Since June 2017, the date of presentation of the Archive of Music and Performing Arts of Navarra-AMAEN, there are eighty personalities and institutions of interest to Navarra incorporated into said archive, either by donation or as a transfer of use, ensuring this way its survival for the knowledge, research and cultural enrichment of future generations.
The Archive of Music and Performing Arts of Navarra-AMAEN is a program promoted by the General Directorate of Culture-Príncipe de Viana Institution, through the Royal and General Archive of Navarra, whose objective is to preserve and disseminate the documentary heritage of the areas of music, dance and theater of interest to the Foral Community.
The latest funds incorporated in 2022 correspond to donations made by the Txistularis Association, as well as the legacies of the Arteaga and Fernández J. families and the archives of personalities such as Valentín Larrea, Marcelino Otaegui, Miguel Ángel Otaegui and Serafín Húder, all of them of a musical nature, and of Vicente Galbete in terms of theatre.
All these funds, along with those entered since the beginning of the AMAEN activity, are accessible on the website of said program through the link
In accordance with the specifications of the donation agreements, together with the responsibility of guaranteeing the conservation of the legacies, the Royal and General Archive of Navarra undertakes the commitment to promote both their dissemination through cultural and educational mediation activities, like scientific research.
Donations made in 2022
The donation made by the Euskal Herriko Txistulari Elkartea Nafarroa Association is made up of issues of the Txistulari magazine: newsletter of the Association of Txistularis of the Basque Country-Navarro (since 1964), recordings (among which two methods of learning the txistu stand out) and an important set of digital documents of complete projects of shows, concerts, training workshops, campaigns and programs, where compositions and score arrangements stand out, as well as end-of-study projects in the txistu and accordion specialties.
Created in 2015, the origins of this Association can be found in the “Euskal Herriko Txistukari Elkartea” founded in 1927 in Arrate (Gipuzkoa), an association with which it continues to be closely linked. The Association brings together, defends and promotes the txistu in all aspects related to music, musicians and instruments, with constant face-to-face activity in participation in concerts, shows and other projects.
Among the documentation donated by the set designer, figure designer and sculptor Vicente Galbete Martinicorena, hand programs, memoirs, props, stage sets and costumes, photographs and an important group of digital files related to productions carried out throughout his artistic activity stand out.
Graduated in Fine Arts and Professor of Drawing, Galbete also completed graduate studies in Industrial Design and specialized in Engraving in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia. In 1979 he began to participate, as a costume designer and set designer, in the staging of plays at the Padre Moret National High School and, in 1987, he began his collaboration with the Navarro Villoslada School Theater Workshop and its director Ignacio Aranguren. . He retired as a teacher at the Félix Urabayen Institute in Pamplona / Iruña in 2010.
The collection donated by the family of the composer and pianist Valentín Larrea (Gabiria, 1876 – Pamplona, 1970) contains a sample of his production as a composer, with a large number of handwritten and printed scores, as well as press clippings, recordings and other documentation. around his musical training and the different recognitions (medals, prizes, diplomas and posthumous tributes) received for his artistic activity.
Composer and pianist trained at the National School of Music and Declamation in Madrid. He obtained a position as pianist at the Casino Eslava in Pamplona, which he held between 1898 and 1948. He was awarded at the Euskara Festivals in 1900, 1901, 1902, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1907 and 1911 for works composed for different groups, such as choirs. and groups of txistularis, or solo piano.
The collection of doctor Serafín Húder Lasala (Pamplona, 1874 – 1962) is made up of 253 pianola rolls acquired from the Trappers of Emmaus, along with another 33 donated by the grandchildren María Teresa and Eduardo Díaz Húder. The collection contains a varied selection of arrangements for pianolas of vocal and instrumental music, with examples of opera, zarzuela and light song from the first half of the 20th century.
He studied medicine in Madrid, where he received his doctorate in 1899. Together with his brother Gregorio, he participated in the founding of the Navarro Autonomous Republican Party, as well as in its reorganization in 1931 and proclaimed the Second Republic from the balcony of the Pamplona City Hall. He held the presidency of the Navarro Autonomous Republican Party and the Republican-Socialist Committee. As a doctor he practiced in various Navarrese towns such as Etxalar, Biurrun, Tiebas and Campanas, before joining the Pamplona municipal charity in 1902. He is known for his writings on health care in Pamplona and the fight against tuberculosis. Together with Manuel Jimeno Egúrvide and Simón Blasco de Salas, he founded the Navarra Medical Association in 1908.
The fund, donated by Uxua Jiménez, daughter-in-law of the accordionist Marcelino Otaegui Otaegui (Villabona, 1902 – Pamplona, 1983) is made up of a collection of scores, correspondence, summons, hand programs, press clippings, recognitions and records in the General Society of Authors of Spain.
Self-taught accordionist, he received help from several French accordionists with whom he was related. At 18 he won a contest in Paris. In 1934 he moved with his family to Pamplona, where he created an accordion academy in which he trained a large number of instrumentalists. He toured Navarra with his performances, in which he introduced himself as “Billabona”. He acted on RNE and TVE on several occasions. He composed several accordion works, the best known being the Bear-zana march for band.
The documentary collection on the pianist by Miguel Ángel Otaegui Arregui (Pamplona, 1939 – 2019), donated by his wife Uxua Jiménez, is made up of a remarkable collection of printed scores and records, as well as an extensive library specialized in musical themes (books and magazines), accompanied by posters, handouts, schedules, press releases, photographs, correspondence and other personal documentation.
Son of the accordionist Marcelino Otaegui, he obtained a scholarship from the Diputación de Navarra that allowed him to study for a year at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid. In 1966 and thanks to extraordinary scholarships from the Príncipe de Viana Institution, he continued his training at the Santa Cecilia Academy in Rome. In his interpretive facet, he performed in multiple recitals in Navarra, La Rioja, Aragón or Euskadi, but also in Italy or England. Together with the Luisillo National Ballet, he toured Europe and the Middle East. He performed as a solo pianist with orchestras such as the Orquesta Santa Cecilia and the Orquesta Nacional de España. He recorded for Radio Nacional de España. In 1973 he entered the Pablo Sarasate Conservatory, where he obtained the chair of piano and taught until 2009.
The collection of the architect, pianist and composer, Mariano Arteaga, donated by the Arteaga Family and specifically by Mª Luisa Arteaga Gomis, is made up of documentation generated by Mª Rosario Arteaga in her career as a violinist and Mariano’s sheet music collection, as well as personal photos of both
Mariano Arteaga Villamor (1886-1958) was a well-known architect from Navarre, president of the Orfeón Pamplonés between 1925 and 1950. He had two children with Mª Rosario Aguirre: Julián, doctor of architecture, pianist and composer, and Mª Rosario, violinist. Mª Rosario was educated at the Ursulinas school in Pamplona and studied music at the Pamplona and San Sebastián conservatories. She expanded her training at the Paris Conservatory and obtained, by competitive examination, a position as a violinist in the Spanish Radio Television Symphony Orchestra.
Lastly, there is the collection of 40 pianola rolls donated by the Fernández J. Family dating from around 1910-1930. It is an example of a family musical archive typical of the time, made up of adaptations for pianola of opera and zarzuela numbers, compositions for piano by Albéniz and Granados, symphonic works and dance music, such as foxtrots. The documentation was in a building when it was acquired by the new owner, who donated it to the Royal and General Archive of Navarra.
The Archive of Music and Performing Arts of Navarra reaches 80 documentary collections