Page 386 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2017. Glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti - Musical Migrations: Crossroads of European Musical Diversity. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 1
P. 386
glasbene migracije: stičišče evropske glasbene raznolikosti
were orchestrated in 1931.11 This was followed by an important Cantata on a
Catalan theme, L’Alta Naixença del Rei en Jaume (“The Noble Birth of the
Sovereign Lord King James”), for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra.
It is an interesting work that uses a mixture of the two main features of Ger-
hard’s music, what Homs accurately calls “the ethnic and the semi-serial.”12
The orchestral piece Albada, Interludi i Dansa of 1936 made great use of
Catalan folk melodies and dance rhythms.13 The folk songs are skilfully in-
tegrated into a superbly scored orchestral style. During this time, however,
Gerhard was witnessing terrible events in his homeland. The rise of the fas-
cists and his own support for the Republican cause meant that with the vic-
tory of Franco, he would have to leave his country for his own safety. In 1939
he first travelled to Paris and then he moved to England. He settled perma-
nently in Cambridge, where he was awarded a fellowship at King’s College,
University of Cambridge.
With his Catalan background and extensive experience of Spanish
music, it seemed a sensible move for Gerhard to use this in the first in-
stance, as Joaquim Homs explained: “In the course of the Gerhard’s first
years in England, it made a lot of sense for him to highlight the ethnic as-
pect of his music, since it might lead to further opportunities for work.”14
This, of course, is only part of the story because World War Two made life
very difficult for everyone in England. The opportunities for performanc-
es of new music were very limited with some of the scheduled events aban-
doned because of the war. There was an additional problem, however, as
the reading committee for music in the BBC was extremely conservative
in its outlook, rejecting advanced works on merely subjective grounds. On
the other hand there was an enthusiasm for music that was influenced by
Spanish folk music.15 At all events Gerhard was able to produce a number
of works with Spanish links and furthermore he was able to expand and/or
11 Included in this collection is the song El Cotiló, quoted in numerous later works.
12 Joaquim Homs, op.cit., 36; the article by David Drew, “Gerhard’s Cantata: A Note on
the Music,” Tempo, 139 (December 1981): pp.17–18; and Julian White, “National Tra-
ditions in the Music of Roberto Gerhard,” Tempo, 184 (March 1993): 6–7.
13 It was first performed under the composer’s direction in a BBC broadcast on 27
October 1937, and at a later public performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
under Hermann Scherchen on 24 June 1938 in London during the ISCM Festival. See
the score (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1981), [p.iii]
14 Homs, op.cit., 42
15 See Gregorio García Karman, “Roberto Gerhard’s BBC Sound Compositions,” The
Roberto Gerhard Companion, 308. An example of the problem is that the Wind
Quintet was rejected for being “advanced ... extremely difficult and ... ugly.”
384
were orchestrated in 1931.11 This was followed by an important Cantata on a
Catalan theme, L’Alta Naixença del Rei en Jaume (“The Noble Birth of the
Sovereign Lord King James”), for soprano, baritone, chorus and orchestra.
It is an interesting work that uses a mixture of the two main features of Ger-
hard’s music, what Homs accurately calls “the ethnic and the semi-serial.”12
The orchestral piece Albada, Interludi i Dansa of 1936 made great use of
Catalan folk melodies and dance rhythms.13 The folk songs are skilfully in-
tegrated into a superbly scored orchestral style. During this time, however,
Gerhard was witnessing terrible events in his homeland. The rise of the fas-
cists and his own support for the Republican cause meant that with the vic-
tory of Franco, he would have to leave his country for his own safety. In 1939
he first travelled to Paris and then he moved to England. He settled perma-
nently in Cambridge, where he was awarded a fellowship at King’s College,
University of Cambridge.
With his Catalan background and extensive experience of Spanish
music, it seemed a sensible move for Gerhard to use this in the first in-
stance, as Joaquim Homs explained: “In the course of the Gerhard’s first
years in England, it made a lot of sense for him to highlight the ethnic as-
pect of his music, since it might lead to further opportunities for work.”14
This, of course, is only part of the story because World War Two made life
very difficult for everyone in England. The opportunities for performanc-
es of new music were very limited with some of the scheduled events aban-
doned because of the war. There was an additional problem, however, as
the reading committee for music in the BBC was extremely conservative
in its outlook, rejecting advanced works on merely subjective grounds. On
the other hand there was an enthusiasm for music that was influenced by
Spanish folk music.15 At all events Gerhard was able to produce a number
of works with Spanish links and furthermore he was able to expand and/or
11 Included in this collection is the song El Cotiló, quoted in numerous later works.
12 Joaquim Homs, op.cit., 36; the article by David Drew, “Gerhard’s Cantata: A Note on
the Music,” Tempo, 139 (December 1981): pp.17–18; and Julian White, “National Tra-
ditions in the Music of Roberto Gerhard,” Tempo, 184 (March 1993): 6–7.
13 It was first performed under the composer’s direction in a BBC broadcast on 27
October 1937, and at a later public performance by the BBC Symphony Orchestra
under Hermann Scherchen on 24 June 1938 in London during the ISCM Festival. See
the score (London: Boosey & Hawkes, 1981), [p.iii]
14 Homs, op.cit., 42
15 See Gregorio García Karman, “Roberto Gerhard’s BBC Sound Compositions,” The
Roberto Gerhard Companion, 308. An example of the problem is that the Wind
Quintet was rejected for being “advanced ... extremely difficult and ... ugly.”
384
