Gabon Kantak

Lorenzo Ondarra

Año creación/composición: 1996

Año publicación: 2023

The Capuchin composer Lorenzo Ondarra (Bakaiku 1931-Pamplona 2012) composed the work Gabon Kantak (1996), for four-part mixed choir, based on six Basque Christmas songs collected in the songbook of Resurrección María de Azkue. They are songs written in 6/8 or 2/4 time signatures, whose texts present the usual Christmas themes such as the birth of Jesus, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, the shepherds and the Three Wise Men. "Gaur sortzen da" is the only song in the series written in ternary time signature, and presents a more dramatic character. Gabon Kantak was premiered by the Etxarri Aranatz Choir, conducted by Igor Ijurra, on 27 December 1997, in the Church of San Nicolás in Pamplona.