Automatically translated from Basque, translation may contain errors. More information here. Elhuyarren itzultzaile automatikoaren logoa

Fernando Unsain, musician, singer and audiovisual producer dies

  • Fernando San José Arze, known in the cultural world as Fernando Unsain, died in San Sebastian at 78 years of age from a stroke. He has been an important person in the Basque song, recording and production of records and audio-visual. ARGIA has long had a great collaborator in Fernando Unsain and also participated in the creation of Euskaldunon Egunkaria.

06 October 2023 - 17:35
Last updated: 2023-10-07 21:35
Fernando Unsain -ezkerretik lehena- joan den uztailean Baigorrin egindako aurkezpenean, Et Incarnatus orkestrak eta Donostiako Orfeoiak Eltzegorren "Sasitik Sasira" kantatari egindako bertsioa iragartzen.
Zarata mediatikoz beteriko garai nahasiotan, merkatu logiketatik urrun eta irakurleengandik gertu dagoen kazetaritza beharrezkoa dela uste baduzu, ARGIA bultzatzera animatu nahi zaitugu. Geroz eta gehiago gara, jarrai dezagun txikitik eragiten.

Born in Beasain in a family of workers, he started working as a mechanic and at the same time started music from a very young age. He appeared in the Bostak del Goierri group in 1965 and the following year he won the Grand Festival of Novel Artists of San Sebastian. In 1973 he received the International Prize in Ostend (Flanders), with a repertoire in Basque.

With the watchtower "Bostak" in 1966. Fernando Unsain, second right.

In the early 1970s, the voice between singers and singers of the Madrid and Spain protest was known and was staged at those “festivals” of the time. To give an example, in 1976, five months after Franco's death, the name of Fernando Unsain appears next to Pi de la Serra, La Bullonera, Luis Pastor, La Fanega, Julia León, Elisa Serna, Mikel Labon-Manuel, Mikel Labo-Celoa, Mikel Labo-Celoa, He sang primarily in Spanish.

Fernando Unsain at the end of the 1970s.

Soon I would return to Euskal Herria forever, to publish on his behalf the first big album in Basque, which defends my father's house, and to founded the IZ record. The catalogue of the album IZ, closed by the retrospective of the creator, reflects the extensive work of Fernando Unsain in the production of records, in recordings of different music areas: tritikitxa, choirs, singers, groups, bertsolaris… Before his production he was singer-songwriter and musician – he has always played guitar in the scenes – musician and arranger for other singers and bertsolaris.

After the creation of Euskal Telebista, he was also involved in the production of audiovisual content. In anticipation that the films should be translated into Euskera – and surely EITB would translate them much more than it has then offered, much more than it has done – he founded the IZ-Bi doubling company with other partners, also the school of dubbing. Later we will discover the name of Fernando Unsain in the production Ikuskin, with productions such as the television programs of Txirri, Mirri eta Txiribiton, Function and Chiskola.

The Eltzegor group, in the first line with Fernando Unsain in a photograph of the album "Ebaventtz".

A high quality and gloss tenor, whose voice and singing has been recognized at the Orfeón Donostiarra in his concerts for the last time a few months ago. However, in the memory of many Basques, especially those of Iparralde, the voice of Fernando Unsain will be linked to the actions of the Eltzegor group. Many of the songs of the three albums edited by this group since the 1980s, among which the cantata Sasitik Sasira can be her main work, which has recently been performed by the orchestra Et Incarnatus within the Ur Muga in Baigorri.

Those of you who have met the Eltzegor group on stage remember Fernando's bronze voice and the warmth he was transmitting on stage forever. On the other hand, many members of cultural associations and popular movements will remember the courage they had to appear together with the group to sing in the sung recitals and tributes they organized in the most difficult situations, as well as the generosity always shown by Fernando Unsain to make the technical means available to the organizers.

Fernando Unsain's guitar recording of the song "Sasitik Sasira" in a program in 1988.

 


You are interested in the channel: Kantagintza
2024-01-31 | Castillo Suárez
Cassettes

Last year, I met a Braham in Delhi. I was surprised that I loved beer and knew it in Spanish. I would say it would be my oldest, but I was walking with the help of a stick, slowly. To see why he knew Spanish, I asked him and he told me that he learned as a child because he heard... [+]


New singer Maite Idirin fired on Wednesday in Angelu
Singer Maite Idirin died on 20 January. He lived in Angelu and a funeral mass will be held on Wednesday at 10:30. It has been one of the best known voices of the Basque song. She fought for women's rights throughout her life.

2023-12-11 | Cira Crespo
Singing crib 'Dream' and selling women in history

You know how it goes, right? "Dream txuntxurrun green, dream bite...". It is undoubtedly the most famous crib song in Euskera, and also has Vitoria as its protagonist. After a brief study, I learned that Resurrection Mª de Azkue collected in 1922 three versions of the song in his... [+]


2023-05-04 | Estitxu Eizagirre
If the songs were threads that sew the history of a people?
As an aperitif of the Ziburu Basque Book and Disco Fair, on May 3, the music writer Gotzon Barandiaran and the literary musician Rafa Rueda offered the concert Hitzen Ahairea in Baltsan society. The 40 Euskaltzales who went to Euskal Kantagintza enjoyed a journey through the... [+]

2023-05-03 | ARGIA
Book Fair and Disco Vasco de Ziburu
Visit the Basque Ministry on 3 May at the Baltsan de Ziburu
The writer Gotzon Barandiaran Arteaga and the musician Rafa Rueda will offer a musical talk entitled Hitzen Ahairea. They will study 15 songs and play live, and along the way they will reflect on the question, what have we Basques sung to?

Antton Valverde, musician
"The mere fact of singing in Basque is political"
Donostiarra Antton Valverde (Gros, 1943) is a musician with a long history in the world of music. He began to rise to the stage in the Franco era, in the 1970s, because, according to him, he wanted to do something for Euskal Herria. He has always had a foot in the art world, not... [+]

Gexan Alfaro. Vasquist militant poet
"Here the song has worked as much as political militancy"
Their identity is not clearly defined. He has done many things, several. Since the late 1960s, Gexan Alfaro has been listed in the names of the new song. Militant of great difficulty, culture with Euskera, politics with culture, knowledgeable of the history of the continental... [+]

2021-12-07 | ARGIA
Panpi Ladutxeri azken agurra eman dio pilotaren munduak Donibane Lohizunen

Abenduaren 6an agurtu du pilotaren munduak azaroaren 30ean zendutako azkaindarra. Profesional mailan ezker paretan txapela jantzi zuen Ipar Euskal Herriko lehen pilotaria da: bi txapel jantzi zituen binakako txapelketan, Joxan Tolosarekin.


Maider Lasa. Artista sortzaile librea
“Belaunez belaun ahoz ahoz transmititu diren lo-kantak gure zeluletan daude”

Gasteizko Oihaneder Euskararen Etxearen Batera proiektuen emaitzetarik bat gauzatu du berrikitan Maider Lasak, Malen Iturrirekin elkarlanean. Ekainean aurkeztu zuten Loa, loa, laguna izeneko ikusgarri performatiboa, ahotsez, gorputzez eta irudiz. Tradiziozko lo-kantak oinarri,... [+]


2021-01-29 | Jone Markuleta
Rapper Pablo Hasel, imprisoned for "insulting" the Spanish monarchy
The National High Court has given the rapper Pablo Hashim a period of ten days for him to appear in pre-trial detention on a voluntary basis. Those accused of the crimes of the uprising of terrorism and of the proliferation of insults against the monarchy.

Oskarbi
Iluntasunaren aurrean, kantuaren arnasa

Bost hamarkada baina gehiagoko ibilbidearekin, Oskarbi taldeak badaki zer den egoera zailetan musikaren eta kulturgintzaren haria elikatzea. Ez Dok Amairuren garaietatik gaurdaino, herri kantak eta sormen propioa izan ditu iturri. Hamabigarren diskoa grabatzen ari dira, dozena... [+]


Miren Aire. Hertsadura askatasun
“Artzain bakarraren irudia mitoa da, bakarrik ezin da”

Artzain izan nahi zuen txikitatik, eta artzantzaz bizi da duela hogei urtetik hona. Kantuan aritzea gustuko du eta kantuan ari da etxean bezala plazaz plaza. Ez omen da bizitza idilikoa berea, baina ez omen litzateke beste inon eta beste ezertan zoriontsuago izanen. Urepeleko... [+]


Several musicians ask for the "Tree of Gernika" to be the hymn of the Basque Country
On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Jose Mari Iparragirre in August, dozens of musicians have joined this date to make the following request: So that the Gernika Tree becomes the official anthem of the Basque Country. Wednesday will be the turn of the... [+]

Jose Mari Iparragirreren 200. urteurrena
Hamar eszena Iparragirreren ‘biopic’ bat filmatzeko

200 urte beteko dira abuztuan Jose Mari Iparragirre jaio zenetik eta haren bizitza kontatuko lukeen pelikula biografikorik gabe jarraitzen dugu, biopic baterako materiala soberan dagoen arren: gudari, kantari, seduktorearen historia dago, batetik, heroi nazional bihurtu zen... [+]


Eguneraketa berriak daude