| dc.description | We have decided to begin this collection on improvised bertsolaritza with two very different, yet at the same time complementary, points of view. In the first article, John Miles Foley offers his vision--or to put it another way, his experience--of one of the highpoints of modern-day bertsolaritza: the finals of the Basque National Bertsolari Championships 2005. This account reflects the most visible and spectacular part of a performance that, as Foley himself so rightly states, cannot be fully understood solely on the basis of what happened or what was said on that particular day in that particular event. Much like an iceberg, the hidden part that supports and gives meaning to this festive tradition is much larger and runs far deeper than its visible counterpart. The second article deals precisely with one of the basic pillars of this hidden part, outlining the conclusions of a sociological study carried out over recent years with the aim of exploring, in greater depth, the structure of the bertsolaritza audience, followed by an assessment of the phenomenon and expectations for the future. We believe that these two perspectives offer anyone striving to understand the phenomenon of sung improvisation in the Basque language an unbeatable insight into the matter at hand. | eng |
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