Llan de Cubel recordings
Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2003 1:30 am
Llan de Cubel, an acoustic band from Oviedo, is among the very best Asturian folk groups. They don't just beat out tunes or try to dazzle us with a virtuoso display of technique or speed. They pay attention to the emotive quality of their tunes, whether joyous, melancholic, or meditative.
Llan de Cubel is a "folk" group, in that they play "traditional" instruments and "traditional" tunes. The tradition they reference is primarily Asturian, but they also ride the larger wave of interest in Celtic music. The band claims to have been influenced-- especially in terms of technique and harmony--by the traditional music of "Atlantic Europe," a region with strong Celtic roots.
Llan de Cubel's songs are mostly older melodies--saltones, villancicus (Christmas carols), salees, marches de gaita, muñeires (jigs), rondes (rounds?), alboradas (sung in the morning), valses (waltzes), and entemedius misas (pipe tune played during church mass). These tunes have been rearranged in a spirited but sensitive contemporary manner. Our grandparents might not have immediately recognized these tunes as Asturian music, but moderns will hear obvious similarities with other Celtic music. In fact, a few of the songs they play are from Scottish, Irish, or French sources.
The words for their songs are often newly written by the group. The group is dedicated to reviving Asturian culture, including its music and language, so they use Asturianu for the words to their songs. Asturianu and English are used on the album covers and sleeves.
The instruments they play include the Asturian gaita (bagpipes), tambor Asturianu (a snare drum), curdión (button accordion?), vigulín (fiddle), wooden flute, and panderos (a square flat drum), coriquín folixeru (can anyone tell us what this is?), and punteros (chanters, the oboe-like part of the bagpipes). I've never heard of a group playing the punteros separate from the gaita for serious music, so this is a pleasant surprise!
Instruments from the broader Celtic music world include the xiblates (penny whistles), bodhrán (an Irish round flat drum), baxu pedal (pedal bass), bouzouki (a large Greek mandolin), mandolin, acoustic and classical guitars, harp, and keyboard.
[For more information on Asturian instruments, please see this thread:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77.]
The name of the group comes from an Asturian mountain, Llan de Cubel. "Llan de" is related to the Asturian word "llende" or "llinde" (limit or border). The term was often used to indicate the boundaries of towns, mountains, or grazing areas.
Although the roster of musicians has changed over the years, the core members have always been Elias García, Fonsu Mielgo and Marcos Llope. Xel Pereda, Simon Bradley and Xuan Rodríguez are more recent additions. Others who have taken part or performed with the band include José Manuel Cano, Flavio Rodríguez, H. Urquhart, Guzmán Marqués, Daniel Lombas, and Xuan Nel Expósito.
I have really enjoyed listening to two of their CDs:
--L'Otru Llau de la Mar, and
--Deva.
I highly recommend them!
So far, they have a total of five albums, including these which I have not heard:
--Na Llende,
--LLan de Cubel IV, and
--Un Tiempu Meyor.
They have also appeared in several other compilation albums.
Llan de Cubel has a Web site: http://www.llandecubel.com/, with an English translation: http://www.llandecubel.com/english.html.
Llan de Cubel is a "folk" group, in that they play "traditional" instruments and "traditional" tunes. The tradition they reference is primarily Asturian, but they also ride the larger wave of interest in Celtic music. The band claims to have been influenced-- especially in terms of technique and harmony--by the traditional music of "Atlantic Europe," a region with strong Celtic roots.
Llan de Cubel's songs are mostly older melodies--saltones, villancicus (Christmas carols), salees, marches de gaita, muñeires (jigs), rondes (rounds?), alboradas (sung in the morning), valses (waltzes), and entemedius misas (pipe tune played during church mass). These tunes have been rearranged in a spirited but sensitive contemporary manner. Our grandparents might not have immediately recognized these tunes as Asturian music, but moderns will hear obvious similarities with other Celtic music. In fact, a few of the songs they play are from Scottish, Irish, or French sources.
The words for their songs are often newly written by the group. The group is dedicated to reviving Asturian culture, including its music and language, so they use Asturianu for the words to their songs. Asturianu and English are used on the album covers and sleeves.
The instruments they play include the Asturian gaita (bagpipes), tambor Asturianu (a snare drum), curdión (button accordion?), vigulín (fiddle), wooden flute, and panderos (a square flat drum), coriquín folixeru (can anyone tell us what this is?), and punteros (chanters, the oboe-like part of the bagpipes). I've never heard of a group playing the punteros separate from the gaita for serious music, so this is a pleasant surprise!
Instruments from the broader Celtic music world include the xiblates (penny whistles), bodhrán (an Irish round flat drum), baxu pedal (pedal bass), bouzouki (a large Greek mandolin), mandolin, acoustic and classical guitars, harp, and keyboard.
[For more information on Asturian instruments, please see this thread:
http://www.asturianus.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77.]
The name of the group comes from an Asturian mountain, Llan de Cubel. "Llan de" is related to the Asturian word "llende" or "llinde" (limit or border). The term was often used to indicate the boundaries of towns, mountains, or grazing areas.
Although the roster of musicians has changed over the years, the core members have always been Elias García, Fonsu Mielgo and Marcos Llope. Xel Pereda, Simon Bradley and Xuan Rodríguez are more recent additions. Others who have taken part or performed with the band include José Manuel Cano, Flavio Rodríguez, H. Urquhart, Guzmán Marqués, Daniel Lombas, and Xuan Nel Expósito.
I have really enjoyed listening to two of their CDs:
--L'Otru Llau de la Mar, and
--Deva.
I highly recommend them!
So far, they have a total of five albums, including these which I have not heard:
--Na Llende,
--LLan de Cubel IV, and
--Un Tiempu Meyor.
They have also appeared in several other compilation albums.
Llan de Cubel has a Web site: http://www.llandecubel.com/, with an English translation: http://www.llandecubel.com/english.html.
where did you buy those CDs Art? I searched Amazon but they only have paperback books that mention them no CDs.