had become an epic figure in the Basque art of improvised singing poetry known as bertsolaritza. To this day, he is celebrated by way of this popular song written upon his death and venerated for the legacy of his verses.
Euskera is the only surviving old European language prior to any modern Indo-European language.
The fact that the beauty of its message and how the music’s deeply emotional and resonating sound and lyrics is appealing to non-Americans and Basque Americans (Amerikanuak) alike is not astonishing. This reaction is due in large part to how it’s performed by the Glitterfox Band, based in Portland, Oregon.
Solange Igoa’s Basque heritage “brings authenticity to the Basque performance,” said Jason, one radio employee and fan.
“You must be a very proud father,” people say to me as the understatement of the century.
Igoa opens the song by singing solo, as Solange’s guitarist wife Andrea Walker envelops the vocals with a Parisian nightclub discothèque vibe. They perform this ballad in a completely different manner than has previously been recorded. Glitterfox re-interprets the song in a disco-beat. Walker’s 70s & 80s stylings vary between strums and arpeggios of every colorful chord.
Eric Stalker, their bassist, lays down his syncopated dance beat, and Blaine Heinonen, their drummer extraordinaire, guides them with rhythmic precision, four-on-the-floor, literally shepherding the group on this memorable journey. The members of the band are more than just a musical group, they are family.
As somewhat of a surprise, the song creates excitement in Quincy when a man eagerly announces to the crowd “I’m Basque too!,” pounding his chest with pride. Later I find out his name is Patxi as we converse in Basque. He tells me of his father and mother, both from the Baztan Valley in Spain, who met in Lodi, Calif. and got married in the U.S.
The enthusiasm continues as I am approached several times by audience members who reveal their curiosity and awareness of the Basque language, culture and people. They had seen me join Glitterfox on the Big Meadow stage to harmonize with my daughter. After this first of two concerts, a linguist, name unknown, stops me to confirm if we are truly Basque. He has studied the Basque language for years and was thrilled to meet me. Later the next evening, a Spanish woman from Galicia named Luz approaches our table with an inquisitive tone. “Are you truly Basque?” I’m starting to feel like being Basque is a super power, which we all know is truly the case.
The words of Xabier Lete, the song’s creator and an epic Basque songwriter, transport the listener on a poet’s wings with every verse. The words echo the sentiments at the core of the song’s refrain:
“Where are you, in which pasture…
Sheepherder of Urepel?
You have fled to the slopes of the mountain,
Towards the future that lingers in our memory.”
The song’s melody and passionate words are lamenting and yet imbued with hope along with a deep longing for a loved one.
As they play the song at different concerts, Glitterfox searches to connect with their audiences, heart to heart, note after loving note. They keep on driving while bringing a new culture and language to people who otherwise would have never heard a Basque song. Their reach widens with each community they touch. Somehow the audience feels something despite the language barrier.
The band travels on a “Highway Forever,” one of their iconic originals, creating relationships and spreading the Basque culture and language wherever they go.
To see their concert schedule, visit their website.
Official recording of “Xalbadorren Heriotzean”
One of their hit songs, “Highway Forever.”
