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Three-hole flutes in the Basque Country

Straight single-handed flutes with mouthpiece are present in a number of places in Europe and America. They are flutes played with only one hand, usually the left, so they have a limited number of holes for fingering. While some have up to five holes (e.g. the flabiol from Catalonia), those with three holes are most common. For this reason, they are also known as ‘three-holed flutes’.

The three-hole flute has had a strong presence in all the regions of the Basque Country for many years, with differents, materials, ways of playing, styles and functions. Two are particularly well-known: the txistu and the xirula. Of these two types of flute, the txistu is the most widespread and the one with the most variants. Recently, the xirula has been very closely linked to the folklore of Soule (northern Basque Country), although since the 1970s it has seen a certain expansion in terms of both territory and use. Nowadays, the txistu and the xirula appear as differentiated, and that is how they are presented here. If we go back in time

 

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Txistu and its musical cousins

Related Link: NABO Txistu Initiative | Txistu Resources

The txistu is a version of fipple flute that became a symbol for the Basque folk revival. The name may stem from the general Basque word ziztu "to whistle." This three-hole pipe is played with one hand, leaving the other one free to play a percussion instrument.

History

Evidence of the txistu first mentioned as such goes back to 1864. Yet it is apparent that it was used earlier, although it is not easy to establish when it started out; actually, it is impossible to do so, the txistu being the result of an evolution of the upright flutes widespread as early as the Late Middle Ages, when minstrels scattered all over the Iberian Peninsula brought in instruments that locals, noblemen first and common people later took on and developed.

At the beginning, txistu players (txistularis) were named in romance written records after the tabor (pipe and tabor were played together): tamborer, tamborino, tambolín, tamborín, tamboril, músico tamboril, tamborilero, tamboriltero. However, when na

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