Impressions de Natura

From the early 19th century, the Romantic art song was developed in the German-speaking countries with the German lied. The other European cultures assimilated their influence to produce their own forms of art song using their own poetry.

Catalan art song as a defined genre was born thanks to the work of the composers contemporary to the Catalan poet Joan Maragall (who was himself a strong supporter of the musical arts of his time), the Modernista generation that included Antoni Nicolau to Joan Lamote de Grignon. The Catalan song art reached a promising maturity with the next generation, the Noucentistes, who sought the definitive modernization of Catalonia. Among its members were Jaume Pahissa, Blanca Selva, Frederic Mompou, Eduard Toldrá, Manuel Blancafort, Ricard Lamote and Xavier Gols. They used the work of contemporary poets and focused on Josep Carner, Josep M. de Sagarra and Tomás Garcés.

The many victims of the disastrous Spanish Civil War include a whole musical genre that was irretrievably buried under piles of debris: the Catalan art song. The present selection, under the pretext of a thematic unit around the impressions of nature, offers a brief overview of the genre of the Catalan art song, whose life was so tragically short, with the valuable contribution of mostly unpublished material, rescued from oblivion.

Joan Lamote de Grignon (1872-1949)

1. El rossinyol (Violetes, 1901-1904) (Apel·les Mestres) 2:18
2. Larirà (Violetes, 1901-1904) (Apel·les Mestres) 2:42
3. Les aranyes (Violetes, 1901-1904) (Apel·les Mestres) 2:12
4. Cap al tard (Violetes, 1901-1904) (Apel·les Mestres) 3:21
5. Les roselles han partit (1897) (Apel·les Mestres) 2:43
6. És Juny! (Violetes, 1901-1904) (Apel·les Mestres) 0:56

Francesc Montserrat Ayarbe (1879-1950)

Impressions de natura (1906-1907) (Josep Maria Navarro)

7. La dansa de Les fulles 1:17
8. La torrentada 1:26
9. Paisatge nevat 2:43

Les estacions (1904) (Josep Maria Navarro)

10. Primavera 2:29
11. Estiu 2:45
12. Tardor 2:22
13. Hivern 3:08

Ricard Lamote de Grignon (1899-1962)

14. Mira que és bell el mar! (1922) (J.Roig Ruíz) 2:38
15. Cançó del capvespre (1928) (Josep Maria de Sagarra) 2:52
16. Plugeta lleu (1922) (Marià Manent) 2:57

Francesc Pujol (1878-1945)

17. Un clavell (1926) (Josep Carner) 1:34
18. Incúria d'agost (Josep Carner) 2:00
19. La ginesta (1924) (Joan Maragall) 1:27
20. Tarda serena (1938) (Joan Maria Guasch) 1:40
21. Cançó marinera (1939) (Lluís Guarner) 2:19
22. La cançó del vailet (1938) (Joan Maria Guasch) 3:51
23. La fira de Sant Jordi (1928) (Jacint Verdaguer) 2:00

Eduard Toldrà (1895-1962)

24. Maig (1920) (Trinitat Catasús) 2:48
25. L'hort (1920) (Joan Maragall) 2:26
26. Vinyes verdes vora el mar (1924) (Josep Maria de Sagarra) 2:07
27. Canticel (1923) (Josep Carner) 1:36
28. Cançó de comiat (A l'ombra del lledoner, 1924) (Tomàs Garcés) 3:47

David Alegret: tenor

Daniel Blanch: piano