MIDDLE AGES

DARK AGES

EARLY XX CENTURY

REGIME OF FRANCO

LATE XX  CENTURY

MIDDLE AGES

The origin of traditional Galician music is dark.

The earliest reference dates back to medieval music, yet it retains several songbooks generally do not include musical notation.

An execption was Martin Codax (troubadour of the 13th Century), because two scores are kept with the lyrics and music for his composition.

Significant also are the Cantigas de Santa Maria of Alfonso X, not only to include the music and show illustrations of people playing bagpipes and other traditional instruments , but also for their importance of the Galician culture of the Middle Ages.

  It is known that the bagpipe was common at that time, and in general the main     instruments were already present in traditional music: bagpipes, hurdy-gurdy and string instruments appear in codices, or in the well-known Pórtico da Gloria of the Cathedral of Santiago.

These representations allow the reconstruction of the instruments and make possible the current interpretations of medieval music nowdays.

DARK AGES

Coinciding with the Dark Ages and the decline of the use of the Galician language,
the traditional music turns out to be only oral transmission:
christmas songs, lullabies, songs of blind.

EARLY XX CENTURY

The Galician folk revival began on early 20th century, with performers like Perfecto Feijoó, a bagpipe and hurdy-gurdy player.

The first commercial recording of Galician music had come in 1904,
by a choir called Aires d'a Terra from Pontevedra.

          REGIME OF FRANCO

During the regime of Franco, the music has been forced to adapt to the political vision of the moment with patriotic performances in
Spanish language, which led to the decline of traditional styles.

LATE XX  CENTURY

When Franco's regime ended in 1975,
Galician music experienced a strong revival and recordings flourished.
The establishment of the Festival Internacional do Mundo Celta (Ortigueira 1977)
helped establish some Galician bands.
Aspiring performers began working with bands like Os Areeiras de Catoira, Os Rosales, Os Campaneiros, learning their folk styles; others went to the renowned workshop of Antón Corral (a bagpipe luthier) at the Universidade Popular de Vigo.
Some of these musicians then formed their own bands, like Milladoiro. 

In the 1980s and 1990s, some Galician performers began to win fame within Spain and the international celtic folk scene.