Album DescriptionBasque Country: Navarre These rare recordings offer improvised sung poetry in the ancient Basque language - deep-voiced fishermen s harmonies and clear women s voices from the green valleys and mountains - as well as the sounds of the Navarrese jotas, pipe and drum ensembles, and the irrintzi, the reverberating cry that marked the culmination of Alan Lomax s sojourn in Spain. The Spanish Recordings Alan Lomax made these historic recordings in 1952 while traveling for months through Spanish villages, under formidable physical and political circumstances, during the Franco regime in 1952. Covering the breadth of Spain, these songs and dance melodies constitute a portrait of rural Spain's richly varied musical life, dispelling the common stereotypes of Spanish folk music. The Alan Lomax Collection The Alan Lomax Collection is an unrivaled assemblage of international field recordings, matchless in both sound quality and choice of performers and material, anthologizing the work of the twentieth century s foremost folklorist, Alan Lomax. Recorded in 1952 by Alan Lomax and Jeannette Bell. Remastered to 24-bit digital from the original field recordings. Contains previously unreleased recordings.