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The accordion
first appeared in the 1873, the year of the proclamation of
the First Republic. From 1880-1890, the first generation of
accordionists came from the rural populations of the Pryenees.
Locals who had worked in France brought the accordion back
with them. In this region, the accordion was played solo,
or with a violin or percussion instruments.
The
other region where the accordion first became popular was
on the Mediterranean coast, where it was brought in by sailors.
Although this region produced accordion players, makers were
from Valence and Barcelona. The most well known brand was
El Cid. They had a two-tiered model, with 8 bass notes. Foreign
brands such as Paolo Soprani, Dedenis, Maugein Frères,
Hohner and Solo were also widely sold.
During
the 1940's interest in the diatonic accordion died, in favour
of the chromatic accordion. This could be because of the popularity
of it in Central Europe. It was often played on the radio,
and literature was more readily available.
The
accordion typical of the Basque region of Spain is called
a "trikitixa". This is a diatonic, with two rows,
23 buttons and twelve bass notes. The most common brand is
"Larrinaga". This was widely used between 1920-1970.
Arthur
Blasco was the originator of the instrument's revival in the
mid 1970's. In 1975, he made contact with old friends and
toured the country collecting and restoring old instruments.
One year later he founded the "Arséguel I els
accordionistes del Pireneu" association, which organised
the first accordion meet called "Trobada amb els Accordionistes
del Pireneu". This association organises the teaching
of all traditional Catalonian accordion playing, and was responsible
for the creation of the Museum of the Diatonic Accordion which
opened in 1988.
In the
1980's there was a renewed interest in the diatonic accordion.
One of the main accordionists involved with this was Kepa
Junkera Urraza (b 1966). In 1980, he changed from the piano
accordion to the chromatic accordion. In 1983, he won the
largest accordion contest in Spain. Joxan Goikoetxea (b 1967),
a piano accordionist, also won numerous prizes and trophies
during the 1980's.
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