''Mont Juic'', suite of Catalan dances for orchestra (), was written jointly by
Lennox Berkeley
Sir Lennox Randal Francis Berkeley (12 May 190326 December 1989) was an English composer.
Biography
Berkeley was born on 12 May 1903 in Oxford, England, the younger child and only son of Aline Carla (1863–1935), daughter of Sir James Char ...
and
Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
in 1937. Named for
Montjuïc
Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Etymology
Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
, it was published as Berkeley's
Op. 9 and Britten's Op. 12.
Background
Berkeley and Britten both attended the
International Society for Contemporary Music
The International Society for Contemporary Music (ISCM) is a music organization that promotes contemporary classical music.
The organization was established in Salzburg in 1922 as Internationale Gesellschaft für Neue Musik (IGNM) following the ...
(ISCM) Festival in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, Spain in 1936. Berkeley had been living abroad for some years and had never previously met Britten.
[Peter Dickinson ed., ''Lennox Berkeley and Friends: Writings, Letters and Interviews'']
p. 158. They soon became close friends. Another friend of Berkeley's,
Peter Burra
Peter Burra (1909 – 27 April 1937) was a British writer and critic, the author of "The Novels of E. M. Forster".
Early life
Peter Burra and his twin sister Nella Burra were close friend with Peter Pears; Burra and Pears went to school togeth ...
, was also present, and he also became a friend of Britten's.
[Neil Powell, ''Benjamin Britten: A Life for Music'']
p. 112.
At the Festival, Britten accompanied the violinist
Antonio Brosa
Antonio Brosa (27 June 1894 – 23 March 1979) was a Spanish violinist.
Born in La Canonja in Catalonia, Brosa began studying the violin at the age of four with his father, making his public debut at the age of 10 in Barcelona. He studied wit ...
in the first performance of his Suite for violin and piano, Op. 6.
[Classics Online]
. Retrieved 14 July 2013 The highlight of the Festival, which Britten, Berkeley and Burra all attended, was the posthumous world premiere of
Alban Berg
Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( , ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...
's
Violin Concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin (occasionally, two or more violins) and instrumental ensemble (customarily orchestra). Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up thro ...
, "To the memory of an angel", which was performed on Sunday 19 April, with the soloist
Louis Krasner
Louis Krasner (4 May 1995) was a Russian Empire-born American classical violinist who premiered the violin concertos of Alban Berg and Arnold Schoenberg.
Biography
Louis Krasner was born in Cherkasy, Russian Empire. He arrived in the United Stat ...
, under the conductor
Hermann Scherchen
Hermann Scherchen (21 June 1891 – 12 June 1966) was a German conductor.
Life
Scherchen was born in Berlin. Originally a violist, he played among the violas of the Bluthner Orchestra of Berlin while still in his teens. He conducted in Riga ...
.
The next day, the trio visited
Montjuïc
Montjuïc () is a hill in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.
Etymology
Montjuïc translates to "Jewish Mountain" from medieval Latin and Catalan, and remains of a medieval Jewish cemetery have been found there. Some sources suggest that Montjuïc ...
, the hill that dominates the Barcelona landscape. On the Wednesday, 22 April,
[ they attended a Festival of Folk Dance on the Exposition Grounds on Montjuïc, where they heard various ]Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
folk tunes. Later that day Berkeley and Britten jotted down some of the melodies in a Barcelona café.[
The following year, back in England, they decided to jointly write an orchestral suite based on some of the dance melodies they had heard on Montjuïc. They named it simply ''Mont Juic'', and dedicated it "In memory of Peter Burra",][ who was killed in an aircraft crash in April 1937.][ The work was written between 6 April and 12 December 1937.][''Benjamin Britten: A Guide to the Orchestral Works'']
Retrieved 14 July 2013
Instrumentation
The instrumentation consists of: two flutes (one doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets in B-flat, alto saxophone (ad lib.), tenor saxophone (ad lib.), two bassoons (one doubling double bassoon), four horns, two trumpets in B-flat, three trombones, tuba, timpani, glockenspiel, xylophone, cymbals, bass drum, tenor drum, side drum, triangle, tambourine, tam-tam, harp, and strings.[
]
Movements
The suite has four movements:
# Andante maestoso
# Allegro grazioso
# Lament: Andante moderato ("Barcelona, July 1936")[
# Allegro molto
The two composers chose not to reveal who had written which parts of the music. The manuscript Benjamin Britten submitted to the publisher was written entirely in his hand.][ In 1980, however, Lennox Berkeley revealed to Peter Dickinson that he had written the first two pieces and Britten the latter two, although they collaborated on the orchestration, the form and other details.][Chester Novello]
Retrieved 14 July 2013
Homage to Catalonia
By the time the work was written, the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
had broken out, and the third movement Lament (in C minor)[ was written as a tribute to the region of ]Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the north ...
.[Classical Archives]
Retrieved 14 July 2013 It includes a solo alto saxophone and is based on the Sardana
The ''sardana'' (; plural ''sardanes'' in Catalan) is a Catalan musical genre typical of Catalan culture and danced in circle following a set of steps. The dance was originally from the Empordà region, but started gaining popularity throughout ...
.[ It is subtitled "Barcelona, July 1936", a clear reference to the Civil War that had broken out on 18 July.][
]
First performance
The first performance of the work was in a BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.