Paràfrasi sobre el Cant de la Senyera

Informational note:

Cant de la Senyera (Song of the Senyera [Catalan flag]) is a composition for mixed choir with music by Lluís Millet i Pagès, based on a poem by Joan Maragall. It was composed specifically as a hymn of the Orfeó Català. It debuted in Montserrat in 1896 at the ceremony to bless the flag of Catalonia. It was prohibited by Franco’s regime from 1939 to 1960. It also served as the de facto national anthem of Catalonia, in competition with Els Segadors (The Reapers), when the latter had not yet been made official. The two are currently often played together. It was sung by some of the audience at the Palau de la Música Catalana when it had been banned; this was the core of the Fets del Palau act of rebellion in 1960.

Remarks:

This piece is a paraphrase or gloss that contains a series of linked variations. It expands on the different musical motifs in “Song of the Senyera [Catalan flag]” by Lluís Millet, and also in “L'Emigrant” by Amadeu Vives, alternating the prominence of the tenora and the piano. It also intends to be a tribute to two Catalan composers, for their musical mastery. The piece goes through all kinds of rhythmic, epic, dramatic, expressive, suggestive and romantic variations, with cadences by the tenora and the piano. It ends with the majestic splendour of the main chorus of the admired Catalan hymn, with lyrics by Joan Maragall.