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Themusic ofCatalonia comprises one of the oldest documented musical traditions in Europe.[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
Among the earliest references to music from Catalonia date to the Middle Ages, whenBarcelona and the surrounding area were relatively prosperous, allowing both music and arts to be cultivated actively. Catalonia and adjacent areas were the home for severaltroubadours, the itinerant composer-musicians whose influence and aesthetics was decisive on the formation of latemedieval secular music, and who traveled into Italy and Northern France after the destruction ofOccitan culture by theAlbigensian Crusade in the early 13th century. The so-calledLlibre Vermell de Montserrat ("Red Book of Montserrat") stands as an important source for 14th-century music.
Renaissancepolyphony 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 wrote four books of polyphonicmasses andmotets in honor of the patron saint of Catalonia,St. George.
Performances of opera, mostly imported from Italy, began in the 18th century, but some native operas were written as well, including three byIsaac Albéniz and seven byEnrique Granados. The Barcelona opera house,Gran Teatre del Liceu, 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.
Around the beginning of the 20th century, two Catalan composers—Enric Granados andIsaac Albéniz—became the most famous composers in Spain.[citation needed]Francisco Tárrega andMiquel Llobet expanded the technical possibilities of guitar. Their music remains in the standard classical repertory today. CellistPau Casals is admired as an outstanding player.Frederic Mompou (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 afterWorld War II.
A tradition of Catalanart songs also developed, following a similar popularity in the rest of Spain. These have been performed and promoted by Catalan artists, includingan album of Catalan folk-songs byVictoria de los Angeles (1991)and an album of more classical songs byJosé Carreras (1991).
Originally from northern areas of Catalonia,Sardanes are popular dances, and were especially widespread at the end of the 19th century. Currently, two main types, the originalsardana curta (short sardana) style and more modernsardana llarga (long sardana), are generally performed. While music is performed by acobla musical group, sardanes are danced in acircle dance. Other less common sardanes include thesardana de lluïment and thesardana revessa.
The cobla itself is an 11-piece band, that includes genuine folk instruments such as theflabiol (tabor pipe) andtambori,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 theball de bastons (stick dances),galops, espunyolets, ball de panderetes,ball de gitanes and the music ofgralla (music) (a kind ofCatalan shawm)and drums used incercaviles or bycolles diableres, etc.
Catalan music incorporates a number of unique instruments, including theflabiol, a type of pipe woodwind,tambori, a small drum, and theguitarra de canya, axylophone-like instrument made of bones or reeds that is suspended from the musician's neck.
In areas around the riverEbre, like in nearbyAragon andValencia, thejota is a popular dance.
Sung in bothCatalan and Spanish,Havaneres have been very popular at parties since the end of the 19th century when sailors returned from theWar of the Cuban Independence.
In the last half century, therumba catalana genre has spread in Catalonia, played mostly byGypsies, including popular performers likePeret andGato Pérez.
During the end of theFranco period, a movement known asNova Cançó emerged. Nova Cançó singers sang in Catalan, denouncing the official oppression of the language. The pioneering group of singer-songwriters,Els Setze Jutges, was founded in 1961 in Barcelona and came to include several singers from Catalonia, includingJoan Manuel Serrat andLluís Llach, as well as members from theBalearic Islands andValencian Community.Grup de Folk andEsquirols were other notablecançó groups.
In the last 20 years,rock and roll has become popular, and a Catalan scene calledrock català has appeared. Some very popular groups areLax'n'Busto,Sau,Els Pets orSopa de Cabra.[1] and more recently, groups such asDoctor Prats[2] andBuhos[3]
In the wake ofMano Negra andManu Chao's success, Catalonia has also produced a number of popular fusion and world music bands, such asDusminguet orCheb Balowski.Ojos de Brujo, 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,Mishima,Obeses,Sanjosex) and hip-hop (At Versaris,Guillamino).
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