Todos Os Mundos

Galicia’s music refers to the traditional and contemporary practices of the north‑west of the Iberian Peninsula, where Atlantic “Celtic” sonorities meet Iberian song and dance. Core timbres include the gaita (Galician bagpipe), pandeireta (Galician tambourine), bombo and tamboril (bass and side drums), zanfona (hurdy‑gurdy), and the small transverse flute called requinta. Signature forms range from the free‑flowing, chant‑like alalá to lively communal dances such as the muiñeira (typically in 6/8) and festive alboradas and foliadas. Although its roots are older, the first large notated corpus in the region’s medieval Galician‑Portuguese language appears in the 13th‑century Cantigas de Santa Maria. In modern times, a folk revival beginning in the 1970s (and peaking in the 1990s) professionalized bands and soloists and projected Galician music internationally.