The music 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 ...
comprises one of the oldest documented musical traditions in Europe. In tandem with the rest of Western Europe, it has a long musical tradition, incorporating a number of different styles and genres over the past two thousand years.
History
Among the earliest references to music from Catalonia date to the Middle Ages, when
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 ...
and the surrounding area were relatively prosperous, allowing both music and arts to be cultivated actively. Catalonia and adjacent areas were the home for several
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
s, the itinerant composer-musicians whose influence and aesthetics was decisive on the formation of late
medieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
secular music, and who traveled into Italy and Northern France after the destruction of
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language
Occitan (; o ...
n culture by the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
in the early 13th century. The so-called
Llibre Vermell de Montserrat
The ''Llibre Vermell de Montserrat'' (, "Red Book of Montserrat") is a manuscript collection of devotional texts containing, amongst others, some late medieval songs. The 14th-century manuscript was compiled in and is still located at the monaster ...
("Red Book of Montserrat") stands as an important source for 14th-century music.
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...
polyphony
Polyphony ( ) is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, monophony, or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords, h ...
flourished in Catalonia, though local composers never attained the fame of either the Spanish composers to the South and West or the French composers to the North.
Joan Pau Pujol Joan Pau Pujol (; baptized 18 June 1570 – 17 May 1626) was a Catalan and Spanish composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque. While best known for his sacred music, he also wrote popular secular music.
Life
Pujol was born ...
wrote four books of polyphonic
masses and
motet
In Western classical music, a motet is mainly a vocal musical composition, of highly diverse form and style, from high medieval music to the present. The motet was one of the pre-eminent polyphonic forms of Renaissance music. According to Margar ...
s in honor of the patron saint of Barcelona,
St. George
Saint George (Greek: Γεώργιος (Geórgios), Latin: Georgius, Arabic: القديس جرجس; died 23 April 303), also George of Lydda, was a Christian who is venerated as a saint in Christianity. According to tradition he was a soldier ...
.
Performances of opera, mostly imported from Italy, began in the 18th century, but some native operas were written as well, including three by
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...
and seven by
Enrique Granados
Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...
. The Barcelona opera house,
Gran Teatre del Liceu
Gran may refer to:
People
*Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran"
* Gran (name)
Places
* Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary
* Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet coun ...
, which opened in 1847, remains one of the most important in Spain; in addition, in the mid-19th century the first Barcelona Philharmonic Society was founded for the performance of orchestral music. Several symphonic orchestras exist in Catalonia today, including the Barcelona Orchestra.
20th century
Around the beginning of the 20th century, two Catalan composers—
Enric Granados
Pantaleón Enrique Joaquín Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 – 24 March 1916), commonly known as Enric Granados in Catalan or Enrique Granados in Spanish, was a composer of classical music, and concert pianist from Catalonia, Spain. ...
and
Isaac Albéniz
Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz y Pascual (; 29 May 1860 – 18 May 1909) was a Spanish virtuoso pianist, composer, and conductor. He is one of the foremost composers of the Post-Romantic era who also had a significant influence on his conte ...
—became the most famous composers in Spain.
Francisco Tárrega
Francisco de Asís Tárrega Eixea (21 November 185215 December 1909) was a Spanish composer and classical guitarist of the late Romantic period. He is known for such pieces as Capricho Árabe and ''Recuerdos de la Alhambra''. He is often called ...
and
Miquel Llobet expanded the technical possibilities of guitar. Their music remains in the standard classical repertory today. Cellist
Pau Casals
Pau Casals i Defilló (Catalan: ; 29 December 187622 October 1973), usually known in English by his Castilian Spanish name Pablo Casals, is admired as an outstanding player.
Frederic Mompou
Frederic Mompou Dencausse (; alternatively Federico Mompou; 16 April 189330 June 1987) was a Spanish and Catalan composer and pianist. He is remembered for his solo piano music and songs.
Life
Early years
Mompou was born in Barcelona to the ...
(1893–1987) is known for his delicate piano works, which often have a Catalan flavor. He spent most of his life in Paris, returning to his native Barcelona only during and after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
A tradition of Catalan
art song
An art song is a Western vocal music composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is used to refer to the collective genre of such songs ...
s also developed, following a similar popularity in the rest of Spain. These have been performed and promoted by Catalan artists, including
an album of Catalan folk-songs by
Victoria de los Angeles
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
(1991)
and an album of more classical songs by
José Carreras
Josep Maria Carreras Coll (; born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras (, ), is a Spanish operatic tenor who is particularly known for his performances in the operas of Donizetti, Verdi and Puccini.
Born in Barcelona, he made his de ...
(1991).
Folk and popular music
Originally from northern areas of Catalonia,
Sardanes
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 ...
are popular dances, and were especially widespread at the end of the 19th century. Currently, two main types, the original ''sardana curta'' (short sardana) style and more modern ''sardana llarga'' (long sardana), are generally performed. While music is performed by a ''
cobla
The cobla (, plural ''cobles'') is a traditional music ensemble of Catalonia, and in Northern Catalonia in France. It is generally used to accompany the Sardana, a traditional Catalan folk dance, danced in a circle.
Structure
The modern Cobla no ...
'' musical group, sardanes are danced in a
circle dance
Circle dance, or chain dance, is a style of social dance done in a circle, semicircle or a curved line to musical accompaniment, such as rhythm instruments and singing, and is a type of dance where anyone can join in without the need of part ...
. Other less common sardanes include the ''sardana de lluïment'' and the ''sardana revessa''.
The cobla itself is an 11-piece band, that includes genuine folk instruments such as the
flabiol
The flabiol () is a Catalan woodwind musical instrument of the family known as '' fipple flutes''. It is one of the 12 instruments of the cobla. The flabiol measures about 25 centimeters in length and has five or six holes on its front face a ...
(
tabor pipe
The three-hole pipe, also commonly known as tabor pipe or galoubet, is a wind instrument designed to be played by one hand, leaving the other hand free to play a tabor drum, bell, psalterium or ''tambourin à cordes'', bones, triangle or other pe ...
) and
tambori
The tambori ( ca, tamborí ) is a percussion instrument of about 10 centimetres diameter, a small shallow cylinder formed of metal or wood with a drumhead of skin. Its usual function is to accompany the playing of the flabiol in a cobla band, beati ...
,
tenora,
tible which are also used in other regions of Spain. Coblas also frequently play as concert bands without the dance.
Other popular music are the
ball de bastons
''Ball de bastons'' (, ''stick dance'') is the name of a ritual weapon dance spread throughout Europe and the rest of the Iberian area (''cossiers'' in Majorca, Portuguese ''pauliteiros'', Aragonese ''palotiau'', Basque ''ezpatadantza'' and Spani ...
(stick dances),
galop
In dance, the galop, named after the fastest running gait of a horse (see Gallop), a shortened version of the original term galoppade, is a lively country dance, introduced in the late 1820s to Parisian society by the Duchesse de Berry and popul ...
s, espunyolets, ball de panderetes,
ball de gitanes
A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...
and the music of
gralla (music) (a kind of
Catalan shawm
In music, a Catalan shawm is one of two varieties of shawm, an oboe-like woodwind musical instrument played in Catalonia in northeastern Spain.
Region, types, and uses
The types of shawm commonly used in Catalonia are the tible (, Catalan for "t ...
)and drums used in
cercaviles or by
colles diableres, etc.
Catalan music incorporates a number of unique instruments, including the
flabiol
The flabiol () is a Catalan woodwind musical instrument of the family known as '' fipple flutes''. It is one of the 12 instruments of the cobla. The flabiol measures about 25 centimeters in length and has five or six holes on its front face a ...
, a type of pipe woodwind,
tambori
The tambori ( ca, tamborí ) is a percussion instrument of about 10 centimetres diameter, a small shallow cylinder formed of metal or wood with a drumhead of skin. Its usual function is to accompany the playing of the flabiol in a cobla band, beati ...
, a small drum, and the
guitarra de canya, a
xylophone
The xylophone (; ) is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets. Like the glockenspiel (which uses metal bars), the xylophone essentially consists of a set of tuned wooden keys arranged in the ...
-like instrument made of bones or reeds that is suspended from the musician's neck.
In areas around the river
Ebre
, name_etymology =
, image = Zaragoza shel.JPG
, image_size =
, image_caption = The Ebro River in Zaragoza
, map = SpainEbroBasin.png
, map_size =
, map_caption = The Ebro ...
, like in nearby
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
and
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, the
jota
Jota may refer to:
__NOTOC__
* Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet;
* (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet;
* The name of the ...
is a popular dance.
Sung in both
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 ...
and Spanish,
Havaneres have been very popular at parties since the end of the 19th century when sailors returned from the
War of the Cuban Independence.
In the last half century, the
rumba catalana
The Catalan rumba ( ca, rumba catalana, ) is a genre of music that developed in Barcelona's Romani community beginning in the 1950s and 1960s. Its rhythms are derived from the Andalusian flamenco rumba, with influences from Cuban music and rock ...
genre has spread in Catalonia, played mostly by
Gypsies
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...
, including popular performers like
Peret
Pedro Pubill Calaf ( ; 24 March 1935 – 27 August 2014), better known as Peret, was a Spanish Romani singer, guitar player and composer of Catalan rumba from Mataró (Barcelona).
Known for his 1971 single, "Borriquito" (Ariola Records), Per ...
and
Gato Pérez
Xavier Patricio Pérez Álvarez (April 11, 1951 – October 18, 1990), known as Gato Pérez, was a musician of Argentine origin who settled in Catalonia. He stood out in the musical genre of the Catalan rumba, which he merged with salsa and an or ...
.
During the end of the
Franco period, a movement known as
Nova Cançó
A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...
emerged. Nova Cançó singers sang in Catalan, denouncing the official oppression of the language. The pioneering group of singer-songwriters,
Els Setze Jutges
Els Setze Jutges (, meaning "The Sixteen Judges") was a group of singers in the Catalan language founded in 1961 by Miquel Porter i Moix, Remei Margarit, and Josep Maria Espinàs. The name comes from a well known tongue-twister in the Catalan langu ...
, was founded in 1961 in Barcelona and came to include several singers from Catalonia, including
Joan Manuel Serrat
Joan Manuel Serrat i Teresa (; born 27 December 1943) is a Spanish musician, singer and composer. He is considered one of the most important figures of modern, popular music in both the Spanish and Catalan languages.
Serrat's lyrical style h ...
and
Lluís Llach
Lluís Llach i Grande (; born 7 May 1948) is a Catalan singer-songwriter, novelist and politician from Spain. He is one of the main representatives of the ''nova cançó'' genre and an outspoken advocate of the right to self-determination of ...
, as well as members from the
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...
and
Valencian Community
The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
.
Grup de Folk and ''Esquirols'' were other notable ''cançó'' groups.
In the last 20 years,
rock and roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
has become popular, and a Catalan scene called
rock català
Rock català (, "Catalan Rock") is a type of music popular in the late 1980s and early 1990s involving Catalan lyrics and many different musical styles.
The last years of Spain under Franco were shattered by a generation of singers that claimed ...
has appeared. Some very popular groups are
Lax'n'Busto
Lax'n'Busto are a pop-rock group formed in 1986 in El Vendrell, Catalonia, Spain.
Discography
* 1989: "Vas de punt ...o què!!!"
* 1991: "Lax´N´Busto"
* 1992: "Vas de punt ...o què!!!" without banned song "Carme Flavià".
* 1993: "Qui ets ...
,
Sau,
Els Pets
''Els Pets'' is a Catalan pop rock band with lead singer, composer and guitarist Lluís Gavaldà from the village of Constantí ( province of Tarragona, Catalonia). Joan Reig plays drums and Falin Cáceres bass. At present, the band has th ...
or
Sopa de Cabra
Sopa de Cabra ('Goat Soup') is a musical group from Girona, Catalonia, Spain, active from 1986 to 2002 and since 2015. They are considered to be one of the leading representatives of the rock català movement, though the band prefer not to be plac ...
. and more recently, groups such as
Doctor Prats
Doctor Prats is a band from Terrassa in Catalonia, Spain that was formed in 2015.
History
Doctor Prats was created in 2015, with the intent to be solely an online band. The same year, they released their first album, (Potatoes with fish). ...
and
Buhos
In the wake of
Mano Negra and
Manu Chao
Manu Chao (; born José-Manuel Thomas Arthur Chao on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish singer. He sings in French, Spanish, English, Italian, Arabic, Catalan, Galician, Portuguese, Greek, and occasionally in other languages. Chao began his mus ...
's success, Catalonia has also produced a number of popular fusion and world music bands, such as
Dusminguet or
Cheb Balowski.
Ojos de Brujo
Ojos de Brujo was a nine-piece band from Barcelona who described their style as "jipjop flamenkillo" ( hip hop with a little flamenco). The band sold over 100,000 copies of their self-produced ''Barí'' album and received several awards, among t ...
, a band from Barcelona merging traditional flamenco with hip-hop, has also become popular.
Contemporary music sung in Catalan has been relatively successful, and includes music in genres such as pop (
Antònia Font,
Manel,
Els Amics de les Arts
Els Amics de les Arts is one of the best-known bands of what some have called the new wave of Catalan folk- pop. Their songs are short stories made with simple melodies, touches of electronic music, wordplay and much irony.
History
''Catalonau ...
,
Mishima Mishima may refer to:
Places
* Mishima, Fukushima, a town in Fukushima Prefecture
* Mishima, Kagoshima, a village in Kagoshima Prefecture
* Mishima, Niigata, a town in Niigata Prefecture
* Mishima, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan
...
,
Sanjosex) and hip-hop (
At Versaris,
Guillamino).
References
Further reading
* "Spain", in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980.
External links
Scores for grallaMIDI files of folk songs collected by Palmira Jaquetti, Joan Tomàs and Joan AmadesDiscmedi the biggest music producer of Catalonia
{{Music of Spain
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 ...