Music of the Canary Islands
An initial map for organising repertoires, instruments, figures, Atlantic links and archives on Canarian music.
Ways in
Choose a reading line by the kind of material you want to consult: repertoires, instruments, biographies, Atlantic circulation or sources.
Repertoire
Songs, dances, festive repertoires and transmission practices documented in heritage sources.
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Instruments
Documented instruments as sound objects: morphology, uses, accompaniment and craft or teaching transmission.
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Figures
Composers, performers, musicologists and transmitters treated through their careers, work and legacy, not as instrument records.
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Atlantic music
Links between the Canary Islands, the Americas and popular repertoires that travelled with migration.
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Archives
Entry points to sound archives, musicological libraries, audiovisual records and institutional sources.
Explore subsection ->Starting points
Documented entries for beginning with repertoires, instruments and Atlantic circulation.
Songs and dances of El Hierro
Repertoire line linked to Valentina Hernández and to discographic and heritage records on Sabinosa.
Open line ->Isa, folía and malagueña
CanariWiki identifies isas, folías and malagueñas as the most widespread songs and dances in the archipelago, incorporated into Canarian folklore around the eighteenth century.
Open line ->Tajaraste, sirinoque and baile del vivo
The institutional synthesis on traditional dances places tajaraste, baile del vivo and sirinoque among important dances predating the spread of isas, folías and malagueñas.
Open line ->Arrorró and the Canary Islands anthem
Law 20/2003 adopts as the regional anthem a melody based on the Arrorró from Teobaldo Power’s Cantos Canarios, with lyrics by Benito Cabrera.
Open line ->Ranchos de Ánimas of Gran Canaria
The BOC declared the Valsequillo, La Aldea de San Nicolás and Arbejales-Teror ranchos intangible heritage, describing their singing, alms-gathering and remembrance of souls.
Open line ->Romance, drum dance and Gomera chácaras
The Canary Islands Government heritage programme documents school presentations of romance, drum dance and chácaras as elements of Gomera folklore.
Open line ->Timple and performance school
Totoyo Millares’ career opens the timple section through teaching, composition, outreach and institutional recognition.
Open line ->Chácaras and Gomera drum
CanariWiki describes the Gomera drum as a percussion instrument typical of La Gomera that accompanies dances and songs together with chácaras.
Open line ->Teobaldo Power
CEDOCAM documents Power as the author of Cantos Canarios, premiered in 1880 and established as a reference for Canarian musical identity.
Open line ->Alfredo Kraus
CanariWiki records his birth in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, his international opera and zarzuela career, and the 1991 Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts.
Open line ->Lothar Siemens Hernández
The agreement published in the BOC funds the processing, digitisation and dissemination of the Lothar Siemens Musicological Library at the ULPGC.
Open line ->Caco Senante
CanariWiki describes him as a precursor of Nueva Canción Canaria and documents his early albums Entre amigos (1976) and ¿Qué te pasa, tierra mía? (1978).
Open line ->Nueva Canción Canaria
Caco Senante’s profile offers a first access point to popular song, folk renewal and contemporary identity projection.
Open line ->Los Sabandeños
Elfidio Alonso’s profile supports work on repertory recovery, arrangements, public dissemination and organised folk memory.
Open line ->Los Gofiones
Canary Islands Government and group sources document their first performance at Teatro Pérez Galdós, their Canary Islands Popular Culture Award and their first album based on Totoyo Millares’ fieldwork.
Open line ->Taburiente
CanariWiki documents Taburiente’s formation in 1974 and its role in Nueva Canción Canaria; the Canary Islands Government archive presents it as a reference in Canarian roots music.
Open line ->Mestisay
Canary Islands Government programming documents Olga Cerpa and Mestisay with performances built around roots sounds and Atlantic colours in island cultural events.
Open line ->Los Campesinos
The Canary Islands Government presents Los Campesinos as a Lanzarote ensemble devoted to preserving ethnographic heritage and Lanzarote airs.
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