“La Praviana – Aires Asturianos” – Ramón Gutiérrez (1909) con gaita

Here’s a really interesting recording: a Spanish vocalist singing an Asturian popular tune (taken from a play of the same name that premiered in Madrid in 1896) with gaita (bagpipes) accompaniment.

A reminder that although we tend to think of bagpipes as a Scottish instrument, it came through Europe via North Africa nearly 1,000 years before it reached Scotland.

The song begins “Soy de Pravia” (I am from Pravia) and its title indicates it refers to the Asturian town of Pravia in northern Spain.

I am from Pravia
I am from Pravia
and my mother is a Pravian
and my mother is a Pravian
and that is why there is no room
for any bad game in me.

Recorded in Havana, Cuba on February 7, 1909.
Released as Victor 62008.

This batwing repressing was dubbed (as noted in DAHR). You can actually hear the dubbing apparatus at the very end of the record as the gaita fades out – first you hear the surface noise of the original record, then the needle lifts and you hear the much quieter surface noise of the dubbed copy.

Credits:
Ramón Gutiérrez – vocals
Menéndez – gaita

The flip side of this record can be heard at:
https://youtu.be/5dCjo-vmgHM