Two songs for voice and piano: Artaso - Eguberri

Escudero also composed songs for voice and piano at the beginning and the end of his career, although in a more traditional style. The pieces he wrote during the last decade of his long life are precisely those included in this edition: Artaso and Navidad-Eguberri. Francisco Escudero composed Artaso at the request of his pupil, the pianist Alejandro Zabala, for its performance during the XX Week of Basque Music-Musikaste. The title of the work refers to the Artaso dolmen, discovered by the poet himself in 1964 and located in the area of the megalithic settlement at Elgea-Artia in Oñate (Gipuzkoa), so, the text has lot of references to the natural environment. Navidad-Eguberri consists of a series of "popular carols for voice and piano", taken (both the text and melody) from the traditional repertoire. Specifically, the songs are "Dios te salve, ongi etorri", "Gaztaña egosiyak", "Aur bat jaio da Belenen", "Utzan, utzan ixilik" and "Erregiñetan".