Galician gaita

There are many suggestions as to the origin of the name gl. It has been compared to the names of eastern European bagpipes, such as the Bulgarian kaba gaida and the Slovak sk (plurale tantum). The linguist Joan Coromines has suggested that the word gl most likely derived from a Gothic word got or got, meaning "goat"; as the bag of a gaita is made from a whole, case-skinned goat hide. Gothic was spoken in Hispania from the fifth century to the eighth century when the country was ruled by the Visigoths. The Visigoths originated in north-eastern Europe.

• Illustration — Galician gaita made by Xosé Manuel Seivane Rivas The Galician gaita has a conical chanter and a bass drone (gl) with a second octave. It may have one or two additional drones playing the tonic and dominant notes. Three keys are traditional: D (gaita grileira, lit. "cricket bagpipe"), C (gaita redonda), and B♭ (gaita tumbal). Galician pipe bands playing these instruments have become popular in recent years. The playing of close harmony (thirds and sixths) with two gaitas of the same key is a typical Galician gaita style. The bagpipe or gaita is known to have been popular in the Middle Ages, as early as the 9th century, but suffered a decline in popularity from the 16th century until a 19th-century revival. It saw another decline in the middle of the 20th century when the Francoist dictatorship tried to use it for propaganda purposes. Then, beginning in about the 1970s, a roots revival heralded another rebirth. The folk revival may have peaked in the late 1990s, with the release of acclaimed albums by Galician Carlos Núñez (A Irmandade Das Estrelas). The gaita began to gain popularity with the massive immigration of Galicians to the United States and Latin America. The foundations of Galician Centers (Centro Galego / Casa Galicia) in key cities and capitals, from New York City to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Traditional use include both solo performances or with a snare-drum known as tamboril (a wooden natural-skinned drum with gut snares), and the bombo, a bass drum.

Tunes using the gaita are usually songs, with the voice either accompanying the instrumentation or taking turns with it. The most common type is the muiñeira, a sprightly 6/8 rhythm. Other 6/8 Galician tunes use different steps; they include the carballesa, ribeirana, redonda, chouteira and contrapaso. Alborada, usually-instrumental tune, most often in 2/4, though sometimes 3/4, and is characterized by a series of descending turning phrases. It is used to begin a day's celebrations, and is played at sunrise. The foliada is a joyful 3/4 jota-type song, often played at romarías (community gatherings at a local shrine).

• Avelino Cachafeiro • Carlos Núñez • Anxo Lorenzo • Cristina Pato • Susana Seivane