The Beginning

Xosé Manuel Seivane Rivas was born in 1921 in the parish of Fonmiñá, council of A Pastoriza, province of Lugo. He made his first gaita in 1939 in a small workshop, which was based in this small area in the region of Terra Chá, thus creating the first ‘Seivane’ seal. Despite the fact that he was already a bagpiper and clarinettist, he fulfilled a childhood dream of making his very own instrument.

His father Francisco, a great carpenter and his mother Estrella, blessed with a marvellous musical ear, gave him some very solid foundations in order to develop his craftsmanship skills. He inherited the techniques, tools and wood from his father and the musical sensitivity, especially in relation to tuning and pitch, from his mother. She also gave him the melodies of bagpipers who had already disappeared, such as Curuxeiras, who was born in Pastoriza.

Whilst serving his period of military service in Pontevedra, he meets another craftsman, Antón Represas, who was known as ‘O Marreco’, with whom he shares stories and knowledge, helping him to make several gaitas for the army.

It was the beginning of a difficult journey, as being in the middle of a civil war, the needs during that period did not include purchasing something that was solely for enjoyment. At that time, gaitas were made by carpenters/lathe operators and bagpipers tuned and made their own chanter reeds. There were very few people who were both gaita maker and player; One of the few was, without doubt, Xosé Manuel.

In this way, he managed to bring together the characteristics required to develop his construction techniques from a profound musical knowledge. His hopes were fulfilled and, a year later, he married and established himself in Ribeira de Piquín (Lugo). At first, he supplied only local bagpipers but gradually widened his field of work until he had gone beyond country borders and converted the Obradoiro into a place of pilgrimage for bagpipers and the lovers of traditional music from Galicia.

The continuity

His sons Álvaro (born in Ribeira de Piquín, Lugo 1952) and Xosé Manuel (born in Ribeira de Piquín, Lugo 1964), follow their father’s footsteps from a young age in the same way as he had done with his own father. By his side, they begin learning the obscure trade secrets which come from their daily involvement with wood and being able to memorise its sound when they hear it, thus embedding for ever the colour of the Seivane sound.

In 1972, Álvaro moves to Barcelona to complete his studies and ends up creating another Obradoiro in the image of his father’s. In 1986, he decides to move back to Galicia to continue his work there, which encourages them to join forces and work together again. In 1994 all their individual experience is brought together in order to form, in Cambre (A Coruña), the current Obradoiro de Gaitas Seivane.

The New Generation

A breath of fresh air was felt with the arrival, now some time ago, of the creativity of Susana Seivane (born in Barcelona, 1976), Álvaro’s daughter, who at the age of five began playing the gaita and by the age of ten was already taking part in festivals as a soloist. This had a vast effect on young people, especially girls, who quickly became more involved in the world of the gaita.

Sainza Seivane, Susana's sister, Roberto Portela Seivane, also a grandson of Xosé, plus Moisés Facal Rial are craftsmen who also form part of the Obradoiro de Gaitas Seivane.

The Present Time

Nowadays, Xosé Manuel can usually be found around the Obradoiro, receiving visits from old friends and surprising himself with the new generation of bagpipers who are in the habit of dedicating their musical repertoire to him.

Álvaro and Xosé maintain the line of work distinguished by their father. Susana carries the Seivane name around the world, its instruments and the best of the traditional repertoire of Galicia.

In the last 50 years, the gaita has been enhanced enormously and the Obradoiro, open to communicate and receive all new discoveries, takes part in many of the diverse studies which are undertaken in order to agree criteria and to modernise the instrument without losing sight of its origin and authenticity. Examples of these are the establishment of common chanter reeds or the perfection of tuning. In the former, craftsmen succeed in producing reeds of indisputable quality which produce a purer sound in the gaita chanters. In the latter, the natural tuning of the gaita is brought closer to the tempered tuning system, allowing the gaita to fit together with other classic or modern instruments. The use of crossed fingerings, known as ‘tranquillas’ for playing in the minor tone is a clear example as it brings about a considerable level of perfection, compared to the previous and imprecise practise of only partly covering the holes.

The tonal range was increased in the Obradoiro from an octave to an octave and a half and, in terms of the keys, as well as improving the traditional keys like B (known an ‘Tumbal’), C (known as ‘Redonda’) or D (known as ‘Grileira’), an extensive chromatic range was developed between D4 and F5. In the same way, Seivane contributed a characteristic harmonious quality which became standard, both in terms of the chanters and also the general binding of the drones. The ‘pechado’ (closed) fingering style was recovered, defined and unified, which contributed, without doubt, to its extraordinary current popularity.

The workshop, with its desire to spread the use of our most characteristic instrument, has taught several courses on making chanter reeds and gaitas, from which some excellent pupils have emerged.