Museum of ethnic instruments, the Carlos Blanco Fadol collection, Barranda

The Museo de Música Étnica, Barranda

The man responsible for this amazing place is one individual.  Carlos Blanco Fadol.

There are many accomplished musicians throughout the world with a passion for music, who are moved to explore their art, learn new techniques, and follow the history of their chosen instrument back far enough to acquire one or two variations which give a different tone, enable them to reproduce authentically historical pieces and play them as they would have been played, or pick up that special guitar with the unique embellishment in an " I know I don't NEED it, but just couldn't resist it, " moment.

But few take it to the extreme of acquiring 4000 instruments.

Carlos has created the largest and most important collection of ethnic instruments in the world, and it's right here in the Region of Murcia, in the sleepy little village of Barranda, within the municipalityof Caravaca de la Cruz, forming the Museo de Música Étnica, the museum of ethnic instruments.

He is a musician and ethnomusicologist, travelling the world in search of ethnic instruments, more than 70% of which are now no longer played in the communities from which they came, obsessively seeking out historical instruments from all cultures of the world, exploring, understanding, seeking knowledge and more importantly, seeking to preserve something which would otherwise be lost from our cultures forever.

And he knows how to play every instrument in this museum himself.

He's assembled an astonishing collection which encompasses instruments from around the world, but also throughout history.

 He pointed out three tiny little bells in a case which had been donated by the regional government, having come from an archaeological excavation which dated back more than 2000 years.

They're my oldest pieces, but that's my most valuable, " he said , pointing to an astonishing gong-dragon, glittering with 24 carat gold, which came from Myanmarin Burma, the Pinsa-yu-pa.

" Or how about this, the giant tan tan, which came from the Palace of the king of Madura, Indonesia, accompanied by the photograph of its former owner, which, "I  found in an antique shop in Jakarta. I walked in and couldn't believe my eyes, there it was in amongst all these other items, " a historical instrument of incredible importance, used to announce the arrival of important visitors to the palace.

But although there are incredibly impressive pieces and collections, many of which have been donated by governments internationally, there are also simple everyday instruments here which date back through the centuries and weave history into everyday life.

There are pieces used in religious ceremonies, slave instruments which made repression and brutality more bearable, pieces used in magic and witchcraft, instruments of war which marched into carnage and death during military battles, instruments employed to find love and those which belonged to wandering minstrels, earning a living from the pleasure they gave.

And there are also instruments from this region, the simple stringed instruments which accompanied fiestas and celebrations, religious events and Romerías, the ethnic music of Murcia.

Its fascinating to don the headphones and listen to how the pieces sound, moving from one case to another, pointing out little flutes made from bones, rattles from nutshells and  exclaiming at the extraordinary sounds generated by a hollowed out piece of wood, travelling through the world of music.

But the most moving part of the museum is an area dedicated to one of the most personal and fascinating projects with which Carlos has been involved, the reconstruction of two instruments which come from deep in the heart of the Amazon.

30 years ago he had collected two ceremonial instruments, the ruuhuitu macho (male) and the ruuhuiti hembra(female) which were used for ceremonial purposes, but discovered that since his first visit, they had disappeared altogether from the culture of the yaguas tribe , deep in the amazonian heart of Peru.

 Tragically, in this changing world where "progress" demands conformity and the destruction of not only habitats, but cultures, we lose our heritage on a daily basis. There are, for example, between 5 and 7000 different languages spoken across our planet, but we lose one every two weeks on average, as progress swallows up virgin forest and destroys communities and traditions.

Carlos resolved to return the instruments to the people of the tribe and went back to the settlement to not only re-introduce the instrument, but also teach the villagers how to make the pieces themselves and safeguard their heritage amidst the sea of destruction in which acres of irreplaceable trees are felled, despite warnings from UNESCO and other conservation groups that the wholesale rape of the Amazon must stop.

A fascinating documentary is shown in the museum which follows this journey, the collection of materials from the forest, clearance of a work area and construction of the instruments using techniques employed for centuries to create items used in everyday life, fascinating to observe for someone who takes the manufacture of everyday essentials as a consumer right and spares no thought for the processes employed throughout history.

A poignant comment from Carlos is that the average life expectancy of the tribe is only 45, so he chose his pupils carefully from amongst the younger tribe members to ensure that the knowledge of how to make these instruments remained with the tribe, hopefully for at least the next 50 years.

For him, the most emotional moment came when the time arrived to test the new instruments which had been built, " It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I heard the sounds of these lost instruments resonating through the jungle. To have been able to collaborate with this miniscule grain of sand to the conservation of the amazonian culture was very moving for me. I was very emotional."

 It is this drive to preserve instruments which would otherwise disappear from our knowledge which pushes him to keep collecting, and even now, the collection has outgrown the museum, with storerooms stuffed to the ceiling with his ever-increasing acquisitions.

Sadly, he's only able to display around 5% of his entire collection at any one point, due to space restrictions, so has recently published a book which documents his collection of instruments, and discusses the development of music throughout the centuries.

The book is on sale at the museum in Barranda and is an absolute essential reference for anyone with an interest in historical and ethnic instruments.

So what is he going to do with his vast collection?

" There is tremendous interest in my work in America, so maybe I  will open another museum there, or another one in a different part of Spain, " but in the meantime he continues to add to the collection and develop his own instruments, fascinating and original pieces which incorporate a variety of techniques and his intimate knowledge of the creation of music.

 When you go to the museum, ask the assistants to switch on the rotating piece in the corner, just one of over 100 instruments invented by Carlos himself. Even the chain in the centre of the reception is an instrument, " Its not finished yet, " he said, ruefully running his hand down the metal links, "it filters the rain from the roof above. As the water runs down the chain when it rains it makes a tinkling sound, I plan to add bells or chimes to create real music with this one day, " but quite when he's going to fit that into his hectic schedule of saving the worlds most historical ethnic instruments remains to be seen.

Many thanks to Carlos Blanco Fadol for the generous amount of time he spent sharing his passion for ethnic instruments and for the dedication to create such an astonishing collection.

Please visit this museum and support the conservation of our musical heritage.

Practicalities of visiting the Ethnic music museum, El Museo de Música Étnica, Barranda.

 The Museum is easily found once in Barranda, being clearly signposted.

It is strongly recommended to double check opening hours with the tourist office in Caravaca as hours can vary, Tel 968 702 424

Published Opening Hours during the 2017 Holy Year

Opening Hours:
Monday to Saturday 10am to 2pm and 4pm to 6pm
Sundays 10am to 2pm

Entry fees

Standard: 3 euros

Reduced: 2 euros.

Children over the age of 6: 1 euro

Groups are welcomed. Please call 968 738 491 for bookings.

There is a good leaflet in English available and the assistants also spoke English well.

 Access

There are good facilities for those with limited mobility.

The museum also hosts concerts from time to time and offers workshops. See the Whats on or the Caravaca de la Cruz section of the site for more details.

Click for map, Barranda, North Murcia