Defining Basque music: Charles Bordes' (1863–1909) musical regionalism and influence in the Basque Country and Paris.

This paper analyses the influence of the French composer and musicologist Charles Bordes (1863–1909) on the definition of 'Basque music' both in the peninsular Basque Country and in Paris. On the one hand, it studies Bordes' ideological background, his vision of traditional Basque music and the acceptance of his shared musicological legacy in Basque regionalist and nationalist circles. On the other hand, it pays particular attention to the reception of his ideas in the Parisian musical milieu through the analysis of the criticism aroused by the premieres of two Basque‐themed operas: Ramuntcho (1908) and Chiquito (1909). This article frames Bordes' activity within the regionalist movement in France. However, it also draws attention to the transnational and ambivalent nature of regionalism, especially in cross‐border spaces, where regionalist discourses could take divergent forms according to the different nationalist agendas with which they were associated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]