Miguel Llobet (18th October 1887 – February 22nd 1938) was a guitarist and
composer hailing from the Catalonian region of the Iberian Peninsular and is
associated with the Barcelona school of guitar. Famed for his virtuosic
performances Llobet built a career touring the world playing throughout
Europe, Brazil, Argentina and the Caribbean, being described by critics as the
“Greatest figure on the guitar today”. Much like his tutor Francesco Tarrega,
Llobet was also an avid composer and arranger contributing a large catalogue
to the to the guitar’s repertoire. He was an influence to many of his
contemporaries with the most notable being the French/Catalonian composer
Frederico Mompou, who he met whilst in Paris. The influence from Llobet’s
folksong arrangements is clearly evident in Mompou’s set of fourteen
‘Cancons i Danses’ for piano which were also based on folk melodies, some of
which Llobet later arranged for guitar duo.
Prized as some of his most famous works his thirteen folksong settings
‘Canciones populares Catalanas’ were composed in a period between 1899 and
1920. They juxtapose Llobet’s dense, individual and some what experimental
harmonic style against the traditional folk melodies of Catalonia. Described by
Andre Segovia as “the jewels of the guitar repertoire” the intricate
arrangements demonstrate the impressionist influence which is apparent in
many of the songs whilst also displaying the the technical prowess Llobet must
of possessed. His choice of such delicate yet compact harmonisations create a
rich sound that is complimented by the wide range of tonal colours. Combined
with the plaintive themes this creates a sound that is unique to Llobet’s
arrangements.
The set feature a wide array of narratives from Catalonian folklore and festive
carols that depict scenes from the medieval times right up to the 20th Century.
From the traditional Christmas carol’s El noi de la mare (Son of the Mother)
and La Nit de Nadal (Christmas eve) Llobet’s arrangements capture the sense
of social occasion the melodies were originally composed for.
In the hymn El noi de la mare Llobet adds a simple accompaniment so as not to
distract attention away from the beautiful melody, notice how he adds a
quaver – crotchet rhythm in the bass of each chord. This is cleverly reminiscent
of a beating heart, the gentle ostinato sounding in the background throughout
the whole song. A sense of excitement is also captured in La Nit de Nadal with
the contrary motion between the bass and the melody where the meter
changes from four to three. This contrasts beautifully with the Andante section
that represents the reflectiveness of the festive season, this song is also know
by the name El Desembre congelat (The Icy December).
Many of the songs have narratives dating back to Medieval Catalonia with
themes concerning forlorn lovers and some more macabre tales, such as the
stories of La preco de Lleida (The Prison at Lleida) and El Testament d’Amelia
(The Testament of Amelia). The narrative of La preco de Lleida focus around
the jailers daughter, Margaret, who falls in love with one of the inmates who is
condemned to hang. The song is comprised of Margaret’s futile pleas to her
father to spare her lover, but to no avail and in the end she decides to hang
herself too. Llobet reproduces the drama of the story in his arrangement by
having the first iteration of the melody in artificial harmonics which then builds
to the D minor chord in the second section. It is interesting that the lyrics
reference to the King of Aragon “parenta del rei d’Arago” show that this songs
roots could date as far back as the fourteenth centaury to the Kingdom of
Aragon.
El Testament d’Amelia is another chilling tale of tragedy. Princesses Amelia’s
mother the queen is jealous of her beauty and poisons her which knots
Amelia’s heart in her chest, the storey can be likened to the tale of snow white
except unfortunately Amelia dies. Throughout the song Amelia has a refrain
"Ai, que el meu cor s'em nua como un pom de clavells" (“Oh, My heart is
knotted, like a fistful of carnations”), this can be seen in Llobet’s version as the
melody repeated twice an octave above in artificial harmonics representing
Amelia’s quite moans as the poison takes effect. This songs narrative is similar
to another famous Catalonian song “Delgadina”.
Defined by Andres Segovia as what was “at that time the most sophisticated
re- imagining and use of modern harmonisation and polyphony on the guitar”
El Mestre (the Teacher) is probably the most famous and complex arrangement
out of the whole set. The narrative is about a teacher who falls in love with
there student but must the go to fight in a war, and its main theme can be
seen as a lovers return. It contains a refrain which lyrics “mes, ai! Ara tom,
plantatom xirbiriclona, tumpena tumpi” are meaningless onomatopoeic
sounds to imitate percussive instruments such as tambourines. The refrain
appears at the beginning of the second section demonstrated the anguish of
the separated lovers. Llobet captures this feeling by harmonising with major
sevenths in the second iteration, he also echo’s the refrain in artificial
harmonics throughout the work.
Plany when directly translated from Catalonian means to pitty or moan and is a
lament about Catalan’s lost independence. Its Lyrics are “Catalonia, in other
times, she alone governed and made her laws in her language and not in any
other. Cry, cry, Catalonia, you no longer govern now!” Although this songs
origins probably date back to the fifteenth century, its interesting how Llobet’s
arrangement with its dark and tense mood has been relatable to Catalonians
throughout the ages. From The medieval Reconquista and Franco’s regime the
clash between Spanish and Catalonian cultures has caused divides as recently
as last year. the fame of Llobet’s arrangements along with the recordings of
Catalan songs by Victoria de los Angeles have cemented Catalan’s separatism
through out the world and also helped preserve the culture and language
through the protest movement Nova Canco (the new song) after Franco’s
attempt to repress regional languages and customs during his rule.
Miguel Llobet Soles - ‘Canciones populares Catalanas’
Plany
(Moan)
El mestre
(The teacher)
La filla de marxant
(The merchant’s daughter)
Canco del lladre
(Song of the thief)
El testament d’Amelia
(The testament of Amelia)
Lo fill del rei
(the son of the king)
La preco de Lleida
(The prison at Lleida)
El noi de la mare
(son of the mother)
Lo rossinyol
(The nightingale)
La Nit de Nadal
(Christmas eve)