Spanish songs in exile

Hispanic Music Series, Spanish in Motion-Project at LSE, and Cervantes Institute London present

‘Spanish songs in exile’

a lecture-recital in Spanish.

Description:

Marking the 80th anniversary of the end of the Spanish civil war, this lecture-recital will offer insights into Spanish song-making in exile. The programme will feature songs by composers such as Manuel de Falla, Julián Bautista, Josep Valls and Rodolfo Halffter.

Art song developed comparatively late in Spain, and it was not until the 1910s that Manuel de Falla and Enrique Granados established the first significant milestones in the genre. Their song cycles and sets became a reference for the next generation of composers who started their careers in the 1920s and 1930s, always under the concern of how to combine modernity with national identity. Many of these composers then exiled during the Spanish Civil War and the beginning of Franco’s dictatorship, and this experience also influenced how they engaged with art song. This lecture-recital will introduce some of the most significant art songs – some of them practically unknown today – by this exiled generation, and it will also celebrate the performers, such as Conxita Badia and Mercé Plantada, who strived to make these songs heard in Spain and beyond.

Lecturers/performers:

Dr. Eva Moreda (University of Glasgow)

Eva Moreda Rodriguez is a Senior Lecturer in Musicology at the University of Glasgow. She is the author of the books Music and exile in Francoist Spain (Ashgate, 2015) and Music criticism and music critics in Francoist Spain (Oxford University Press, 2016), as well as numerous articles and book chapters on the cultural and political history of Spanish music from the late nineteenth century to the late Franco regime. Her current project on the early reception and dissemination of recording technologies in Spain (1877-1905) received a Leadership Fellowship form the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Laura Ruhí Vidal

Catalan Soprano Laura Ruhí Vidal (Girona, 1990) graduated from the Opera Course at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, where she also studied the BMus (Hons) and was awarded an Artist Fellowship. With a wide range of experience in the UK in venues such as the Cadogan Hall (performances with musician and comedian Rainer Hersch), The Barbican, St Martin in the Fields, Purcell Room, Kings Place, The Sage Gateshead and festivals such as Aldeburgh Festival, Spanish Song and Zarzuela Festival, amongst others, Laura is an accomplished performer. In opera, Laura has performed across the UK with companies West Green House Opera, MidWales Opera, Longborough Opera Festival, Opera Project, Pop-Up Company, Tête à tête Festival, etc. Furthermore, Laura has performed with the “Maria Camahort Quintet”, a chamber ensemble performing traditionally rooted Spanish classical music, and recorded two CD albums: Iberian Colours (Convivium Records) and Danzas, Canciones y Nanas (Guitar Records).

Ricardo Gosalbo (Guildhall School of Music & Drama)

Ricardo Gosalbo is a Spanish-French collaborative pianist. He has held fellowships at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where he currently works as a Spanish music tutor. A devoted champion of Spanish and Hispano-American music, Ricardo combines his duties as artistic coordinator of the Hispanic Music Series in London with his doctoral research on Spanish Art Song. He has performed extensively with classical singers throughout Europe and has won numerous prizes for it including the ‘Prix de Lied’ at the Concours International de chant-piano Nadia et Lili Boulanger, the Oxford Lieder Young Artist and the Paul Hamburger Prize.

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Hispanic Music Series, Spanish in Motion-Project at LSE, y el Instituto Cevantes Londres presentan

“La canción lírica española del exilio”

una conferencia-recital en castellano.

Resumen:

En conmemoración del 80 aniversario del fin de la Guerra Civil española, esta conferencia-recital tratará la obra cancionística de compositores españoles exiliados como Manuel de Falla, Julián Bautista, Josep Valls y Rodolfo Halffter.

La canción de concierto tuvo un desarrollo relativamente tardío en España, y no es hasta los años 10 del siglo XX que Manuel de Falla y Enrique Granados establecen los primeros hitos significativos en el género. Sus ciclos y colecciones de canciones se convierten en un punto de referencia obligado para la siguiente generación de compositores que comienzan sus carreras en los años 20 y 30, marcados por la gran cuestión de cómo combinar modernidad con identidad nacional. Varios de estos compositores se exilian posteriormente durante la Guerra Civil y a comienzos de la dictadura franquista, y esta experiencia influye también en su tratamiento del género. Esta charla presenta algunas canciones más destacadas – algunas de ellas prácticamente desconocidas – de esta generación exiliada, además de celebrar a las intérpretes, como Conxita Badia y Mercé Plantada, que trabajaban por dar a conocer estas obras en España y fuera de ella.

Ponente e intérpretes:

Dra. Eva Moreda (Universidad de Glasgow)

Eva Moreda Rodríguez es Senior Lecturer en Musicología en la Universidad de Glasgow. Es autora de los libros Music and exile in Francoist Spain (Ashgate, 2015) y Music criticism and music critics in Francoist Spain (Oxford University Press, 2016), así como de numerosos artículos y capítulos sobre la historia cultural y política de la música española de finales del XIX a finales del régimen de Franco. Su actual proyecto sobre los comienzos de la historia de las tecnologías de grabación en España recibió una subvención “Leadership Fellowship” del Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Laura Ruhí Vidal

Ricardo Gosalbo (Guildhall School of Music & Drama)

Ricardo Gosalbo es un pianista hispano-francés. Defensor devoto de la música española e hispanoamericana en el extranjero, Ricardo compagina su labor como profesor de música hispana en el prestigioso Guildhall School of Music and Drama con la coordinación artística del Hispanic Music Series de Londres, así como con su trabajo de investigación en el ámbito de la canción lírica española. Ha actuado con cantantes por toda Europa y ha sido galardonado numerosas veces por ello, entre otros con el “Premio de Lied” del Concurso Internacional de canto y piano Nadia y Lili Boulanger, y con el Oxford Lieder Young Artist.

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Programme/programa:

Josep Valls – Chant populaires catalans:
– Tres tambors
– L’enyor
Enrique Casal Chapí – Villancico (de Lope de Vega)
Gustavo Durán – Si me fuera, amante mía (de “La amante” de Rafael Alberti)
Salvador Bacarisse – Nana del niño muerto (de “Tres nanas de Rafael Alberti” Op. 20)
Ernesto Halffter – La corza blanca (de “Dos canciones de Rafael Alberti”)
Manuel de Falla – Siete canciones populares españolas:
– El paño moruno
– Seguidilla murciana
– Asturiana
– Jota
– Nana
– Canción
– Polo