federico mompou_ a style analysis of thirty-five songs

University of IowaIowa Research Online

Theses and Dissertations

2012

Federico Mompou: a style analysis of thirty-fivesongsLynell Joy KruckebergUniversity of Iowa

Copyright 2012 Lynell Joy Kruckeberg

This dissertation is available at Iowa Research Online: http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3486

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Recommended CitationKruckeberg, Lynell Joy. "Federico Mompou: a style analysis of thirty-five songs." dissertation, University of Iowa, 2012.http://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/3486.

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FEDERICO MOMPOU:

A STYLE ANALYSIS OF THIRTY-FIVE SONGS

by

Lynell Joy Kruckeberg

An essay submitted in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the

Doctor of Musical Arts degree

in the Graduate College of

The University of Iowa

December 2012

Essay Supervisor: Associate Professor Rachel Joselson

Copyright by

LYNELL JOY KRUCKEBERG

2012

All Rights Reserved

Graduate College

The University of Iowa

Iowa City, Iowa

CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL

____________________________

D.M.A. ESSAY

______________

This is to certify that the D.M.A. essay of

Lynell Joy Kruckeberg

has been approved by the Examining Committee

for the essay requirement for the Doctor of

Musical Arts degree at the December 2012 graduation.

Essay Committee: ____________________________

Rachel Joselson, Essay Supervisor

____________________________

Christine Getz

____________________________

Jennifer Iverson

____________________________

John Muriello

____________________________

Stephen Swanson

ii

To Chris

iii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group has granted permission to present

the translations of the poetry featured in The Spanish Song Companion by Jacqueline

Cockburn and Richard Stokes. The Spanish Song Companion is published by Scarecrow

Press in Baltimore, MD.

Sociedad Española De Ediciones Musicales, S.A (SEEMSA) of Madrid has

granted permission to use musical examples from the Cançiones Becquerianas.

MGB Hal Leonard of Milan has granted permission to use musical examples from

Federico Mompou: Mélodies et Chansons and Cinq Mélodies sur des textes de Paul

Valery.

First of all, I would like to thank my husband, Chris, for his unwavering support

and encouragement throughout this final project and for the entire duration of the DMA

program. I’m grateful for your help as an editor and writer. Most importantly, I thank you

for being my best friend and confidant.

I would also like to thank my parents, Laren and Joan, and my parents-in-law,

Tom and Johanna, for all of your support during all the years I have been in school. You

have all been a source of encouragement and strength when I needed it most.

Special thanks to Ruthann McTyre for helping in securing permission of musical

examples in this essay. Thank you to Dr. Jane Gressang for assistance in translating a

permission letter to SEEMSA in Madrid. Finally, thank you to Dr. Rachel Joselson, Dr.

Christine Getz, Dr. Jennifer Iverson, Dr. John Muriello, and Professor Stephen Swanson

for serving on my essay committee. I am grateful all for your assistance, expertise and

experience.

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF EXAMPLES vi

INTRODUCTION 1

Literature Review 3

Purpose and Methodology 7

CHAPTER 1 BIOGRAPHY 12

CHAPTER 2 SIX SONGS OF THE COMPTINES 21

D’ait d’un cotxe 22

Margot la pie 24

He vist dins la lluna tres 26

Asserin, Asseran 28

Petite fille de Paris 31

Pito, pito, colorito 34

Summary 36

CHAPTER 3 SEVENTEEN SONGS 38

L’ora grisa 39

Quatre Mélodies 42

Rosa del cami 42

Cortina de fullatge 44

Incertitude 46

Neu 48

Cançoneta incerta 50

Combat del somni 54

Damunt de tu només les flors 54

Aquesta nit un mateix vent 58

Jo et pressentia com la mar 61

Fes me la vida transparent 64

Cançó de la fira 67

Deux Mélodies 71

Pastoral 72

Llueve sobre el rio 75

Cantar del alma 78

Aureana do Sil 82

Sant Martí 85

Primeros pasos 90

CHAPTER 4 TWELVE SONGS 93

v

Le nuage 94

Cançions Béquerianas 96

Hoy la tierra de son rien 97

Los invisibles átomos del aires 100

Yo soy ardiente 102

Yo sé cuál el objeto 105

Volveran las oscuras 107

Olas gigantes 111

Cinq Mélodies 114

La fausse morte 115

L’insinuant 118

Le vin perdu 120

Le sylphe 123

Les pas 125

CONCLUSION 128

APPENDIX A CATALAN PRONUNCIATION AND DICTION GUIDE 132

Syllabification 133

Vowels 133

Stressed Vowels 134

Unstressed Vowels 135

Dipthongs 136

Glides 137

Consonants 138

Digraphs 143

Liason 144

APPENDIX B SELECT DISCOGRAPHY FROM 1992-2012 146

Recorded Songs on Compilations 146

Recorded Songs by Recording Artist 147

BIBLIOGRAPHY 152

vi

LIST OF EXAMPLES

Example 1. Mompou, “D’ait d’un cotxe,” Measures 2–3. 24

Example 2. Mompou, “Margot la pie,” Measures 26–35. 26

Example 3. Mompou, “He vist dins la lluna tres,” Measures 9–13. 28

Example 4. Mompou, “Asserin, Asseran,” Measures 1–12. 30

Example 5. Mompou, “Aserrin, Aserran,” Measures 13–17. 31

Example 6. Mompou, “Petite fille de Paris,” Measures 1–16. 33

Example 7. Mompou, “Pito, pito, colorito,” Measures 4–7. 35

Example 8. Mompou, “Pito, pito colorito,” Measures 8–16. 36

Example 9. Mompou, “L’ora grisa,” Measures 1–8. 41

Example 10. Mompou, “L’hora grisa,” Measures 19–26. 41

Example 11. Mompou, “Rosa del cami,” Measures 1–9. 44

Example 12. Mompou, “Cortina de fullatge,” Measures 1–9. 45

Example 13. Mompou, “Incertitude,” Measures 1–8. 47

Example 14. Mompou, “Neu,” Measures 1–13. 49

Example 15. Mompou, “Cançoneta incerta,” Measures 1–5. 52

Example 16. Mompou, “Cançoneta incerta,” Measures 17–25. 53

Example 17. Mompou, “Damunt de tu només les flors,” Measures 6–15. 57

Example 18. Mompou, “Damunt de tu només les flors,” Measures 21–35. 58

Example 19. Mompou, “Aquesta nit un mateix vent,” Measures 1–8. 60

Example 20. Mompou, “Aquesta nit un mateix vent,”Measures 13–17. 61

Example 21. Mompou, “Jo et pressentia com la mar,” Measures 1–8. 63

Example 22. Mompou, “Jo et pressentia com la mar,” Measures 19–26. 64

vii

Example 23. Mompou, “Fes me la vida transparent,” Measures 1–6 . 66

Example 24. Mompou, “Fes me la vida transparent,” Measures 16–20. 67

Example 25. Mompou, “Cançó de la fira,” Measures 1–13. 70

Example 26. Mompou, “Cançó de la fira,” Measures 66–75. 71

Example 27. Mompou, “Pastoral,” Measures 1–10. 74

Example 28. Mompou, “Llueve sobre el rio,” Measures 5–9. 76

Example 29. Mompou,“Llueve sobre el rio,” Measures 20–27. 77

Example 30. Mompou, “Cantar del Alma,” Measures 1–6. 80

Example 31. Mompou, “Cantar del Alma,” Measure 11. 81

Example 32. Mompou, “Aureana do Sil,” Measures 4–10. 84

Example 33. Mompou, “Aureana do Sil,” Measures 15–17. 85

Example 34. Mompou, “Sant Martí,” Measures 1–9. 88

Example 35. Mompou, “Sant Martí,” Measures 26–36. 89

Example 36. Mompou, “Primeros pasos,” Measures 5–10. 92

Example 37. Mompou, “Le nuage,” Measures. 1–4. 95

Example 38. Mompou, “Le nuage,” Measures 30–35. 96

Example 39. Mompou, “Hoy la tierra” Measures 5–16. 99

Example 40. Mompou, “Los invisibles átomos del aires,” Measures 1–3. 101

Example 41. Mompou, “Los invisibles átomos del aires,” Measures 16–18. 102

Example 42. Mompou, “Yo soy ardiente,” Measures 1–6. 104

Example 43. Mompou, “Yo soy ardiente” Measures 7–18. 105

Example 44. Mompou, “Yo sé cuál el objeto,” Measures 1–12. 107

Example 45. Mompou, “Volveran las oscuras,” Measures 1–8. 109

viii

Example 46. Mompou, “Volveran las oscuras golondrinas,” Measures 80–89. 111

Example 47. Mompou, “Olas gigantes,” Measures 1–7. 113

Example 48. Mompou, “Olas gigantes,” Measures 17–22. 114

Example 49. Mompou, “La fausse morte,” Measures 1–10. 117

Example 50. Mompou, “L’insinuant,” Measures 14–25. 120

Example 51. Mompou, “Le vin perdu,” Measures 21–28. 122

Example 52. Mompou, “Le sylphe,” Measures 30–41. 124

Example 53. Mompou, “Les Pas,” Measures 1–8. 126

1

INTRODUCTION

Federico Mompou (1893-1987) was a Catalan composer described by Tomás

Marco as “one of the greatest, most original, and most independent figures of the

twentieth-century.”1 Known primarily for his piano compositions, Mompou also

composed thirty-seven songs for voice and piano, a ballet, a few choral works, and a

guitar suite. The majority of his works are miniature compositions that sought to express

“the intimate and transcendental nature of Catalan poetry, and to experience rebirth of a

state of unsullied musical innocence.”2

The often quiet, intimate, and introspective character expressed in Mompou’s

music contrasts sharply with the musical bravura and flamboyance that was found in

popular music in Barcelona at the turn of the twentieth century. While other Catalan

composers were embracing a modern musical movement, Mompou’s compositions

reflect the noucentisme, the musical style of the previous generation around 18003.

Instead of writing virtuosic and highly entertaining compositions, Mompou wrote

nostalgic pieces that had great personal meaning and were rooted in the rich musical

traditions of Catalunya.

Many musical styles and traditions influenced Mompou’s compositions, but his

unique style first began developing in childhood with the sounds of bells. He grew up

listening to the sounds of his family’s bell factory and was enchanted by the metallic and

1 Tomás Marco, Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard

University Press, 1993), 69.

2 Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion, (Lanham,

MD: The Scarecrow Press, 2006), 146.

3 Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion, 146.

2

ringing sonorities. Bell sounds would become one of the most prominent features of

Mompou’s compositions. In particular, the notes of the bell overtone series provide

important intervallic relationships in Mompou’s music. In particular, intervals of major

thirds, minor thirds, perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and octaves are particularly common in

Mompou’s music. The influence of bells and the corresponding overtone series appear in

the music in a couple of ways. First, there are many appearances of ostinati that vascillate

between individual pitches that are an intervallic distance of a fourth, fifth, or an octave

apart. A second use of bell sounds occurs in the presence of many quartal and quintal

dyads, or chords featuring stacked fourths, or fifths. Yet another occurrence of bells

occurs in relation to the juxtaposition of major-minor harmonies. Each reference to bells

may not be specifically identified in the analysis, but it is helpful to understand that

Mompou’s harmonic language is deeply rooted in the sounds of bells.

The sounds of bells are extremely important to Mompou, but he also drew

musical inspiration from Catalan folk music. Many of the songs are folk-inspired, but

they do not directly quote any traditional Catalan songs. Instead, his vocal music display

original melodies that are similar in style to other Catalan songs.

French music was another source of inspiration for Mompou and he deeply

admired the works of Gabriel Fauré, Erik Satie, and Claude Debussy. Mompou lived,

studied, and performed in Paris for several years and achieved a moderate degree of fame

and success during his tenure in Paris.

Mompou’s songs and piano pieces were well-received by critics and audiences in

France, Spain, and even the United States during his lifetime, but since the mid-1970s,

the majority of his songs have been overlooked by Western performers and scholars.

3

Mompou’s songs, composed between 1915 and 1971, are settings of Catalan, Spanish,

and French texts. They are characterized by their simplicity, expressiveness, and

evocative style. The poetry represents a variety of subjects that range from expressions of

simple, childlike pleasure, to those of a highly reflective and emotional mind. Federico

Mompou’s songs represent an important contribution to Catalan art song of the twentieth

century. The songs are deserving of performance and study in any voice studio because

they contain a variety of technical, linguistic, and interpretive challenges for a wide

variety of singers.

Literature Review

Most of the scholarly research currently available about Federico Mompou

concentrates on his biography and his piano compositions. There are several sources in

Catalan and Castilian Spanish as well as in English, but few contain specific information

about Mompou’s songs. This literature review highlights the most valuable sources

currently available about Federico Mompou. The discussion begins with the two major

biographies of Mompou, then follows with general sources about Catalan and other

Spanish music, then discusses works that specifically discuss Mompou’s compositions.

The biographies by Santiago Kastner and Clara Janés provide thorough

information about Mompou’s life. Kastner’s Federico Mompou (1947) was the first

major biography of Mompou. Kastner was an important twentieth-century British

musicologist dedicated to the study, promotion, and dissemination of music of the Iberian

Peninsula. His biography of Mompou is divided into two parts: “La Vida del Hombre”

(The Life of the Man) and “La Vida del Obra” (The Life of Work). The Spanish text not

4

only provides both biographical information, but also characteristics and features

commonly found in Mompou’s works before 1947.

Clara Janés’ La vida callada de Federico Mompou, (1975) is written in Catalan

and draws on her personal memories of the composer. Clara’s father, Josep Janés, and

Mompou were close friends. The two families enjoyed many Sunday afternoons filled

with music, the reading of poetry, and conversing about literature, art, and architecture.

La vida callada remains one of the most complete biographies of Mompou to date.

Wilfred Meller’s Le Jardin Retrouve examines Mompou’s life and compositions

through various religious and cultural influences of Catalunya. Mellers describes

Mompou’s music as “being at once unique and also universal”4 because he believes that

all people are searching for days of youth, innocence, and renewal. He views Mompou’s

music as mystical and even hermetic. Meller discusses the important people and

influences in Mompou’s life, but also strongly asserts that in spite of the many influences

Mompou’s style remained unique, in part, because he remained true to his own personal

aesthetics. He did not always accept the advice of his composition teachers. Mellers

groups Mompou’s music into categories of “pre-historic spells, chants, and

incantations.”5 The majority of the analysis concentrates on Mompou’s piano music,

although there are brief discussions of the Quatre Mélodies and the Combat del Somni.

The texts by Gilbert Chase and Tomás Marco address general characteristics of

Catalan and other Spanish music. Gilbert Chase is largely credited with being one of the

first musicologists to promote Spanish music in Western musical culture. His The Music

4 Wilfred Mellers, Le Jardin retrouve: the Music of Frederic Mompou 1893-1987.

(York, England: The Fairfax Press, 1985), 2.

5 Wilfred Mellers, Le Jardin Retrouve, 1.

5

of Spain, first written in 1941 and revised in 1959, presents an overview of Spanish

musical history and details specific regional musical characteristics. Although Chase does

not specifically address Mompou’s music, the text is useful in providing background

information about Catalan musical characteristics and music from other Spanish regions.

Tomás Marco’s Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century (1993) provides

information about Iberian composers, including Mompou. The text is divided into two

parts: “Before the Civil War” and “After the Civil War”. Marco discusses the progression

and growth of Spanish music in the twentieth-century starting with musical life in Spain

at the turn-of-the-century. Within each major section of the book, he discusses important

individual composers and specific compositions that preceeded and followed the Spanish

Civil War (1936-1939). Marco devotes only two and a half pages to information about

Mompou. Marco regards Mompou as a “transitional figure” and “independent,

intergenerational maestro,” who defies classification or category because his works were

completely original and unlike his other Catalan and Spanish contemporaries.6 Marco’s

brief discussion of Mompou lists general biographical facts, some general characteristics

about his music, and some important compositions with brief descriptions.

Richard Peter Paine published Hispanic Traditions in Twentieth-Century Catalan

Music: With Particular Reference to Gerhard, Mompou, and Montsalvatge (1989). The

introduction of the book includes background information about the Catalan renaixença,

or renaissance, and the rise of a national music tradition. The first chapter describes

characteristics of Andalusian and Catalan folk music and dance as a foundation for

discussing individual works by Gerhard, Mompou, and Montsalvatge. In doing so, he

6 Tomás Marco, Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century, 69.

6

focuses Paine on general characteristics of Mompou’s musical aesthetics and provides a

little biographical information. Paine primarily discusses Mompou’s piano pieces,

although he addresses the song set Combat del somni. Paine’s text is especially useful for

identifying common musical traits that are used in both piano and vocal compositions.

Adam Kent’s dissertation, “The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Works of

Federico Mompou and Joaquin Nin-Culmell,” (1999) provides a survey of Catalunya’s

musical history over many centuries. Kent devotes a chapter to the folk music of

Catalunya describes the cançoners, narrative songs and dances of the region. He also

discusses the modal and tonal characteristics of Catalan folk music, as well as the types

of texts and themes used in the music. The dissertation includes a chapter on Mompou

that shows specific examples of folk song quotations used in Mompou’s piano works.

Mompou did not quote folk songs in his own vocal compositions, and so no song analysis

is presented in this dissertation.

Several texts concentrate specifically on analysis of Mompou’s piano works.

Christine Bendell’s dissertation (1983) analyzes Mompou’s Canciones y Danzas for

piano. Bendell highlights important compositional features, many of which are also found

in the songs, in Mompou’s piano pieces. A more recent book by Ann Zalkind (2002),

concentrates specifically to the Musica Callada for piano. Zalkind highlights important

composers and musical styles that influenced Mompou’s music, primarily in relation to

the twenty-eight pieces in the Musica Callada. In addition to the dissertation by Bendell

and the book by Zalkind about Mompou’s piano music, there is one dissertation that is

about Mompou’s songs.

7

In 1987 Frieda Elaine Holland’s dissertation was the first document specifically

focused on Mompou’s songs. Holland provides a one to two-page prose analysis of most

of the songs in addition to specific information about considerations for pianists. In

regard to the individual songs, there are few musical examples accompanying the prose

of each song and she does not provide any specific pedagogical conclusions about the

songs. Holland’s dissertation is particularly useful because it provides a Catalan

pronunciation guide. This guide is a useful to anyone wishing to perform these songs as

there are no known Catalan IPA guides available for singers at the current time.

The Spanish Song Companion (1993) by Jacqueline Cockburn and Graham

Johnson contains information about many important Spanish and Catalan composers. The

text provides a one or two page biography and followed by poetry and translations for

many songs, providing a valuable resource for performers and scholars.

Purpose and Methodology

The purpose of this doctoral essay for limited distribution is to provide a style

analysis of thirty-five songs of Federico Mompou. A secondary purpose of the essay is to

provide a basic pedagogical guide for teaching and performing these songs. The analysis

divides the songs into three groups based on technical difficulty, progressing from the

least difficult to the most difficult. Information about each song will include date of

publication, language, poet, poem and translation. Prose analysis of each individual song

follows the format as described in Guidelines for Style Analysis by Jan LaRue.

LaRue’s comprehensive approach to style analysis involves examining basic

components of music, including sound, harmony, melody, rhythm and growth. These

elements have been condensed into a mnemonic device known as SHMRG (prounounced

8

“shmerg”). Using the SHMRG (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth) format

provides a consistent framework for analyzing each song. In addition, this clear and

consise method of analysis highlights important aspects of Mompou’s style as a

composer. The following information provides background information about the

“SHMRG” mnemonic in LaRue’s guide.

Sound (S) “includes all aspects of sound considered in itself rather than as raw

material for melody, rhythm, or harmony.”7 Characteristics in the category of sound

include considerations timbre, dynamics, texture, dynamics, range, and tessitura. Sound is

listed as LaRue’s first category for analysis because it includes a listener’s general

impression of a composition. LaRue believes it is important to begin with general

features of a work before discussing small-scale details. Observing general qualities of

the music first gives way to analyzing specific and individual elements of harmony,

melody, rhythm, and growth.

LaRue’s second category for analysis is harmony (H). His definition of harmony

(H) addresses many cultural musical traditions and styles of analysis. His definition of

harmony includes traditional chordal relationships, counterpoint, and polyphony, but his

definition of harmony also accounts for other “dissonant procedures that does not make

use of familiar chord structures or relationships.” 8

Further considerations of harmony

include color, tension, linear tonality, modal tonality, unified tonality, expanded tonality,

atonality, or serialism identified in compositions. Harmony is based on chord vocabulary,

7 Jan LaRue, Guidelines for Style Analysis, 2nd ed. (Sterling Heights, MI: Harmonie Park

Press, 2011), 23.

8 Jan LaRue, Guidelines for Style Analysis, 39.

9

including consonant or dissonant chords, chromaticism, motifs, sequences and

progressions. Harmony further includes considerations of part exchange, imitation,

stretto, augmentation, and diminution.

Melody (M) “refers to the profile formed by any collection of pitches”9 and is one

of the most easily recognizable features of any song and may be one of the first

categories to be analyzed. Individual components of melody include range, mode,

tessitura, indication of instrument or voice, motion of the melody, any patterns found in

the melody, and whether the melody consists of new or thematic material.

Rhythm (R) consists of various elements including surface rhythm, frequency of

patterns, duration of patterns, meter, tempo, and phrasing. Patterns of change, durations

of stress, lull, and transition are other important aspects of rhythm. Still other elements of

rhythm are homorhythm, polyrhythm, and text rhythm.

Growth (G) is the final basic principle in LaRue’s guide, and is one of the most

complicated categories of analysis. Growth includes large-dimension considerations of

balance, tempos, tonalities, textures, meters, dynamics, and ranges of intensity. It allows

an examination of the evolution of a composition through heterogeneity, homogeneity,

differentiation, or specialization. Dimensions of musical shape and considerations of

anticipations, elisions, and truncations also affect growth. The direction of the phrases

and the levels of intensity and activity all contribute to the category of growth.

Notably absent from the “SHMRG” mnemonic is a category for text but LaRue

does address the issue of text and text influence as a separate but equally important

category. Individual elements relating to text influence include choices of vocal and

9 Jan LaRue, Guidelines for Style Analysis, 69.

10

instrumental timbre, text painting, mood painting, limitations of music because of

awkward voicing, word and textual meters, degree of adherence to text form, fluctuations

of intensity, location of climax, and degree of movement. The texts Mompou chose for

certainly are at the heart of the meaning, emotion, and mood of each song. The text is one

of the most important elements for any song, and especially for Mompou’s songs that are

introspective and contemplative in nature.

Analysis is a useful tool that provides specific information about how musical

elements are combined to create a finished product. However, no amount of analysis is

fully able to express the emotion and sentiments of a song. Jan LaRue reminds readers of

both the shortcomings and the advantage of analysis by saying:

Yet, although analysis can never replace nor rival feeling, it can enhance our

perception of a composer’s richness of imagination, his complexity (or utter

simplicity)10

of material, his skill in organization and presentation. The performer

and listener must incorporate these insights into the full context of their personal

response.11

In addition to the prose analysis and examples of the songs, a biography of

Mompou’s life preceeds the song analysis and provides an .introduction to this relatively

unknown composer. Although it is not necessary to know a composer’s biography in

order to analyze the songs, Mompou’s life experiences deeply affected his musical

growth and, ultimately, his compositions. The biography shows how the events

surrounding Mompou’s life, homeland, and culture specifically influenced his songs,

allowing for a greater context in understanding them. In addition, knowing some of

10

The use of parentheses in this quote is taken directly from Jan LaRue, not added by the

author.

11

Jan LaRue, Guidelines for Style Analysis, 2.

11

Mompou’s biographical information helps inform the analysis of the songs. Mompou’s

biography also highlights how his personality and life events affected his compositions.

The essay concludes with two appendices including a discography and a Catalan

diction guide. Appendix A provides a select discography of Mompou songs that have

been recorded and released between 1992 and 2012. The discography provides a list of

fairly recent recordings in CD or digital format. The recordings can be a useful tool to

help performers who wish to listen to the pronunciation of the Catalan language.

Appendix B will provide a brief guide to Catalan IPA and pronunciation. The diction

guide is meant as an introduction to the sounds of the Catalan language and is in no way a

comprehensive language guide. At the current time, there is no published Catalan IPA

guide and this appendix is intended to assist singers wishing to perform the songs in their

original language.

12

CHAPTER 1

BIOGRAPHY

Federico Mompou was born on April 16, 1897 in Barcelona, Spain in the

autonomous province of Catalunya. The son of Federico Mompou-Montmany and

Josephina Dencausse, his heritage is a blend of French and Catalan cultures. Mompou felt

fortunate to grow up in a family that valued music, dance, literature, and poetry.

Mompou’s maternal family boasted a long lineage as bell makers and the family

trade played an important part in his musical development. Established in the fifteenth-

century, the first site of the Dencausse bell factory was originally based in Tarbes,

France. The bell business was so successful that Mompou’s great-grandfather, Ceferino

Dencausse, expanded the company by opening a factory in Spain. In the second half of

the nineteenth-century, brothers Jean and Pierre Dencausse moved to Barcelona to open

and manage the new factory. Jean Dencausse married Ignacio Modesta and the couple

had three children, including Josefina. Josefina and her family remained in Barcelona and

enjoyed the cosmopolitan lifestyle of the growing city.

Mompou’s father, Federico Mompou-Montmany, was from a village called

Ginista in the Tarragona Valley of Catalunya. Mompou-Montmany’s family was

exceptionally demanding and controlling, insisting that he become a doctor. But the elder

Mompou wished for a military career and disobeyed his family’s wishes. As a young

adult, he became estranged from his family. He moved to Barcelona to pursue his

military career.

Josefina Dencausse and Federico Mompou-Montmany met in Barcelona and were

married in 1864. The couple established their residence in San Pablo Square in

13

Barcelona. The couple had three children, Federico being the youngest. The Mompou and

Dencausse extended families lived in the same Barcelona neighborhood and spent a great

amount of time together. Both the Catalan and French cultures played an important part

in their family traditions. The family spent many weekends singing and dancing along

with traditional Catalan and Provincial folk songs sung both in French and Catalan. They

also spent many hours reading poetry and telling nostalgic family stories.

In addition to the many hours spent enjoying music, Mompou also used his free

time to listen to the sounds of the bells ringing from the factory. Dorle J. Soria recalls a

1978 interview with Mompou in which he describes a typical weekend afternoon in the

Mompou family playing music and further explains the young Mompou’s fascination

with bells. Soria retells Mompou’s story in this way:

… on Sundays friends would come and there would be music and singing and

dancing. The boy loved Chopin and Schumann but most of all the sound of the

bells. He would go to the factory and listen to the metallic sounds and he learned

to reproduce the sound of a bell sent to be repaired. In his music there were to be

bell sounds and a characteristic metallic chord.12

Federico and his siblings enjoyed a happy childhood and were free to explore as

many activities and hobbies as they desired. Mompou was encouraged to follow whatever

career path he wished as long as he excelled at his pursuits. Mompou’s father was

supportive of the young musician, but expected excellence from him. His father’s

insistence for excellence was, in part, because his father was denied the opportunity to

pursue his own career aspirations of becoming a military officer. Mompou explains his

personal career aspirations and his father’s demand for excellence in any career to José

Bruyr:

12

Dorle J. Soria, “Artist’s Life: Mompou the Magician”, High Fidelity and Musical

America, (Nov. 1978), 6.

14

From the time I was very young, I had dreamt of becoming a musician. My

father’s vocation had been counteracted. He had wanted to be an officer, general –

why not? – and he was a doctor. Thus he never [counteracted my vocation] or

should I say ours, for you know I have a brother, Joseph Mompou, a painter. I was

already a musician, and according to this excellent man I was to become a

virtuoso. That is all. 13

Mompou was an average student academically and although he achieved

moderate success in school, it was in music lessons that he began to excel. Mompou was

a quiet child who spent much time listening and was an astute observer of the world

around him. Mompou attended grade school at Ecole Françaises and furthered his studies

at the Hermanos de la Doctrina Cristiana, a religious secondary school that taught

reading, writing, and arithmetic in conjunction with the catechisms of the Catholic

Church.14

In 1907, Mompou began studying piano with Pedro Serra at the Conservatorio

de Liceo. His first public piano performance was a joint recital with Francisco Figueras

on May 4, 1908 at La Sala del Orfeón. Mompou was fifteen at the time of his first recital.

He continued his piano studies with Serra until 1911. Although he did not share these

thoughts with anyone at that time, he claims that his musical interest was then shifting

from piano performance to composition.

Mompou’s interest in composition was piqued in 1910 when he had the

opportunity to hear Gabriel Fauré play in concert in Barcelona. Mompou arrived late to

the concert and was not allowed into the venue, so he stood outside the door and listened

to the entire program. Fascinated by the music he heard through the door of the hall,

13

Jose Bruyr, L’ecran des Musiciens, with a preface by Andre Coeury (Paris: Jose Corti,

1933), 107.

14

Tomás Marco, Spanish Music in the Twentieth-Century, 69.

15

Mompou was inspired to write his own music. Mompou shared his recollection of that

concert with Santiago Kastner by saying:

The music of Fauré, even through closed doors, moved me deeply. I decided then

and there to devote time to composition and go to Paris to pursue the exquisite

harmonic novelties that sparkled in the aristocratic art of the French master.15

Mompou decided to pursue a career as a pianist and he wanted to further his

musical studies in Paris where Fauré was the director of the famed conservatory.

Mompou asked fellow Catalan composer, Enrique Granados, for a recommendation letter

for the conservatory and for a chance to meet Fauré himself. Mompou’s request for an

introduction letter marked the only time that Granados and Mompou ever met in person,

despite the fact that both musicians were living in Barcelona.16

Despite the recommendation from Granados, Mompou was ultimately too shy and

timid to introduce himself to Fauré upon his arrival in Paris. Mompou studied at the Paris

Conservatory from 1911 to 1913 but never met Fauré in person. At the conservatory,

Mompou initially studied piano with Louis Diemer, and studied harmony and

counterpoint with Emile Pessard. Mompou was timid but inisistent about his desire to

compose. Pessard recognized Mompou’s innate talent, but was irritated and frustrated by

Mompou’s shy and introverted nature. Pessard allegedly dismissed Mompou’s interest in

composition by saying “Alors composez, composez!”17

15

Santiago Kastner, Federico Mompou. (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones

Cientificas, 1946), 23.

16 Frieda Elaine Holland, “Federico Mompou: A Performer’s Guide to the Songs for

Voice and Piano.” DMA diss, (University of Texas, 1987), 4.

17

Christine Bendell, “Federico Mompou: An Analytical and Stylistic Study of the

Canciones y Danzas for Piano,” DMA diss, (University of Northern Colorado,

1983), 9.

16

Mompou began composing the very next day and the emphasis of his studies

changed from piano performance to composition. Although Mompou had a strong desire

to compose, but he was frustrated by the traditional rules of theory. His love of bells and

the sounds of octaves, perfect fifths, and perfect fourths were discouraged by the faculty

at the conservatory. Mompou’s composition studies with Pessard and Rousseau were also

frustrating and slow because each of the men had differing opinions about composition.

Eventually, Mompou found his own compositional style and the sounds of his childhood

played an important part in it. Mompou’s decided to “use his own instinct, imagination,

and intelligence as his guides as a composer”18

rather than relying on the opinions of his

professors at the conservatory.

While Mompou was beginning to compose more frequently in his free time, he

simultaneously continued his piano studies with famous piano pedagogue Isadore

Philipp. Philipp’s studio was full and he recommended that Mompou study with one of

his favorite and most respected students, Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix. 19

Motte-Lacroix

quickly became Mompou’s most important mentor, piano teacher, friend, and was an

avid champion of his music. Motte-Lacroix recognized the importance and beauty in

Mompou’s compositions and encouraged his unique personal musical aesthetic. Motte-

Lacroix became the first performer and interpreter of Mompou’s piano pieces.

After deciding to become a composer, Mompou was required to move back to

Barcelona in 1913 for mandatory military service. The start of World War I in 1914

actually prevented a return to Paris until 1920. The six intervening years spent in

18

Christine Bendell, “Federico Mompou: An Analytical and Stylistic Study,” 11.

19


17

Barcelona were very important for Mompou. Rather than embracing the modern

movement in music that idealized the rapidly growing cosmopolitan city of Barcelona,

Mompou sought to compose music that looked to the past rather than the present. He

wished to return to primitive musical forms and to find “pure” music. He believed the

soul should react to the music rather than an intellectual or rational approach to the

music. Mompou therefore described his musical style as recomençament (to start over).

Although Mompou looked to the past for inspiration, he also greatly admired the

music of contemporaries Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie and the members of Les Six. He

found the writings and musical of Erik Satie to be particularly close to his own musical

philosophy. Satie championed simplicity and clarity in his own music and encouraged

fellow French composers to do the same. Shared musical characteristics between Satie

and Mompou include the use of single numbers indicating meter, lack of barlines,

uncomplicated rhythms, and two or three- voice textures.

Lionel Salter writes that Mompou’s expressiveness is achieved through lyricism,

simplicity, by adapting popular melodies, by abandoning development and consciously

neglecting bar lines and key signatures.20

His primitivism was contemporary in nature,

and his creativeness is seen in his melody, harmony, rhythm and form. Above all, he

wanted his music to be meaningful to himself and to the listener.

Mompou returned to Paris in 1920 in conjunction with his first published piece

for piano, Cants magics. Cants magics was dedicated to Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix.

Lacroix’s introduced Mompou’s music to noted French music critic and musicologist,

20

Lionel Salter, “Mompou, Federico” in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and

Musicians, 20 vols, 6th

ed., ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan Publishers,

Ltd, 1980), 12:476.

18

Emile Vuillermoz. Impressed by the music, Vuillermoz wrote very positive reviews of it

for Le Temps. Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix was furthering Mompou’s success by performing

much of his music in concerts throughout Paris. The publicity created by Vuillermoz and

Motte-Lacroix helped Mompou achieve moderate success and fame in Paris.

In 1921, Mompou traveled to London on tour but he did not perform many

concerts. He returned to Barcelona in 1922 and then moved back to Paris in 1923. He

stayed in Paris for the next eighteen years. Upon his return to Paris, Mompou suddenly

found himself at the center of attention. He performed regularly in the salons of Baroness

Roberta de Rothschild and Princess Bassiano. During these years in Paris, he also met

fellow compatriot Ricardo Viñes, who frequently performed Mompou’s works in recital.

The first years of the 1920’s in Paris were busy for Mompou. He was welcomed

in some of the most aristocratic social circles in Paris. His social life was never dull and

he continued developing his compositional style. During these early years in Paris, he

composed the piano pieces Dialogues, Souvenirs de l’exposition, Seis preludios,

Variaciones sobre un tema de chopin, Canciones y Danzas numbers 3 and 4, and the

songs of Quatre melodies, Cançoneta incerta, and Trois Comptines.

In spite of his success, Mompou became increasingly unhappy and withdrawn. He

was overwhelmed by the continuous social events and spectacles in Paris. He decreased

the frequency of his performances and when he presented concerts, it was for small,

private audiences consisting mostly of sculptors, painters, and writers.21

In many ways

life in Paris did not suit his introverted, reflective and meditative nature. Mompou desired

more solitude and his schedule in Paris did not leave him much personal time.

21


19

Mompou’s growing unhappiness resulted in fewer new compositions. He did not

write or publish any music between 1931 and 1937. In 1941, he moved back to Barcelona

and resumed composing. Mompou thereafter led a quiet life with occasional

performances and compositions, including his most famous song set, Combat del Somni.

Occasionally, Mompou would travel Europe on tour performing his own compositions.

Mompou took a European tour in 1955 with pianist Carmen Bravo, his former

student from the Barcelona Conservatory. Mompou and Bravo fell in love and were

married late in 1955. They resided in Barcelona and both taught at the conservatory.

Mompou rarely traveled outside Barcelona thereafter, except for three trips to New York.

In 1970, he performed at the inauguration of the Spanish Institute’s Lucrezia Bori

Auditorium.22

He visited the United States again in 1973 for the American premiere of

his oratorio, Los Improperios, sponsored by the Oratorio Society of New York.23

In

March 1978, Mompou returned to the United States for a third time, this time to play a

concert at Alice Tully Hall featuring his Canciones y Danzas, Cants Magics, two

preludes, Suburbis, and three pieces from Scenes d’enfants. Donal Henahan of The New

York Times reviewed Mompou’s performance at his birthday celebration very positively

saying,

[Mompou] championed more than a dozen of his pieces in the delicate and yet

austere keyboard manner that is virtually synonymous with his name among

pianists. Mr. Mompou, a tall and aristocratic-looking man is a master. His music,

though cast in a bygone salon style, precisely reflects the man, which is rare in a

time of impersonal virtuosity among composers. His pieces had a gentleness and

poignancy that disarmed and were played freely, fluently, and gracefully. Before

each piece, he thought for a moment, and then embarked on music that he might

22

Soria, “Artist Life”, MA-6.

23

Raymond Ericson, “Compatriots Offer Homage to Mompou”, The New York Times, 24

March 1978, sec. 3, C6.

20

have written anything up to sixty years ago as if he were improvising it on the

spot for his and a few friends’ pleasure. 24

During the same concert, Spanish pianist Alicia de Larrocha premiered Mompou’s

Cancion y Danza No. 14 and tenor José Carreras joined de Larrocha for a performance of

the song set Combat del Somni.

Shortly after the 1978 trip to New York, Mompou suffered a severe stroke that

limited his activities. He remained in Barcelona for the rest of his life and continued

teaching, performing only occasionally. Mompou received several important accolades

during his lifetime. He was awarded the National Music Prize of Spain in 1946 and was

elected to Spain’s Royal Academy of San Jorge in 1952. Also in 1952 he received the

French titles of “Officer d’Academie” and “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres.”25

In 1959

Mompou was named a Correspondent of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San

Fernando, and served for many years on the Executive Committee of the Spanish division

of the International Society of Contemporary Music. He received the Premio Nacional de

Musica in 1979 for the “universal significance of his work.”26

Mompou also received

gold medals from the Gobierno de la Generalitat de Barcelona and the Academia de

Bellas Artes de Madrid in 1980, the Universidad Menéndez Pelayo in 1982, the Sociedad

General de Autores in 1984, and the Ciudad de Barcelona in 1986.27

Mompou died at the

age of ninety-four on June 30, 1987 in Barcelona.

24

Donal Henahan, “Countrymen Pay Homage to Mompou”, The New York Times, 27

March 1978, sec. 3, p. C16.

25

Antonio Iglesias, Federico Mompou (Su obra para piano), (Madrid: Editorial Alpuerto,

1976), 15.

26

Tomás Marco, Spanish Music in the Twentieth Century, 70.

21

CHAPTER 2

SIX SONGS OF THE COMPTINES

These six songs and poems by Mompou are drawn largely from childhood games,

dances, and songs. They were composed in two groups of three songs each. The first set

including “D’alt d’un cotxe,” “Margot la pie,” and “He vist dins la lluna” was composed

in 1931, followed by the second set including “Aserrin, Aserran,” “Petite fille de Paris,”

and “Pito, pito, colorito” in 1955.

The brief poems include counting games and morality stories with additions of

nonsensical Catalan and French words. The first and last song of each set is in Catalan

and the second song of each set is in French. The six Comptines are characterized by

ostinati, limited vocal ranges, and diatonic and modal harmonies. A prominent melodic

feature is a descending minor third with an embellishing upper neighbor, a melodic

characteristic that Adam Kent has identified in many Catalan folk songs. Furthermore,

this descending minor third motive is heard and seen in many children’s songs from

around the world.28

The six Comptines are the least difficult of Mompou’s songs and are especially

appropriate for beginning students learning about basic vocal technique, and breath

support, as well as beginning to develop foreign linguistic skills. The vocal ranges are

about an octave and the tessituras are largely in middle voice, providing opportunities to

practice transitions to consistent head register. The melodies of these songs are stepwise,

conjunct, and tuneful. The harmonies are largely diatonic and though the songs

27

Kent, Adam. “The Use of Catalan Folk Materials in the Works of Federico Mompou

and Joaquin Nin-Culmell”. DMA diss, (Julliard School, 1999), 86.

28

Adam Kent, The Use of Catalan Folk Materials, 58.

22

sometimes feature chromaticism, the harmonic language is generally comprehensible in

one or two hearings. The possibility of learning melodies and harmonies quickly allows

young singers to focus on specific on vocal skills including consistent breath

management, sustaining legato melodic lines, and concentrating on interpretation.

When dynamics are marked in the score, they range from forte to mezzo-forte,

with a few piano markings. The moderate dynamic level allows singers to sustain a solid,

supported, and resonant sound while offering opportunities for dynamic contrast. The

texts contain imaginative, vibrant, and concrete images, making them immediately

accessible for performers and especially for young singers.

D’alt d’un cotxe

Date: 1931

Language: Catalan

Range: B3 – E5

Tessitura: A4 – B-flat4

Meter: None indicated

Tempo: Gai. Quarter-note equals 120.

Form: Through composed

Poet: Federico Mompou

Translation: A Spanish Song Companion by Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes

23

D’alt d’un cotxe

D’alt d’un cotxe n’hi ha una nina

que en repica els cascabells.

Trenta, quaranta,

l’ametlla amarganta,

el pinyol madur:

ves-te’n tu.

On a buggy

On a buggy there’s a girl

ringing little bells.

Thirty, forty,

the almond is bitter,

the kernel ripe.

Be off with you!

The light and playful sentiment of the song is introduced by the piano. One

immediately hears the forte melodic and rhythmic ostinato that is the foundation of the

song. The ostinato is repeated a total of five times throughout the song by both voice and

piano. C major diatonic harmonies prevail throughout and the interesting color notes of

the harmonies include chromatic alterations of the pitches A-flat and B-flat (scale degrees

6 and 7). The sound of clanging bells in an ostinato that vascillates between D5 and A4 in

the right hand of the accompaniment (see Example 1, m.2).

24

Example 1. Mompou, “D’ait d’un cotxe,” Measures 2–3.

The highly repetitive vocal melody features the descending minor third with an

upper neighbor motive used exclusively in the song (see Example1, m.2). Comprised of

just four notes, this melody has the smallest vocal range of all Mompou’s songs. The

undulating melody moves only a few notes below and above the tonal center of G4. The

rhythm of the vocal line is influenced by the syllabification of the text. The steady eighth

notes provide a steady pulse for the duration of the song. The flow of the song is

interrupted by rhythmic augmentation and a few retenu markings at the ends of phrases.

Margot la pie

Date of publication: 1931

Language: French

Range: E4 – E5

Tessitura: A4 – B4

25

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Un peu majesteux. Quarter-note equals 60.

Form: Ternary ABA’



Margot la pie

Margot la pie a fait son nid

dans la cour à David.

David l’attrape,

lui couple la patte;

ric-rac, ric-rac,

comme une patate.

Margot the magpie

Margot the magpie built her nest

in David’s courtyard.

David catches her,

cuts off her leg,

snip-snip, snip-snip,

like a potato.

In contrast to “D’alt un cotxe”, the second song of this set is stately, reserved, and

somber in character. A brief three-note introduction leads to an immediate vocal entrance,

accccompanied by steady, percussive sounds in the piano. The A melodic minor diatonic

harmonies are used consistently throughout the song. Frequent chromatic alternations

between F to F-sharp and G to G-sharp give the song a distinct sense of changing

sonorities. In spite of the numerous chromatic alterations, the sonority of the piece

remains constant and steady.

Although the melody of this song has a total range of an octave, a large portion of

the vocal melody moves in stepwise motion. The emotional and dramatic climax of the

text is achieved through melodic leaps accompanying the text “ric-rac” (“snip-snip”), as

shown in mm. 30 – 31 of Example 2. The statement of “ric-rac” is a particularly effective

use of text painting through the crisp [k] of “rac” and the following rest in both voice and

26

piano. “Ric-rac” and the following silence helps create the morbid image of the bird’s

appendages being deliberately and swiftly snipped off. The fate of Margot the Magpie

serves as a warning and provides a consequence to any misbehaving children.

Example 2. Mompou, “Margot la pie,” Measures 26–35.

A steady and almost plodding rhythm marked by a quarter-note pulse permeates

the entire song. The percussive effect of the piano is achieved through the sixteenth-

dotted eighth-note combination occurring on beats one and three of each measure. The

rhythmic motion is quickened during a piano interlude marked moins lent but returns to

the opening tempo with the return of the voice line in m. 26. Most phrase endings are

accompanied by retenu markings and a slight lull in the motion of the song.

He vist dins la lluna


27

Language: Catalan

Range: B3 – E5


Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Vif. Quarter-note equals 132.

Form: Ternary, ABA’





tres petits conills

que menjaven prunes

com tres desvergonyits.

La pipa a la boca

i la copa als dits,

tot dient: ‘Mestressa,

poseu-nos un got

ben ple de vi.

I saw in the moon

I saw in the moon

three little rabbits

eating plums

like three naughty boys.

Pipe in mouth,

cup in hand,

they all say: Mistress,

pour us a glass

brimming with wine.

The playful and energetic melody is reminiscent of the first song in this set. This

song is marked by dance-like rhythms and repetitive motives. G major diatonic

harmonies prevail for the duration of the song although no key signature is indicated in

the score. The bass line of the accompaniment features an ostinato alternating between

perfect fifths, largely between G2 and D3 (see Example 3). The alternation between G-D

and other fifth dyads, plus the metrically accented position of the G-D dyad, functions to

perpetually confirm G as the tonic.

28

Example 3. Mompou, “He vist dins la lluna tres,” Measures 9–13.

The melody of this song again features the motive of a descending minor third

embellished by an upper neighbor. The melody features a total vocal range of an octave,

but unlike the earlier songs in the set, it introduces more leaps into the vocal melody.

Specifically, this song emphasizes intervallic leaps of perfect fifths. The tessitura of the

song lies largely in middle voice, with the climax of the melody occurring with the

highest pitches of the song.

The rhythm of the song is marked Vif and the pulse is sustained by steady pulse of

eighth notes. The upbeat tempo provides an opportunity for young singers is to practice

clearly enunciating text while working to sustain a legato melody that contains some

small intervallic leaps and increased rhythmic activity. The Vif marking at the beginning

of the song is interrupted several times with ritardando at phrase endings and followed

by a return to a tempo in the following phrase.

Aserrín, Aserrán


Language: Catalan

Range: D4 – G5

29

Tessitura: G4

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Tempo di Marcia




Aserrín, Aserrán

Aserrín, Aserrán,

Los maderos de San Juan.

Los de arriba sierra bien

Y los de abajo también.

Al mila no, ¿qué le dan?

Bello titas con el pan.

Por la noche pan y pera,

O otra noche pera y pan.

Aserrín, Aserrán,

Los maderos de San Juan.

Sawing Song

Saw away, saw away

At the logs of Saint John.

Those on top saw well

And those on bottom too.

What do they feed the kite?

Little acorns with bread.

Bread with pears at night,

And the net night pears with bread.

Saw away, saw away

At the logs of Saint John.

The second set of Comptines begins with “Aserrin, Aserran,” a song that features

two distinct sections varying in melodic contour and dynamic contrasts. Quartal chords,

which seem to imitate bells, introduce the G natural minor diatonic harmonies with a

forte dynamic and a marching rhythmic motion. Example 4 shows the two motives,

beginning with an undulating two-measure motive that is repeated twice in mm.5-8. In

the next four measures, a rising, stepwise pentachord motive is repeated (see Example 4,

mm. 9-12). The end of the A section concludes with an imperfect authentic cadence with

scale degree five in the melody.

30

Example 4. Mompou, “Asserin, Asseran,” Measures 1–12.

The contrasting B section begins in measure 14, featuring a più espressivo

marking, a higher vocal tessitura, contrasting piano dynamics, and a harmonic shift. The

introduction of E-flat in both the voice and piano harmony indicate C minor subdominant

harmonies as shown in Example 5, mm.14-17. This harmonic shift between sections of

the song creates a new effect not yet heard or seen in the previous songs in the set of

Comptines. Although G natural minor and C minor are closely related, the tonicization

creates a new and important color simply by departing from the previously established

tonic. The G natural minor mode creates a distinct harmonic color from the first set of

Comptines.

31

Example 5. Mompou, “Aserrin, Aserran,” Measures 13–17.

An undulating melody features ascending leaps of fourths and briefly rises to a

high G5, the highest pitch employed in all of the Comptines. The piano dynamics in the B

section present a potential performance challenge, especially for a young singer, as it can

be more difficult to sustain subdued dynamics while singing in a higher tessitura.

The Tempo di Marcia is steady throughout the A section of the song, but the B

section gives way to più espressivo and a more relaxed tempo. In terms of phrase

endings, fewer retenu markings appear at individual phrase endings in comparison to the

first set of Comptines. “Asserin, Asseran” features irregular nine-measure phrases.

However, the sections are equally balanced as both the A and B sections each contain

nine measures. The conclusion of the song includes truncated repetitions from both the A

and B sections and the song closes with a final repetition of “Aserrin, aserran los maderos

de San Juan.”

Petite fille de Paris


Language: French

Range: C4 – E5

32

Tessitura: A4

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Andante




Petite fille de Paris

Petite fille de Paris,

prête-moi tes souliers gris.

Prête-noi tes souliers gris

pour aller en Paradis.

Nous irons un à un

dans le chemin des Saints,

deux à deux

dans le chemin des cieux.

Little Parisian Girl

Little Parisian girl,

lend me your grey shoes.

Lend me your grey shoes

to go to Paradise.

We’ll go one by one

on the pathway of the saints,

and two by two

on the pathway in the sky

The opening six measures of “Petite fille de Paris” sounds like a continuation of

“Asserin, Asseran” when the songs are heard in successive order because the bass line

repeats the same notes as presented in the melody of “Asserín, Asseran”. This musical

link between the two songs supports the performance of the songs as a complete set. The

single melody line in the left hand recalls the modal G harmonies of the previous song.

Following the introduction, a steady chordal texture is used continuously in the

accompaniment. Although the harmonies revolve around G, this song employs some

chromatic alterations and mode mixtures. A majority of the song is a combination of G

minor and G natural minor modes. The presence of B-flat, as seen in measure7, indicates

G minor harmonies (see Example 6). However, Example 6 also shows an F-natural found

33

in measure 9 and indicates G natural minor mode. The third scale degree is altered

frequently throughout the song and the chromatic alteration of scale degree three, in this

case, between B-flat and B-natural, is one of the distinguishing harmonic characteristics

of Catalan music as described by musicologist Gilbert Chase. He writes, “The third step

of the scale, both in major and minor, is frequently altered, and the tonic is often raised or

lowered.”29

Example 6. Mompou, “Petite fille de Paris,” Measures 1–16.

The syllabic and stepwise melody of this song has a range of an octave and a

third. The vocal range from C5 to E5 allows a young soprano or tenor to practice making

smooth transitions into passaggio. The melody begins with subdued, piano dynamics that

29

Gilbert Chase, The Music of Spain, (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1959), 236.

34

are well suited for middle voice range. An implied crescendo occurs in the melody as the

pitches ascend to D5 and E5, the high point of the phrase in pitch and dynamics. The

final vocal phrases again feature truncations of opening melodic material. The final six

measures of the song close with an exact repetition of the opening six bars of the piano.

Pito, pito colorito


Language: Catalan

Range: B3 – E5


Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Allegretto




Pito, pito colorito

Pito, pito colorito,

¿dónde vas tú tan bonito?

Pito, pito colorito,

¿dónde vas tú tan bonito?

A la acera

Verdadera.

Pim, pom, fuera.

Pito, pito full of colors


Where are you going, my pretty one?


Where are you going, my pretty one?

To the pavement

I swear I am.

Pim, pom, out!

The conclusion of the Comptines is characterized by youthful energy, bright

colors and good cheer. This through-composed song in A major is repeated twice. A

35

sense of excitement and anticipation is created through the use of grace notes before

almost every beat in the accompaniment, as seen in Example 7. The chordal

accompaniment supports the undulating melody by providing an ostinato with a steady

eighth note pulse. The diatonic harmonies feature some chromatic alterations for color.

Example 7. Mompou, “Pito, pito, colorito,” Measures 4–7.

The melody spans an octave and lies largely in a comfortable middle range and is

marked with a mezzo-forte dynamic that is a comfortable level for a young singer. The

tune is characterized by skips of both ascending and descending thirds which move in

steady eighth note rhythms. The melody begins on an upbeat, creating a slight sense of

rhythmic displacement and is a little unexpected as most of the other melodies of the

Comptines have started on downbeats.

The Allegretto tempo is steady and a lull in the motion occurs only in conjunction

with the final phrase of this very brief composition when a meter change from 2/4 to 3/4

occurs in the final vocal phrase. The meter change occurs to accommodate the increased

number of syllables in the phrase. In addition, the last vocal line is the climax of the song

and is highlighted by rhythmic augmentation. The steady eighth notes change to quarter

36

notes with tenuto markings to accentuate the end of the song (see Example 8). A six

measure piano postlude in the second ending concludes the set by fading away to

nothing.

Example 8. Mompou, “Pito, pito colorito,” Measures 8–16.

Summary

The Comptines provide a wonderful introduction to Mompou’s vocal repertoire.

The songs contain many essential musical characteristics that are also seen in his other

vocal compositions. The sets were composed in two groups separated by nearly twenty

years. The sets are grouped together largely because of similar musical and textual

characteristics rather than specific musical motives or key organization. All six songs can

37

be performed together in order as indicated by the composer, or the six songs can be

divided into étwo individual sets, or individual songs can be performed on their own.

Performing the songs as a set helps gives young singers an opportunity to build stamina

and concentration in performance.

38

CHAPTER 3

SEVENTEEN SONGS

The following seventeen songs are the largest group of songs and contain more

difficult technical and dramatic challenges for singers. The compositions remain tonal,

but the harmonies are increasingly complex. Chromaticism, modal mixture, accidentals,

major-minor chords, and added note chords are a few of the harmonic devices used in

these songs. The harmonies of the songs often appear more complex than they are

because many of the songs lack a key signature. Although tonal centers are established in

each of these songs, the initial sense of tonal center is obscured because of shifting

harmonies and chromaticism. In addition, tonal centers often shift between adjacent

individual phrases or between sections of songs.

The melodies in these songs encompass large vocal ranges and contain some high,

sustained tessituras requiring excellent breath management. The melodies are varied,

ranging in contour from conjunct, stepwise lines to disjunct, leaping and chromatic lines.

These songs employ a wide range of dynamics, with special emphasis on piano. The

piano accompaniments are supportive of the voice, often doubling the melody in octaves,

or echoing the melody in interludes. Whil the the piano largely supports the vocal lines,

there is a greater degree of independence between both parts. Many of these songs feature

piano interludes ranging from a few brief measures to lengthy solos of more than twenty

measures.

A majority of these seventeen songs are lento with the remainder of the songs

employing variety in tempo. Rhythms are not difficult and are predominantly notated in

eighth notes, quarter notes, and half notes. Only rarely are sixteenth notes used in the

39

vocal lines. Occasionally, a flourish of thirty-second notes occurs in the piano

accompaniment. These songs share ritardando at most phrase endings and are followed

by a return to a tempo in the following phrases or sections. The rhythms of the vocal

melody closely follow the syntax of the language. Much of the poetry is highly

contemplative and introspective, reflecting composer’s own introspective and thoughtful

personality.

L’hora grisa


Language: Catalan

Range: C4 – G5

Tessitura: B4

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lento

Form: ABCA’D

Poet: Manuel Blancafort (1897-1987) was a self-taught composer and poet. A close

friend of Mompou, Blancafort was introduced to the music of the French impressionists

by Mompou.30

Blancafort traveled throughout much of Europe and incorporated many

popular events into his own musical style – the sounds of the circus and the street became

an important influence in his compositions. Blancafort received several honors for his

compositions, including the National Prize in 1949 for the Quartet in C and the Orféo

30

A. Menéndez Aleyxandre and Antoni Pizà. "Blancafort, Manuel." In Grove Music

Online. Oxford Music Online,

http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com.proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/subscriber/article/grove/

music/03217 (accessed March 19, 2012).

40

Català prize in 1965 for the cantata Virgo Maria. In 1986 he was awarded Barcelona’s

Golden Medal.

Translation: A Spanish Song Companion by Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes.

L’hora grisa

¡Tot dorm a l’hora grisa,

Els arbres, les muntanyes,

Els ocells, el vent!

Solament el fum fa son camí lentamente,

Amunt, amunt, com l’oració.

Més tard, quan el cel s’apagui,

Sortirà una estrelleta d’or.

¡Tot dorm a l’hora grisa,

Els arbres, les muntanyes,

Els ocells, el vent!

The grey hour

All is asleep in the grey hour,

The trees, the mountains,

The birds, the wind!

Only the smoke moves slowly

Upwards, upwards like a prayer.

Later, when the sky grows dark,

A tiny golden star will appear.

All is asleep in the grey hour,

The trees, the mountains,

The birds, the wind!

Composed amidst the events of World War I, this song was written in

Barcelona while Mompou was in between his studies in Paris. This sectional song reflects

the ambiguity of uncertain times, expressing wistful and nostalgic sentiments. The

opening chords of the A section provide an unsettled feeling and give way to an initial

vocal line that consists of only three notes. Tritones mark the opening chords in the piano

and the voice, but the traditional striking dissonance of the interval is softened because

the chords function as unresolved dominant-seventh chords (see Example 9). The melody

of the A section consists of only three notes, most prominently featuring the tritone leap

between B4 and F4, also shown in mm.5-8 of Example 9. The undulating melody pivots

around B4 moving only between three notes for the A section.

41

Example 9. Mompou, “L’ora grisa,” Measures 1–8.

The mood and intensity of the song changes beginning in m. 18 of the B section.

Here a brief section of bitonality is used as the quartal chords of the piano imply F modal

harmonies while the melodic arpeggios indicates C major (see Example 10, mm. 19-20).

Example 10. Mompou, “L’hora grisa,” Measures 19–26.

The rhythmic intensity increases in this section by transitioning from a static half

note texture to a more active quarter note pulse in the accompaniment. The high point of

the song is achieved in the B section through the rising vocal line, a crescendo from

piano to forte, and a ritardando indicated in mm. 24-26, as shown in Example 10.

42

The C section brings the return of static harmonies and a less dramatic vocal

range and dynamic. The A section returns with a text repetition of the opening phrase to

and a return of the opening tritone. The final D section of the song introduces new

melodic material is characteristic of the end of the sardana, a traditional and popular

dance of Catalunya. It is thought the brief musical reference to the sardana reflects

Mompou’s nostalgia for his homeland.31

Quatre Mélodies

Mompou wrote the poems of these four songs while living in Barcelona, around

the same time he composed “L’hora grisa.” The songs were composed later in 1931 and

appear in publication in the original Catalan texts and also have been translated into

French. The sentiments of the poetry again are sadly nostalgic, in part because they were

written during the years of World War I.32

Rosa del camí


Language: Catalan and French

Range: G4 – E5

Tessitura: B4

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Très calme

Form: Through Composed


31

Freida Elaine Holland, “Federico Mompou: A Performer’s Guide,” 55.

32

Clara Janés, La Vida Callada, 105.

43


Rosa del camí

En dolç desmai durant la nit

a sobre del bosc ha caigut una estrella.

De bon matí jo trobaré una rosa

sobre el meu camí

Rose of the path

In a sweet swoon during the night,

upon the forest a star has fallen.

At early morning I shall find a rose

on my path.

Sparse, minimal and highly repetitive textures characterize this very brief song.

The opening chord is repeated in nearly every measure of the entire song. Example 11

shows the opening E-F-sharp-A sonority that is played in sixteen measures of the twenty-

seven measure song.

Example 11. Mompou, “Rosa del cami,” Measures 1–9.

44

Example 11 also shows the highly static melody that features the entire vocal

range of a sixth. The short two-bar phrases have minimal melodic motion reflecting the

trés calme indication and are consistent with the repetitive harmonies. The remainder of

the song is nearly identical to the opening nine measures.

Cortina de fullatge



Range: F-sharp4 – F5

Tessitura: C5

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Lentement




Cortina de fullatge

Encara veig al lluny els llums

de ma ciutat.

I el nostre petit niu

amagat entre el ramatge.

Sé que la lluna

és al darrera d’aquests arbres.

I en la penombra d’aquest bosc

jo puc fer entrar

una carícia de llum tendra

sobre else tues ulls

tan sols obrint una cortina de fullatge.

Curtain of leaves

Still I see in the distance

the light of my city.

And our little nest

concealed between branches.

I know that the moon

is behind these trees.

And in the shadow of this forest

I can let in

a tender caress of light

upon your eyes,

purely by parting a curtain of leaves.

45

Contrasting with the unchanging harmonies of “Rosa del cami,” this song shifts

tonal centers multiple times and obscures a clear sense of key center as demonstrated by

the first two vocal phrases that move up in tonal center by a half-step. The chordal

accompaniment does not double the melody in the top voice of the piano, but the textures

are supportive of the voice. The first four phrases in the song each feature a different

tonal center. The melody of the first phrase is in A-flat minor (mm. 2-5) and the second

phrase is sequenced up a step in B-flat minor (mm. 6-9) as shown in Example 12. The

next two vocal phrases introduce new harmonies as well, this time featuring A minor and

B minor harmonies that correspond with new melodic material.

Example 12. Mompou, “Cortina de fullatge,” Measures 1–9.

46

The unifying features of the song are the rhythmic and melodic contours.

Example 12 also shows that the first (mm. 2-5) and second (mm. 6-9) vocal phrases share

almost identical melodic intervals and rhythms. The opening vocal phrases are marked

with tenuto accents and a longue indication. The syllabic text has a slightly greater range

than “Rosa del cami” and the tessitura is slightly higher as well. The song concludes with

new melodic material and some text painting as sixteenth-note arpeggiations imitate the

rustling of leaves in the forest.

Incertitud



Range: F-sharp4 – F-sharp5

Tessitura: D5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lent




Incertitud

Incertitud del meu camí.

Del meu amor tot l’infinit,

d’estrelles n’està escrit.

Claror dels camps, claror de nit.

Claror de cel, sobre un desig.

Uncertainty

Uncertainty of my path.

The utter infinity of my love

is written in the stars.

Light in the fields, splendor of night.

Splendor of the sky over a wish.

47

At just twenty-two measures in length, this is the shortest song in Mompou’s

vocal repertoire. As also seen in “Rosa del cami,” the opening the chords of this song are

repeated frequently in this song. The opening chord of the song indeed gives a sense of

uncertainty, as the dissonant chords contain two sets of tritones with an added note. These

opening chords can also be interpreted as a whole tone scale starting on B-flat ascending

to F-sharp. The whole tone scale (WT0) outlines B-flat, C, D, E, F-sharp, but is lacking

G-sharp (see Example 13, mm. 1-2).

Example 13. Mompou, “Incertitude,” Measures 1–8.

The brevity of the song leaves little time for growth and development, so brief

melodic motives are used as unifying features. The melody of the song features

descending minor thirds with embellishing upper neighbor motive, as seen in mm. 3-6 in

48

Example 13. This four measure phrase is repeated again later. The piano texture is again

chordal and features slur markings that imply a ringing and resonant sound. Once again

similar to “Cortina de fullatge”, the last five measures of the song contain arpeggiated

triplets that are again imitative of rustling leaves.

Neu



Range: E-flat4 – E-flat5

Tessitura: B-flat4

Meter: 3/4

Tempo: Modére




Neu

No és neu, són flors de cel.

Cor meu com te desfulles.

Són fulls de ma vida esquinçats.

Plugeta de paper blanc.

No és neu, són flors de cel.

Dolor, com te desfulles.

¡Ai! Quina tristesa fa.

Snow

Not snow but flowers from the sky.

O my heart, how you are unleaving!

Lacerated pages from my life.

Fine rain of white paper.

Not snow but flowers from the sky.

O suffering, how you are unleaving.

Ah, how sad!

This melancholy conclusion to the song set is also the most lyrical and tuneful.

This is the only song of the Quatre Mélodies to have a designated key signature.

49

Although E-flat minor diatonic harmonies are consistent throughout the song, there are

also many chromatic alterations. The chordal textures progress in slow harmonic rhythm

and the accompaniment frequently doubles the voice.

The melody features legato stepwise four bar phrases that are echoed by the

piano, as seen in Example 14. The seeming call and response alternation of the piano and

voice continues until the final three lines of text starting in m. 34. The solo piano

response echoes the sentiments expressed by the voice and provides time for

introspection.

Example 14. Mompou, “Neu,” Measures 1–13.

The slow rhythm of the piece remains steady throughout the song. The static

nature of the rhythm is felt through the repeated chords and the pattern of four bar

phrases by voice and the four bar response by the piano. The climax of the song coincides

with the final three phrases of text and increased rhythmic intensity. The grief expressed

50

in the poetry is intensified by a repetition of the text “No és neu, són flors de cel” and a

rising melodic line that lies a perfect fourth higher than the first statement of the phrase.

The song fades away and returns back to a subdued dynamic as the piano fades away to

nothing.

Cançoneta incerta


Language: Catalan

Range: F-sharp4 – E5

Tessitura: B4

Meter: 2/4

Rhythm: Moderato. Quarter-note equals 46.


Poet: Josep Carner (1884–1970) was dubbed “the Prince of Poets” by his Catalan

contemporaries and is best remembered for his poetry, prose, short stories and plays.

Carner, a writer and a lawyer, was a well-known in Barcelona because of his outgoing

personality, his exceptional skills as a linguist, and his enthusiasm for Catalan

nationalism. Carner, among others, believed that Catalan nationalism “required a

language that was fit for generalized use and literary cultivation.”33

Carner spent much of

his adult life absent from Catalunya because his political views and writings were in

opposition of the Spanish government. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, he fled

Barcelona only to return shortly before his death in 1970.

33

Jaume Subirana, “Josep Carner, a Century of Catalan Culture,” Lletra A Catalan

Literature Online. Accessed March 19, 2012.

http://www.lletra.net/en/author/josep-carner/detail.

51


Cançoneta incerta

¿Aquest camí tan fi, tan fi,

qui sap on mena?

Es a la vila o és al pi

de la carena?

Un lliri blau color de cel

diu ‘vine, vine’;

però, ‘no passis’ diu un vel

de teranyina.

¿Serà drecera del gosat,

rossola ingrata

o bé un camí d’enamorat

colgat de mata?

¿Es un recer per a dormer

qui passi pena?

¿Aquest camí tan fi, tan fi,

qui sap on mena?

¿Qui sap si trist o somrient

acull a l’hoste?

Qui sap si mor sobtadament

sota la brosta?

¿Qui sabia mai aquest camí,

a què em convida?

I és camí incert cada matí,

n’és cada vida.

Uncertain song

This path so narrow,

who knows where it leads?

To the town or to the pine

on the mountainside?

A sky-blue lily

says ‘Come, come’;

but ‘Do not pass’,

says a spider’s web.

Is this a short cut for the daring,

a slippery descent,

or is it a lover’s path

covered with brush?

Is it a shelter to sleep

for one in pain?

This path so narrow,

who knows where it leads?

Who knows whether sad or smiling

it greets the traveler?

who knows if it dies of a sudden

beneath the thicket?

Who would ever know this path,

know to what it invites me?

Every morning is an uncertain path,

and every life is too.

This song is another example of a contemplative text that questions the

uncertainties in life. Composed in ternary form, the song is in B phrygian mode with

many chromatic alterations. The slow and plodding motion of the opening quarter notes

is imtatative of traveling at a steady pace. Specifically, this sense of motion is achieved

52

through the wide leaps from C4 down to B2 in the left hand of the accompaniment (see

Example 15).

Example 15. Mompou, “Cançoneta incerta,” Measures 1–5.

The harmonic structure of the first five measures continues steadily until m. 21

when a distinct harmonic shift occurs between B major and B minor. The juxtaposition of

these major and minor harmonies in the same bar creates an unusual harmonic color. This

particular passage increases the harmonic tension until the most strikingly dissonant

chord appears in measure 25 by way of an incomplete major-major seventh chord

consisting of E-natural, E-sharp, G-sharp, and D-sharp (see Example 16). In measure 26,

the D-sharp of the previous chord cluster is altered to D-natural, further emphasizing the

mode mixture in B from m. 21.

53

Example 16. Mompou, “Cançoneta incerta,” Measures 21–29.

The melody of “Cançoneta Incerta” lies primarily in middle voice tessitura. The

syllabic melody is predominantly stepwise in contour with several leaps providing a

sense of forward motion. The harmony provides the most interest in the song and the

voice is able to rely on the accompaniment to create the lush timbres. The vocal melody

is largely doubled by the accompaniment. However, the performer must take care

alterations from to make clear and accurate pitch differentiations, especially in the

chromatic passages with the accidentals switching back and forth between D and D-

sharp, as seen in Example 16, mm. 25-26.

The rhythm of the song relies on a steady quarter note pulse but the slow tempo

lends itself to subdividing into eighth notes to provide a sense of motion. This song is

unique because two separate metric values are assigned to separate sections. A slight

54

poco più mosso indicated in measure 11 and this slight acceleration corresponds with the

beckoning of the blue lily to continue down the path (“Un lliri blau color de cel diu ‘vine,

vine’”). However, a slight ritardando in mm. 17-18 accompanies the spider’s warning to

stay away (però, ‘no passis’ diu un velde teranyina).The third stanza of poetry is set to

new music in the B section of the song, but it functions as transitional material and gives

way to the return of the A section and the final two stanzas of text. These final stanzas

share the same music as the opening section.

Combat del somni

The Combat del somni is one of Mompou’s best known song sets and features the

most well-known song, “Damunt de tu només les flors.” As the first song of the set,

“Damunt de tu només les flors” is most frequently performed by itself because of its

popularity and immediate charm. At a total of 107 measures, it is one of Mompou’s

longest songs. The first song of the Combat del somni is the most frequently recorded of

Mompou’s vocal compositions. The final song of the set, “Fes me la vida transparent,” is

also performed independently of the set, perhaps because it is stylistically different from

the other songs. The songs of this set were composed over a nine year span from 1942 to

1951. Although there are several more poems included in Josep Janés’ collection titled

Combat del somni, Mompou set only these four poems to music.

Damunt de tu només les flors


Language: Catalan

Range: D4-G-flat5

Tessitura: C5

55

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Moderato

Form: Modified Strophic AA’ABA’

Poet: Josep Janés (1913-1959) was “a fervent partisan of Catalan culture and had

achieved a modest reputation as a poet writing in Catalan.”34

Born in L’Hospitalet near

Barcelona, he remained a lifelong resident of Catalunya. He published three books of

poetry reflecting sentiments of youth, nature, and self introspection. Combat del somni

(Combat of the dream) is one of his most popular sets of poetry. The Janés family and

Mompou were close friends. They spent many hours together reading poetry and playing

music. Tragically, Janés’s life was cut short in a car accident in 1959.


Damunt de tu només les flors

Damunt de tu només les flors.

Eren com una ofrena blanda:

la llum qu daven al teu cos

mai més seria de la branca;

tota una vida de perfun

amb el seu bes t’era donada.

Tu resplendies de la llum

per l’esguard clos atresorada.

¡Si hagués pogut ésser sospir de flor!

Donar-me, com un llir, a tu,

perquè la meva vida

s’anés marcint sobre el teu pit.

I no saber mai més la nit,

que al teu costat fóra esvaïda.

Above you naught but flowers

Above you naught but flowers.

They were like a white offering:

The light they shed on your body

will nevermore belong to the branch.

An entire life of perfume

was given you with their kiss.

You were resplendent in the light,

treasured by your closed eyes.

Could I have been the sigh of a flower!

Given myself as a lily to you,

that my life might

wither over your breast,

nevermore to know the night,

vanished from your side.

34

Janet Pérez, “Clara Janés”, Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth Century

Spanish Poets Second Series, Vol. 134, Ed. by Jerry Phillips Winfield, (Detroit,

MI: Gale Research Inc., 1994), 205.

56

This haunting and melancholy song portrays the deep grief and sorrow over the

loss of a loved one. F minor diatonic harmonies are consistent throughout the song and

the harmonies become increasingly chromatic in the piano interludes. Frequent use

ascending minor seconds, major-minor chords, and tritones combine to create striking

dissonances. Quartal and quintal harmonies occur in the piece and provide the bell-like

sonorities so admired by Mompou.

The undulating melody is immediately introduced in the arpeggiated piano texture

and followed by the voice. The melody is yet another example of the descending minor

third with embellishing upper neighbor commonly used in these songs. The use of this

motive is particularly striking because the upper neighbor tone creates a strong sense of

dissonance because it is a minor second (see Example 17). Many other examples of this

particular motive have featured major seconds as neighbor tones. The melody is the

unifying device in this song, and is shown in Example 17 in mm. 8-15. This melodic

motive is frequently repeated and altered in the successive stanzas of the song.

57

Example 17. Mompou, “Damunt de tu només les flors,” Measures 6–15.

The piano plays an exceptionally important role in this song as it has some of the

longest interludes in all of Mompou’s songs. Example 18 shows one of the major piano

interludes and demonstrates how the small primary melodic motive of the song is

developed to create a constantly changing and captivating sound. The upper voice of the

piano features dissonant rising minor-seconds between F5 and G-flat5 while the inner

voice moves in contrary motion from D-flat, C-flat, and B-double flat. (see Example 18,

m. 24). The chord in m. 24 also shows an example of juxtaposing major-minor chords.

The initial chord on the downbeat is a B-flat minor seventh chord, spelled B-flat, D-flat,

F, and A-flat. On the second half of the beat, the third of the chord becomes D-natural,

now making a B-flat dominant seven chord. The remainder of the interlude is filled with

these types of harmonic variations. The interludes demonstrate a subtle and flexible

harmonic language as the harmonies slip in and out of harmonic stability by using

neighbor tones, counterpoint, and mode mixture.

58

Example 18. Mompou, “Damunt de tu només les flors,” Measures 21–35.

Aquesta nit un mateix vent


Language: Catalan

Range: C-flat4 – F5

Tessitura: D-flat5

Meter: 3/4

Tempo: Andante – plàcido

Form: Strophic

59




¡una mateixa vela encesa

devein dur el tue pensament

¡el meu per mars on la tendresa

es torna música I cristall.

El bes se’ns a feia transparència

– Si tu eres l’aigua, jo el mirall –

Com si abracéssim una absència.

¿El nostre cel fóra, poster,

un somni etern, així, de besos

fets melodia, I un no ser

de cossos junts I d’ulls encesos

amb flames blanques, I un sospir

d’acariciar sedes de llir?

Tonight the same wind

Tonight the same wind

And the same gleaming sail

Are bearing your thoughts

And mine across seas where tenderness

Turns to music and crystal light.

Our kiss became transparent

– if you were the the water, I was the mirror

it was as though we embraced a void.

Is our heaven, perhaps,

an eternal dream of kisses

made melody, an incorporeal union

with burning eyes

and white flames and a sigh

as if caressing silken lilies?

A rhythmic and dissonant two-voice texture is introduced in the piano featuring

the use of the large intervallic leaps in a wave-like contour and with dotted eighth-

sixteenth note rhythms. The effect of the rhythms and melody successfully imitate the

wind described in the first line of text. In keeping with the idea of wind, the harmonies in

this song are frequently changing and are highly chromatic. The initial four measures

introduce the rhythmic and melodic motive in what seems to be G harmonic minor, but

the harmonies are sequenced down by step to F harmonic minor as the voice makes its

first entrance. The voice echoes the piano by repeating the same intervallic leaps of sixths

and sevenths and dotted rhythms (see Example 19).

60

Example 19. Mompou, “Aquesta nit un mateix vent,” Measures 1–8.

One of the most intimate and tender moments of the song occurs in the second

stanza as the melody transitions to legato eighth notes intoned on a single pitch while

being supported by lush dotted half note chords. The harmonies resolve from unsettled,

disjunct sonorities to lush and consonant chords in the transition from m. 14 to m. 15.. In

addition, the rhythmic meter is altered from 3/4 to 4/4 marked with meno mosso (see

Example 20, mm. 14-15). The wind has calmed down and the text shines through at this

moment of repose – “El bes se’ns a feia transparència – Si tu eres l’aigua, jo el mirall –

”(Our kiss became transparent – if you were the water I was the mirror).

61

Example 20. Mompou, “Aquesta nit un mateix vent,” Measures 13–17.

Two rhythmic characteristics are used on this song, varied by stanza and

reflecting the meaning of the text. The opening rhythmic motives maintain the steady

dotted eighth-sixteenth note combination in contrast to the calm static chords of the B

section. The final stanzas of the song contain truncations of both the A and B sections

and conclude on a consonant B-flat major chord.

Jo et pressentia com la mar


Language: Catalan

Range: D-sharp4 – G5

Tessitura: C5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Andantino. Quarter-note equals 90.

62


Poet: Josep Janés




i com el vent, immense, lliure,

alta, damunt de tot atzar

i tot destí.

I en el meu viure, com el respire.

I ara que et tinc

veig com el somni et limitava.

Tu no ets un nom, ni un gest.

No vinc a tu com a la imatge blava

d’un somni humà.

Tu no ets la mar,

que és presonera dins de platges,

tu no ets el vent, pres en l’espai.

Tu no tens limits;

No hi ha, encar, nots per a dir-te,

Ni paisatges per ser el tu món –

ni hi seran mai.

I sensed you were like the sea

I sensed you were like the sea,

and like the wind, immense free,

towering above all hazard

and all destiny.

And in my life like breathing.

And now that I have you,

I see how limiting my dream had been.

You are neither name or gesture.

Nor do I come to you as a hazy image of a

human dream.

You are not the sea,

which is confined between beaches,

you are not the wind, caught in space.

You are boundless;

there are as yet no words to express you,

nor landscapes to form your world –

nor will there ever be.

The “Dream Combat” continues with another poem filled with images of the vast,

open spaces of the sea, dreams, and boundless landscapes. Divided into two main

sections the introduction begins with two measures of arpeggiated F-sharp minor chords.

The F-sharp minor harmonies are the basis for the entire song, although the B section of

the song explores more chromatic passages.

The melody consists of a three note motive made of notes F-sharp, C-sharp, and

B-natural. This primary wave-like motive emphasizes importance of the tonic and

63

dominant relationships and reflects the images of the water (see Example 21). The A

section of the song is firmly rooted in F-sharp minor, supported by the continuously

moving accompaniment.

Example 21. Mompou, “Jo et pressentia com la mar,” Measures 1–8.

The B section appears in sharp contrast to the undulating melody of the A section.

Example 22 shows the melody outlining a descending diminished chord and the

accompaniment changes to a pattern of descending pattern of sixteenth notes. Dissonant

tritones appear through the entire duration of the B section on the downbeats of each

measure starting in m. 19 (see Example 22). Each four measure phrase that follows the

example rises in pitch and increases in intensity until the climax of the song arrives on a

high G5. The climax in “Jo et pressentia” is one of the most sweeping and dramatic in all

of Mompou’s songs.

64

Example 22. Mompou, “Jo et pressentia com la mar,” Measures 19–26.

A piano interlude concludes the B section and also re-introduces the A section

with a resolution back to F-minor arpeggiated chords and the primary melodic motive.

The song ends with the voice and piano in a molto ritardando as the dynamics fade to

piano and concludes again with a single note in the piano.

Fes-me la vida transparent


Language: Catalan

Range: B3 –A-flat5

Tessitura: D-flat5

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Lento. Eighth-note equals 100.



Fes-me la vida transparent

Fes-me la vida transparent,

com els teus ulls;

torna ben pura la mà meva,

Make my life transparent

Make my life transparent,

like your eyes;

make my hand wholly pure,

65

i al pensament

duu-m’hi la pau.

Altra aventura no vull,

sinó la de seguir

l’estela blanca que neixia

dels teus camins.

I no llanguir

per ser mirall d’uns ulls.

Voldria ser com un riu oblidadís

que es lliura al mar,

les aigües pures de tota imatge

amb un anhel de blau.

I ser llavors feliç

de viure lluny d’amors obscures

amb l’esperança del teu cel.

and to my thoughts

bring peace.

I desire no other adventure

than to follow

the white wake created

by your passage,

nor to languish

for being the mirror of your eyes.

I would wish to be like an oblivious river

that abandons itself to the sea,

the pure waters of every image,

yearning for the blue.

And to be happy then,

Living far from dark loves

with hope for your heaven.

“Fes me la vida transparent”, the final song of the Combat del somni, is set apart

from the other songs of the set for two noticeable reasons. First, the melody of “Fes me la

vida” is considerably more disjunct and chromatic than the other three songs. Secondly,

the piano accompaniment in “Fes me la vida” features static, steady block chords for the

duration of the song rather than the more common use of arpeggiated, diatonic chords.

Although the song begins and ends in B-flat major, numerous transitions to B-flat

minor and C-sharp minor are employed. The harmonies are often ambiguous because the

chords lack a third, in addition to having added notes. The score’s appearance is filled

with many accidentals and changes frequently. The elusive and shifting harmonies reflect

the changing and transitory moments of sleep and dreams expressed in the poem.

The melodic motive is presented in the first three-bar vocal phrase. The disjunct

line contains leaps of fifths, fourths, and ninths. The first phrase is in B-flat minor and the

melodic motive changes slightly in m. 5, again by sequence of an enharmonic minor

third, to C-sharp minor (see Example 23). This melodic motive returns again at the end of

66

the piece with the return of familiar melodic material. The melody of “Fes me la vida”

contains the largest vocal range of the other songs of the Combat del somni.

Example 23. Mompou, “Fes me la vida transparent,” Measures 1–6.

The climax of the song occurs with an animando section from mm. 17-20. This

brief passage accelerates the rate of harmonic change through more saturated eighth-note

repetitions. The melody of this passage features ascending minor thirds accompanied by

chromatic hexachords (see Example 24). The animando marking and increased

chromaticism imitates the flow of the river emptying into the sea (“Voldria ser com un

riu oblidadís que es lliura al mar, les aigües pures de tota imatge”).

67

Example 24. Mompou, “Fes me la vida transparent,” Measures 16–20.

As seen in many of Mompou’s other songs, the return of the A section is ushered

in by a piano solo of the initial melodic material and followed by an abbreviated

statement of the voice as the sonorities conclude on a B-flat major chord.

Cançó de la fira


Language: Catalan

Range: D-sharp4 – E5

Tessitura: B4 – C-sharp5

Meter: 3/8 and 6/8

Tempo: Allegro ritmico and Tranquillo

68

Form: ABCA’

Poet: Tomás Garcés (1901-1993) was known as “the Catalan poet of song”35

because of

his frequent use of short regular verses. A native of Barcelona, Garcés earned law,

philosophy, and literature degrees at the University of Barcelona. Like many of his

colleagues, Garcés moved to France during the Spanish Civil War. He taught Spanish

language and literature at the University of Toulouse. He returned to Catalunya in 1947

and remained there until his death in 1993. In addition to being a lawyer, Garcés was an

active journalist, editor, literary critic, and translator.


Cançó de la fira

El seus tresors mostra la fira

perquè els agafis amb la mà.

Jo sóc cansat de tant mirar

i la meva anima sospira.

Cotó de sucre, cavallets,

càntirs de vidre i arracades

lluen i salten fent ballades

entre el brogit dels platerets.

El teu esguard ple d’avidesa

un immortal design el mou.

¿Cerques un spectacle nou

més amunt de la fira encesa?

Els estels punxen tot el cel.

L’oreig escampa espurnes. Mira:

cam poc a poc es mor la fira

sota la llum d’aquell estel.

Glateixes per copsar l’estrella?

Ai, que el design t’estreny el cor!

Song of the fair

The fair displays its wonders

for you to grasp in either hand.

I am weary with so much gazing

and my soul sighs.

Candy-floss, merry-go-round,

jugs of glass and earrings

gleam and dance as they quiver

amid the clamour of cymbals.

Your gaze, brimming with eagerness,

craves an immortal wish.

Are you seeking a new spectacle

beyond the glowing fair?

The stars pierce the whole expanse of sky.

The breeze scatters the sparks. Look:

How gradually the fire dies

beneath the light of that star.

Do you yearn to catch the star?

Ah, desire clutches your heart!

35

Josep Miàs, “Tomàs Garcés”, Associació D’Escriptors en Llengua Catalana

http://www.escriptors.cat/autors/garcest/pagina.php?id_sec=2604 (accessed 20

February 2012).

http://www.escriptors.cat/autors/garcest/pagina.php?id_sec=2604

69

Mai més voldràs la joia d’or

ni la ralla del titella.

Never again will you crave golden jewel

or a clown’s laughter.

“Cançó de la fira” evokes images of an exciting and action-packed journey to the

fair. The vibrant, lively, and vivid imagery of the text describes the whirling merry-go-

round, and all of the other spectacles associated with the summertime event. The action

of the poetry spans an entire day and depicts the transition from day to night. As one

might come to expect of Mompou’s songs, the poem also conveys the loss of childhood

innocence and wonder at an event that used to bring laughter and happiness, even if for a

fleeting moment.

The excitement of the fair is introduced in the piano by seven repetitions of F-

sharp with marellato accents giving way to the primary key of B major. The repetitive

music is imitative of the spinning merry-go-round and an ostinato in the bass remains

firmly centered on B major harmonies. A new stanza of poetry shifts the harmonies of the

B section to the parallel minor mode of B minor.

Example 25 shows the song’s primary three- note melodic motive (F-sharp, B,

and C-sharp) that is used exclusively in the first phrase. The melody pivots around B4

and moves in a circular motion imitating the whirling merry-go-round. This highly

rhythmic, repetitive motive occurs throughout the song in both major and minor modes

and shares similar characteristics with some of the melodies in the Comptines. Its melodic

emphasis on do-fa-sol is also reminiscent of the opening motives of “Jo et pressentia” and

“Fes me la vida.”

70

Example 25. Mompou, “Cançó de la fira,” Measures 1–13.

The greatest contrast in the song occurs as the evening stars fill the sky at the

beginning of the B section in m. 66. The tempo slows to a tranquillo, and the melody

changes from rhythmic and active lines with small skips to long, lyric, and legato phrases

descending by stepwise motion. The legato lines are enhanced with chromatic passing

tones. An example of this highly effective chromatic passing tone is seen in m. 68 and m.

72 as D-sharp slips down to D-natural in the melody of the voice and piano (see Example

26). Semplice and dolce are to be observed by both voice and piano as the text becomes

more introspective.

71

Example 26. Mompou, “Cançó de la fira,” Measures 66–75.

A mention of a shooting star briefly prompts a return to primo tempo in m. 84

with the question “Glateixes per copsar l’estrella?” (Do you yearn to catch that star?). In

spite of the excitement of the day’s events at the fair, the music slows with the indication

of meno mosso e più nostalgico as a reminder that the innocence of childhood is fleeting

and too quickly gone.

Deux Mélodies

Mompou set two poems of Juan Ramon Jiménez (1881-1958), the famous

Andalusian poet. Jiménez wrote more than three hundred poems relating to many

common themes of nature, love, loss, and death. It seems only fitting that Mompou would

have been drawn to the deeply meaningful and thought-provoking themes found in

Jiménez’s poetry.

72

Pastoral


Language: Catalan

Range: E4 – F-sharp5

Tessitura: C-sharp5

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Lento


Poet: Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958) “dominated Spanish poetry for the first three

decades of the twentieth-century.”36

He led a modern literary movement in his

Andalusian homeland and throughout all of Spain. Known to most of his countrymen as

Juan Ramón, he was inspired by French Parnassian poets, French symbolism, and

German romanticism.

At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Jiménez and his wife, Zenobia, moved

to Puerto Rico. The couple spent considerable time traveling in the United States and

South America. He even spent some time teaching Spanish literature at the University of

Maryland in the 1940s alongside notable American colleagues that included Ezra Pound

and Robert Frost. In 1956, he received the Nobel Prize for literature in recognition of his

poetry. Three days after he received the prestigious award, his wife, Zenobia, died of

cancer. He ceased all writing and died two years after his beloved wife.


36

Howard T. Young, “Juan Ramón Jimenez”, in Dictionary of Literary Biography:

Twentieth-Century Spanish Poets, Second Series, Vol. 134, Ed. by Jerry Phillips

Winfield, (Washington DC, Gale Research Inc, 1994), 215.

73

Pastoral

Los caminos de la tarde

se hace nuno, con la noche.

Por él he de ir a tí,

amo que tanto te escondes.

Por él he de ir a tí,

como la luz de los montes,

como la brisa del mar,

como el olor de las flores.

Pastorale

The paths of evening

merge into one at night.

Upon that path I must go to you,

my love, who always hides.

Upon that path I must go to you,

like the light of the mountains,

like the breeze of the sea,

like the scent of the flowers.

“Pastoral” is another example of Mompou’s preference for lento tempi and

subdued dynamics. The F-sharp minor rolled chords in the one-measure introduction are

imitating a guitar’s ability to strum and roll chords. The rolled chords are used in the first

nine bars of the song while supporting the voice as the melody moves in legato two-bar

phrases. F-sharp minor is implied by the repetition of F-sharp in the bass clef, but the

accompanying chords lack a third and obscures the F-sharp major tonal center. Neither

voice nor piano contains the third of the key until the downbeat of measure 7 and can be

seen in Example 27. In spite of the appearance of the third, the cadence is imperfect and

does not enforce a strong harmonic center.

74

Example 27. Mompou, “Pastoral,” Measures 1–10.

The static and declamatory melody features consistent two-bar phrases throughout

the song. The vocal phrases span ranges of fourths or fifths, and the phrase endings

feature a descending skip of a fourth as seen in the ends of measures 3 and 5 of Example

27. The climax appears in the second half of the song with the text “Por él he de ir a tí”

(Upon that path I must go to you) with forte dynamic markings and a sustained two-bar

phrase moving stepwise around F-sharp5. The solitary forte phrase subsides toward more

subdued piano colors as the song concludes.

Rolled half notes in the accompaniment create a static sense with little rhythmic

motion, especially in the opening phrases. The rhythmic intensity increases slightly in m.

10 as the piano begins a solo featuring a continuous line of eighth notes that embellish the

initial vocal melody, as if in response to the text. Steady eighth notes persist for the

75

remainder of the song helping to create a sense of forward motion. As usual, the phrase

endings are accompanied by ritardando markings.

Llueve sobre el río


Language: Catalan

Range: B-flat3 – F5

Tessitura: C5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lento


Poet: Juan Ramón Jiménez


Llueve sobre el río

Llueve sobre el río …

El agua estremece

Los fragantes juncos

De la orilla verde …

¡Ay, qué ansioso olor a pétalo frío!


Mi barca parece mi sueño,

En un vago mundo.

¡Orilla verde!

¡Ay, barca sin junco!

¡Ay, corazón frío!


It rains on the river

It rains on the river …

The water stirs

the fragrant reeds

on the green shore …

Ah, what an uneasy scent of cold petals!


My boat seems to be my dream

in a hazy world.

Green shore!

Ah, boat adrift!

Ah, cold heart!


76

Falling raindrops on the river are created in the unifying musical motive of this

song and are introduced immediately in the three voice piano texture. The piano

maintains the sense of the rain throughout the song by steady moving eighth notes. No

key signature is indicated in the score and the song is highly chromatic. The opening

harmonies revolve around F minor but the introduction moves to the first authentic

cadence in B-flat minor in measure 8 in conjunction with the primary melodic motive and

the text “Llueve sobre el río …” (It rains on the river). Major-minor seventh chords, fully

diminished seventh chords, and added note chords appear often. The B section of the

song is highly chromatic but a return to the opening material re-establishes B-flat minor

harmonies and concludes with an authentic cadence.

The three note melodic motive begins with a three note motive corresponding

with the text “Llueve sobre el río …” Again in mm.7-9 is another example of the motive

featuring descending minor third with an embellishing upper neighbor. A dissonant minor

second as the upper neighbor expresses the sorrow of the poetry (see Example 28).

Example 28. Mompou, “Llueve sobre el rio,” Measures 5–9.

77

The largely stepwise melody of the opening phrases is contrasted in the emotional

and musical pinnacle of the song in mm. 20-24. Example 29 shows the exclamation of

“¡Ay, qué ansioso olor a pétalo frío!” (Ah, what an uneasy scent of cold petals!) set as a

descending diminished seventh chord in the voice. The top voice of the piano line

doubles the descending diminished seventh chord, and also features highly chromatic

minor-major seventh chords with a sharp-5. These striking chords certainly enhance the

drama of the text and clearly define the pinnacle of the song. The piano follows the vocal

exclamation with another series of descending diminished seventh chords in an echo to

the voice in mm. 24-27 bringing the B section to a close.

Example 29. Mompou,“Llueve sobre el rio,” Measures 20–27.

The lento tempo remains consistent throughout as steady pulsing eighth notes

imitate falling raindrops. The intensity of the rhythm and the rain is increased starting in

78

m. 20, when the dominant two-voice texture is replaced by thick, chromatic, and tightly

clustered descending chords. The change in rhythmic intensity reflects the emotional

distress and sorrow of the poetry. The flow of the B section resides and slows back to a

lento pace at the song’s finale.

Cantar del alma


Language: Catalan

Range: A3 – E5

Tessitura: A4 – B4

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Lento

Form: Strophic

Poet: San Juan de la Cruz (1542-1591) was an important poet and leader of the Catholic

Church in Spain. His many volumes of lyric poetry reflect his piety and devotion to his

faith. Born as Juan de Yepes in Fontiveros, Avila, Spain he attended Jesuit school at age

17 where he studied humanities and theology. He became an ordained Catholic priest in

1567 and changed his name. De la Cruz believed there was a great need for reform in the

church and together with Teresa of Avila, founded the Discalced Carmelites in 1568. De

la Cruz suffered persecution from the church and spent numerous times in prison because

of his desire for reform. He composed many mystical poems during his time in prison. In

his lifetime, the “mystic experience was thought to be the union of the intellect with a

79

divine force.”37

His poems focus on an internal spiritual journey seeking the spirit of

God. De la Cruz’s life and poetry show a desire for a simple and reformed religious life.


Cantar del alma

Aquella eternal fuente està escondida,

que bien sé yo dó tiene su manida,

aunque es de noche.

Su origen no lo sé, pues no le tiene,

mas sé que todo origen de ella viene,

aunque es de noche.

Sé que no puede ser cosa tan bella

y que cielos ya tierra beben de ella,

aunque es de noche.

Sé ser tan caudalosas sus corrientes

que infernos, cielos riegan y las gentes,

aunque es de noche.

El corriente que nace de esta fuente,

bien sé que es tan capaz y tan potente,

aunque es de noche.

Aquesta viva fuente que yo deseo,

en este pan de vida yo la veo,

aunque es de noche.

Song of the soul

That eternal spring is hidden,

but well I know where it rises,

though it is night.

I do not know its source, for it has none,

but I know that all things stem from it,

though it is night.

I know there is nothing more beautiful

and that sky and earth drink from it,

Though it is night.

I know its streams to be so full

that they water hell, heaven and mankind,

though it is night.

The stream that rises from this spring is,

well I know, so broad and mighty,

though it is night.

This living spring that I desire

I see as the bread of life,

though it is night.

This song indicates the song is to be performed “dans le style grégorian.”

Mompou was interested in the rich musical and literary traditions of monastic life in

37

Marilyn Stone, “San Juan de la Cruz”, in Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 318:

Sixteenth-Century Spanish Writers, Ed. Gregory B. Kaplan, (Farmington Hills,

MI: Thompson Gale., 2006), 121.

80

Catalunya and this song is vaguely reminiscent of chant,but it is not written in Gregorian

notation.

The song features two sections: one section for solo piano and another section for

unaccompanied voice. The solo piano section, in E melodic minor, again features simple

diatonic progressions with little chromaticism. The piano texture is a simple hymn-style

setting usually in three to four voices (see Example 30). The same piano solo repeats

three times at the beginning, middle, and end of the song while reflecting the meditative

nature of the song. The piano accompaniment is certainly not in the style of Gregorian

chant, but the hymn like character of voicing and harmonic progression establishes a

sacred and solemn character.

Example 30. Mompou, “Cantar del Alma,” Measures 1–6.

The unaccompanied voice follows the initial piano solo. The melody is likely

fashioned after a hymn, a poetic elaboration of a sacred theme written in strophic form.

“Cantar del alma” features three verses of text set to the same melodic line and same

81

rhythms and is similar in text structure of a chant hymn. Although the melody is

fashioned after plainchant, the line is an original composition that merely imitates chant

style. The monodic vocal line is syllabic and presents the text in a direct, straightforward

way. The melody is elegant, legato, and meditative in nature. Phrases are largely stepwise

although some skips of thirds or fourths are seen in individual phrases (see Example 31).

The vocal melody lacks any barlines and the phrases lengths are determined by the

number of syllables in the text. One line of text, “aunque es de noche,” is repeated at the

end of each brief stanza and each repetition of the word “noche” features an ascending

whole step. Not every repetition of “aunque es de noche” is identical in notated pitch, but

the rhythm and the ascending whole step accompanying the word “noche” is consistent

through the song (see Example 31).

Example 31. Mompou, “Cantar del Alma,” Measure 11.

The lento tempo indicated in the solo piano remains consistent with many of

Mompou’s other songs. The tempo of the song is divided into two sections for the piano

solo and the vocal solo. The rhythm of the piano solo is dependent upon by a steady

eighth note pulse. In contrast, the vocal melody is unmeasured and in free meter to

82

accommodate the importance of the poetry. Characteristic of phrase and section endings,

many ritardando markings occur interrupting the rhythmic motion of the song.

Aureana do Sil’


Language: Catalan

Range: D4 – F-sharp5

Tessitura: D5

Meter: 6/8

Tempo: Eighth-note equals 92

Form: Strophic

Poet: Ramón Cabanillas (1876-1959) was a Galican poet and writer who worked to

preserve the language and culture of his home region. The majority of this writing

focused on the unification of the Galican people. He was a strong supporter of the

agrarian movement, helping to create a fair distribution of land for rural farmers. He also

focused his attention on the interests and needs of a national Gallican aesthetic. Although

much of his writing was political in scope, he wrote several volumes of lyric love poetry,

including “Aureana do Sil’.”


Aureana do Sil’

As arenas de oura,

Aureana do Sil,

Son asbagoas acedas

Que me fas chorar ti.

Si queres oura fino,

Aureana do Sil,

Aureana do Sil

The golden sands,

Aureana do Sil,

are the bitter tears

you make me cry.

If you want fine gold,

Aureana do Sil,

83

Abre o meu corazón

Tés de a topalo a li.

Co que collas no rio,

Aureana do Sil,

Mercaras cando moito

Un amor infeliz.

Para dar c’un cariño

Verdadero has de vir

Enxoitar os meus ollos,

Aureana do Sil.

open up my heart

you shall find I there.

With what you glean from the river,

Aureana do Sil,

you will buy, at most,

an unhappy love.

To find a true love

you must come

to bewitch my eyes,

Aureana do Sil.

A sorrowful song expressing the pain of an unrequited love, “Aureana do ‘Sil”

begins with a series of descending planing sixth chords that successfully set a mood of

lament. Although no key signature is indicated, the song’s tonal center is a mixture of B

major and minor modes. The highly chromatic harmonies, frequent use of augmented

chords, suspensions, resolutions, and large intervallic leaps are combined to intensify the

sorrowful emotions of the poem.

The opening vocal line descends a minor third by step and then leaps up a fifth as

shown in Example 32. The following phrase, “Son asbagoas acedas, Que me fas chorar

ti” (are the bitter tears you make me cry), imitates falling teardrops by an arpeggiated

descending D dominant-seventh chord.

84

Example 32. Mompou, “Aureana do Sil,” Measures 4–10.

“Aureana do Sil” shows another excellent example of modal mixture, a common

feature of Mompou’s compositional style. Example 33 shows B major and B minor

juxtaposed in adjacent measures to create a sense of lament and to express deeply felt

emotions. The chromatic alterations from D-sharp to D-natural in mm. 16-17 effectively

demonstrate the modal mixture (see Example 33). The effectiveness of this chromatic

alteration is enhanced because it also highly occurs in conjunction with a ritardando

recitation of the beloved’s name.

85

Example 33. Mompou, “Aureana do Sil,” Measures 15–17.

The song continues with a second stanza of text set to the same music as the first

stanza. Eighth notes make up the steady rhythmic pulse of the song but the actual tempo

of the song alternates between a tempo and molto ritardando indications at phrase

endings. The piano once again concludes this song with a consonant and a quiet B major

chord.

Sant Martí


Language: Catalan

Range: A3 – F5

Tessitura: C5

Meter: 6/8 and 3/4

Tempo: Eighth note equals 88.


Poet: Père Ribot is the pen name of Peter Ribot Sunyer (1980–1997) a Catalan writer and

rector best known for his deeply religious texts. He received several literary awards for a

86

number of his books and Catalan composers including Mompou and Eduardo Toldra set

several of his poems in song. Little biographical information exists about Ribot, except

what is found through the Catalan government’s Departament de Cultura.38

The poem “Sant Martí” tells the tale of Saint Martin of Tours (c.316–c.397), the

patron saint of soldiers and one of the best-known saints in Catholicism. Born in Sabaria

(present-day Szombathely, Hungary), his father was a high-ranking officer in the Roman

Imperial Horse Guard. When Martin was a young child, the family moved to Tincinum

(present-day Pavia) in northern Italy. Martin received his religious calling in life early by

choosing to become a catechumen (a candidate for baptism). Against his parents’ wishes,

he attended a Catholic school and insisted he felt called to a life in the clergy. Before

Martin entered the clergy, he was required to become a soldier in the Imperial Horse

Guard. By age fifteen, Martin was an officer in the Imperial Guard and was stationed at

Samarobriva in Gaul (present-day Amiens, France).

During his military service in Gaul, Martin became famous for the “legend of the

cloak.”39

One particularly cold day, Martin noticed a cold, starving, and poorly dressed

beggar as he approached the gates of the city. Filled with compassion, Martin took his

sword from its sheath and cut his own cloak in half to share with the man.

There are a couple of versions of the legend regarding the following events. The first

version of the legend tells that Martin dreamt that Jesus was the beggar with whom he

had shared his cloak. He dreamt that Jesus told the angels that he was now worthy for

38

Department of Culture, Generalitat de Catalunya. www.gencat.cat. Accessed March 19,

2012. 39

Clugnet, Léon. "St. Martin of Tours." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 9. New York:

Robert Appleton Company, 1910. 22 Mar. 2012

<http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09732b.htm>.

http://www.gencat.cat/

87

baptism. The second version of the legend tells that Martin’s cloak was miraculously

restored into one whole piece the following morning. Martin’s cloak was preserved as a

religious relic and it also proved Martin’s piety and devotion. The result of the legend is

that Martin was deemed worthy of baptism and entry into the clergy at age eighteen.

Although he was still enlisted in the Imperial Guard, he proclaimed that as a soldier of

Christ he could no longer fight in Earthly battles. He was released from his military

service at age twenty and dedicated the rest of his life to the church.


Sant Martí

Pedra ferma entre muntanyes.

Ull de serp, olor de pi.

Sant Martí,

rei de les teves entranyes,

la ploma, l’aire I el vi.

Respira la teval imatge

caritat pep pelegrí.

Sant Martí,

la intimitat del paisatge,

tu I jo pel mateix camí.

Cavaller del Crist, l’espasa

mati el serpent I el verí.

Sant Martí,

vetlli la flama la casa

i la veu del Sinaí

Saint Martin

Firm stone amid mountains.

Granite stone, pine fragrance.

Saint Martin,

king in your very being,

quill, air, and wine.

Your image breathes

compassion for the pilgrim.

Saint Martin,

the intimate landscape

you and I on the same path.

Knight of Christ, with your sword

kill the monster and its poison.

Saint Martin,

let your flame guard the house

and the voice of Sinai.

Sant Martí exists in two versions, the first for voice and piano and a second

version orchestrated version for five part strings and piano. The examples shown are for

voice and piano. The orchestrated version is not available in print at this time.

88

A lilting, swaying figure in a moderate 6/8 meter imitates traveling by horseback.

A three note rocking motive is introduced in the accompaniment in the first two measures

of the song (see Example 34, mm. 1-2) and used throughout the accompaniment. F major

diatonic harmonies are used in the A section (mm. 1-17), which includes the first stanza

of the poem.

Example 34. Mompou, “Sant Marti,” Measures 1–9.

Example 34 also shows the legato melody lines are filled with large leaps of fifths

and octaves (mm. 5-8). The A section follows a similar melodic shape and character until

it is contrasted in the B section. A diminuendo and a fermata mark the end of the A

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section in m. 17 and the beginning of the B section (mm. 18-36) begins with a meter

change to 3/4 and a contrasting lento tempo (see Example 35). Arpeggiated augmented

chords that imitate bells provide a striking contrast to the diatonic harmonies of the

previous section. The melody repeats the augmented triad twice, each to the text of “Sant

Martí.” The first forte exclamation and the second piano repetition of “Sant Martí” seem

like a prayer for compassion and strength (see Example 35).

Example 35. Mompou, “Sant Marti,” Measures 26–36.

The return of the A section in m. 37 brings back a steady 6/8 meter and a return of

the F-major harmonies to conclude the song. The lilting, swaying, and forward motion of

the A section returns to conclude the song as Saint Martin and his horse continue on their

way.

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Primeros pasos


Language: Catalan

Range: C4 – F5

Tessitura: B-flat4

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Lento


Poet: Clara Janés (b. 1940) is one of the most respected twentieth century writers in

Catalunya. She is known for her poetry, plays, and translations of French, Czech,

Turkish, Chinese, and Arabic literary works. The daughter of poet Josep Janés, Clara was

raised in an artistic household where music and literature were an important part of

family life.

She studied philology (a combination of literary studies, literary and linguistic

history) at the University of Barcelona and later taught Spanish at the University of

Sorbonne. She wrote a variety of genres including poetry, narratives, essays,

anthropology, and translating. In 1972, she wrote one of the most authoratative

biographies of Mompou. Her most acclaimed literary works were written after 1975. The

poetic themes in her works are largely existential in nature and entail death, night, self-

liberation, despair, suffering, solitude, and the “enigma of human existence.”40


40

Janet Pérez, “Clara Janés”, in Dictionary of Literary Biography: Twentieth entury

Spanish Poets Second Series, Vol. 134, Ed. by Jerry Phillips Winfield, (Detroit,

MI: Gale Research Inc., 1994), 209.

91

Primeros pasos

Tu cuerpo como un árbol,

tus ojos como un lago,

y yo soñaba hundirme

debajo de tu abrazo.

Tu tiempo no era tiempo,

tu ser era un milagro

y te busqué hasta hallarte


El sol murió en el cielo,

tus pasos se alejaron

y se quedó mi sueño


First steps

Your body like a tree,

your eyes like a lake,

and I dreamed I was drowning

in your embrace.

Your time was not time,

your existence was a miracle,

and I sought you till I found you

in your embrace.

The sun died away in the sky,

your steps faded away,

and my dream was left

in your embrace.

Quartal and quintal harmonies begin the introduction of this song and are another

demonstration of the composer’s preference for perfect intervals that are found in the bell

overtone series. This song lacks a key signature, but analysis shows that F major is the

overall tonal center of the song. F major is the tonal center, but the song contains

chromaticism and shifting tonal centers that are composed in a contrapuntal texture.

Two and three voice contrapuntal textures permeate the entire though composed

composition. The contrapuntal writing is similar to the accompaniment of “Aquesta nit

un mateix vent,” but the melodic styles of the two songs are different.

The first two melodic phrases of “Primeros Pasos” are intoned on repetitions of

two pitches – the first phrase is sung on C5 and the second phrase sung on G4 (see

Example 36). A sforzando and crescendo mark the beginning of a new phrase in m. 9 as

the line rises and then abruptly falls a seventh to imitate the meaning of the word

“hundirme” (drowning). The presence of the sforzando is a remarkable because it is one

of the few instances of this effect being used in Mompou’s songs. The vocal range of

92

individual phrases is sometimes static, like the first two phrases, but also has phrases with

large ascending and descending leaps, as in the third phrase of Example 36.

Example 36. Mompou, “Primeros Pasos,” Measures 5–10.

The contrapuntal texture and dotted eighth-sixteenth note rhythms of the piano

accompaniment are reminiscent of “Aquesta nit un mateix vent” from the Combat del

somni. The voice and piano are more independent of each other, especially in comparison

to other songs. The dotted eighth-sixteenth note rhythm is the driving rhythmic unit in

this song and is consistent throughout. The rhythm is the unifying feature in this song as

little melodic material is repeated in this through-composed song.

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CHAPTER 4

TWELVE SONGS

Composed late in Mompou’s career, “Le nuage,” and the sets Cançions

Bécquerianas and Cinq Mélodies are Mompou’s most difficult songs. Jacqueline

Cockburn and Richard Stokes believe the poems by Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer and the

resulting Cançions represented a new literary and musical style for Mompou. The

combination of the poetry and the music are more dramatic and romantic than previously

seen in his songs.41

Cinq Mélodies sur des textes de Paul Valery were selected from

Valery’s larger work of poetry, Charmes. These songs are Mompou’s final contribution

for voice and piano.

These songs are among Mompou’s most dramatic, intense, and exquisitely

beautiful. Technical demands include large vocal ranges that span a distance of a tenth or

twelfth in a single phrase. The tessituras of many of these songs are high and require

sustained pianissimo and piano singing, again requiring excellent breath support and

vocal flexibility. Melodies are increasingly difficult and contain disjunct vocal lines with

large leaps and the melodies are often highly chromatic. The dynamic palette features

more contrast between piano and forte, and many of these songs employ more forte

passages than in previous songs. Terraced and gradual gradations of dynamics are still

common, but these songs feature more juxtapositions of subito and unexpected dynamics.

The harmonic scope of these songs continues to be tonal, but there is increasing

chromaticsm as demonstrated in many of the disjunct melodic lines. These twelve songs

41

Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion, 146.

94

feature more independent piano and vocal lines, and the piano is largely responsible for

introducing thematic and motivic material.

Le nuage


Language: French

Range: D4 – G5

Tessitura: C-sharp4 – G-sharp5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lentement


Poet: Mathilde Pomès (1886-1997) was a poet, literary critic and translator. She was a

friend of Federico Mompou and also provided French translations of the songs “Rosa del

camí,” “Cortina de fullatge,” “Incertitude,” and “Neu.” At the present time, little specific

information is published about Pomès’ life or work.


Le nuage

S’embarquer, ô lente nef,

à ton bord sans capitaine;

s’embarquer, ô blanc vaisseau,

a ton bord sans gouvernail,

rompues les amarres du souvenir meme,

perdu le sextant du désir concret.

aller voguer dans une douce derive,

sur une mer sans couleur

vers des îles sans contour.

Voguer, aller, aller …

Le silence diaphane

Tenant lieu pour espace,

The cloud

To embark, o languid ship,

on your deck devoid of captain;

to embark, o white vessel,

on your deck devoid of helmsman,

the mooring ropes of memory itself broken,

the sextant of concrete desire lost.

To sail in a sweet drift,

on a sea devoid of colour

toward islands devoid of shape,

to sail, to go, to go …

The diaphanous silence

in lieu of space,

95

Le coeur ne martelant plus

la scansion des seconds

qu’en battements étouffés.

Aller voguer, voguer

à chaque coup de roulis

perdre un peu de sa figure,

perdre un peu de sa substance.

Voguer, aller

usqu’à ce point ideal

où la mer du ciel se comble

pour baigner le clair visage

d’une terre plus fleurie;

mon esquif plus frêle

que neige en avril,

fondue au soleil la haute misaine,

l’étrave rongée par les alizés,

du beau port en vue

mollement couler …

the heart now hammering

the scansion of seconds

with mere stifled beats.

To sail, sail,

with every roll

losing a fraction of one’s form,

losing a fraction of one’s substance.

To sail, to go

to that ideal point

where the sea fills with sky

to bathe the bright face

of a more blossoming land

my skiff more frail

than April snow,

the high foresail melted in the sun,

the stem-post gnawed by trade winds,

with the beautiful port in sight,

gently gliding …

“Le nuage” is a highly chromatic song again featuring shifting tonal centers and

obscured tonalities with no prominent tonal center. The harmonies progress through a

variety of tonal centers including B, D, A, A-flat, D-flat, B-flat, D-sharp, and finally end

in B major.

A brief two-measure piano introduction displays the primary rhythmic motive, a

consistent pattern of steady sixteenth notes moving in whole steps (see Example 37).

Example 37. Mompou, “Le nuage,” Measures. 1–4.

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The first twenty measures of the melody feature repetitive, stepwise phrases with

a high vocal tessitura. The piano dynamics in a high tessitura present a technical

challenge for a soprano or a tenor. A very short three-note melodic motive appears three

times throughout the song. This melodic motive appears in conjunction with the text

“voguer, aller” (to sail, to go) and is seen in Example 38, mm. 30-35.

Example 38. Mompou, “Le nuage,” Measures 30–35.

“Le nuage” is unique among Mompou’s songs because the final stanzas of poetry

are spoken along with the piano rather than being sung. The final twenty-seven measures

are indicated as Récité while the poetry is spoken as the piano brings a return of opening

musical material at the beginning of the song. The piano fades away with a final

repetition of the three-note “voguer, aller” motive.

Cançions Béquerianas

Composed in 1971 and published in 1980, the collection of six Spanish poems by

Sevillian poet Gustavo Adolfo Béquer may have marked “a new direction in the 87-year-

old composer’s literary taste.”42

The musical settings of these poems reflect the romantic

42

Jacqueline Cockburn and Richard Stokes, The Spanish Song Companion, 146.

97

nature of the poetry and each of the songs in the set is varied in character, attitude, and

emotion. Most notably, Mompou’s typically introverted and subdued sonorities are

replaced with highly chromatic dance rhythms in “Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena.” The

final song of the set, “Olas gigantes,” expresses grief so intense as to be considered

suicidal.

Gustavo Adolfo Béquer (1836-1870) is considered the founder of modern Spanish

poetry. He was born into a family of painters and he was skilled as both a painter and a

writer. Béquer received moderate acclaim in his lifetime, but his works became more

famous throughout Spain after his death. He grew up in Seville as one of eight children,

raised by his uncle and aunt. At age seventeen, he moved to Madrid, relying on painting

and writing as sources of income.

Béquer’s poetry contains a deep emotional quality that is almost painted into the

text. He spoke of adding “something that can be felt although it cannot precisely be

seen”43

in his poetry. Béquer’s poetry expresses the solitude and restorative qualities of

nature, and also of unrequited love. The poetic forms were in short stanzas and musical in

nature. The Rimas consisted of 98 poems with more than a thousand lines of poetry in all.

Béquer’s poetic style influenced a later generation of composers including Juan Ramón

Jimenéz, Antonio Machado, and Federico Garcia Lorca.

Hoy la tierra y los cielos me son ríen

Range: D4 – G-flat5

Tessitura: Db5

43

Edmund L. King, Gustavo Adolfo Béquer: From Painter to Poet, (Mexico: Editorial

Porrura, S.A, 1953), 22.

98

Meter: 2/4

Rhythm: Tranquillo



Hoy la tierra y los cielos me sonríen

Hoy la tierra y los cielos me sonríen,

hoy llega al fondo de mi alma el sol,

hoy la he visto …,

la he visto y me ha mirado …

¡hoy creo en Dios!

Today the earth and heavens smile on me

Today the earth and heavens smile on me,

today the sun reaches the depth of my soul,

today I saw her …

saw her and she looked on me …

today I believe in God!

The lyric legato lines of this song are set to a highly romantic poem creating some

of the most beautiful phrases in all of Mompou’s songs. Yet again, no key signature is

indicated but E-flat is tonal center. Open sonorities of perfect fourths, perfect fifths, and

octaves are used frequently in the harmonies and also in the melody.

The most repeated motive is shown in Example 39, where it appears in the first

vocal entrance in mm. 5-6. This two-note melodic motive, moving from E-flat to D,

emphasizes the motion of the leading tone to tonic, and this motive repeats four times

during the song. This motive is used in both the very first and the final vocal phrases.

99

Example 39. Mompou, “Hoy la tierra” Measures 5–16.

In addition to the importance of the leading tone to tonic movement, the

previously mentioned motive is further enhanced by other ascending half-step

movements. Example 39 further demonstrates the numerous uses of half-step movements

in the melody. These half-steps help to enhance the romantic nature of the poem. The

lyric, legato lines are filled with intervals of minor seconds that create an undulating

melody. The poem itself contains only five lines of text, but the phrase “Hoy creo en

Dios” (“I believe in God”) is repeated four times. This text repetition is an unusual

feature not used in any other of Mompou’s songs. The melody and the repeated motives

are closely related to the rhythm of the song.

A simple, steady, homogeneous rhythm of eighth notes is shared by both voice

and piano. The subdued and calm character is maintained throughout the song. The

100

tranquillo tempo marking is regularly interrupted by ritardando and a tempo markings at

phrase endings. As found in a majority of Mompou’s songs, the piano concludes with a

single piano chord fading away.

Los invisibles átomos del aire

Range: E4 – G-sharp5

Tessitura: C-sharp5

Meter: 4/4

Tempo: Plácido





en derredor palpitan y se inflaman,

el cielo se deshace en rayos de oro,

la tierra se estremece alborozada.

Oigo flotando en olas de armonías

rumor de besos y batir de alas;

mis párpados se cierran …

¿Qué sucede?

¿Dime? …

¡Silencio! ¡Es el amor que pasa!

The invisible atoms of the air

The invisible atoms of the air

around me throb and flare,

the sky dissolves in rays of gold,

the earth shivers in ecstasy.

Floating on waves of harmony,

I hear the sound of kisses and fluttering wings;

my eyelids close …

What is night?

Tell me? …

Hush! It is love that passes by!

The “invisible atoms of the air” are introduced immediately by a pianissimo

dissonant minor second clash and followed by a tritone (see Example 40). The minimalist

sixteenth-note motive is repeated for the first three measures of the song. Harmonic

change occurs at a slow and subtle rate of every three to four bars, reflecting the constant

but miniscule subatomic motion suggested by the imagery of the poem. Clashing minor

101

seconds and tritones are used most commonly in this song, especially the A-sharp, B, E-

sharp combination. These dissonant seconds simultaneously juxtapose chromaticism with

a harmonic ostinato.

Example 40. Mompou, “Los invisibles átomos del aires,” Measures 1–3.

The static melodic phrases moving by half-steps also reflect the plácido tempo.

The vocal phrases possess narrow intervallic ranges that remain within a distance of a

perfect fifth. Subdued piano and pianissimo dynamics are most prevalent, but Example

41 shows some of the greatest and quickly contrasting dynamics found in all of

Mompou’s songs. The piano begins with a forte and crescendo in m. 16 leading to a

subito pianissimo accompanying the question “que sucede?” (what is night?) in both

voice and piano in m. 17. An abrupt sforzando accompanies a second repetition of the

question “que sucede.” Such an abrupt change in dynamics in adjacent measures is rarely

seen in Mompou’s other songs.

102

Example 41. Mompou, “Los invisibles átomos del aires,” Measures 16–18.

The minimalistic style of this composition features steady sixteenth note rhythms

that repeat almost continuously for the duration of the song. The static and steady

rhythms waver very little from the indicated plácido tempo. The rate of harmonic change

varies between two and four bars. The rhythmic motives are repeated for at least two

measures before the harmonies are altered. The steady sixteenth notes slowly evolve until

the piano again concludes the song.

Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena

Range: C4 – G5

Tessitura: C-sharp5

Meter: 3/8

Tempo: “Ritmo de Polo”

Form: Modified strophic


Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena

- Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena,

yo soy el símbolo de la passion,

de ansia de goces mi alma está llena.

¿A mí me buscas?

I am fiery, I am dark

- I am fiery, I am dark,

I am the symbol of passion,

my soul is filled with a thirst for pleasure.

Is it me you seek?

103

- No es a ti: no.

- Mi frente es pálida, mis trenzs de oro,

puedo brindarte dichas sin fin.

Yo de ternura guardo un Tesoro.

¿A mí llamas?

- No: no es a ti.

- Yo soy un sueño, un imposible,

vano fantasma de niebla y luz;

soy incorporeal, soy intangible:

no puedo amarte.

- ¡Oh , ven; ven tú!

- No it is not you. No

- My brow is pale, my tresses gold,

I can offer you boundless joy.

A wealth of tenderness I hold.

Is it me you call?

- No: no it is not you.

- I am a dream, an impossibility,

a futile phantom of mist and light;

I have no body, I am intangible:

I cannot love you.

- Oh come! Come!

The bold dance rhythms of “Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena” create the most

extroverted and passionate character of all Mompou’s songs. The song features the

rhythms and style of the polo, an extremely popular dance in Catalunya and also

throughout Spain. Israel J. Katz lists the polo as one of forty-four individual types of

flamenco dance. The origins of flamenco dance are controversial among scholars, but it is

widely accepted that many of the specific dances, including the polo, developed in

Andalusia, in southern Spain. The word flamenco is a generic word to describe a

combination of song, dance, and instrumental music usually accompanied by guitar. 44

The development of flamenco dance is mostly attributed to a wide variety of Gypsy songs

and dances but there are other influences that shaped the genre. Although there are many

44

Katz, "Flamenco." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online,



104

theories describing the development of flamenco dance, each philosophy shares a belief

of a common “way of life exemplified by generosity, boisterousness and recklessness.”45

The piano begins the passionate song with a forte presentation of the polo theme

that is used frequently in the song. The presentation of three staves for the piano line is a

unique feature of the song (see Example 42). Again lacking a key signature, the highly

chromatic song is in C-sharp minor. The six-measure piano solo shown in Example 42 is

the theme of the song, and is the most recognizable feature of the piece.

Example 42. Mompou, “Yo soy ardiente,” Measures 1–6.

Its difficult melody features large ascending and descending leaps as shown in

mm. 7-18 in Example 43. The disjunct, angular, and highly chromatic lines provide a

distinct melodic contrast to the static and narrow vocal range of “Los invisibles atomos.”

Short declamatory two-bar phrases are consistent throughout the polo-inspired song. The

second stanza is a melodic variation of the first stanza, generally following similar

rhythms but mildly modified melody.

45

Katz, "Flamenco." In Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online, (accessed March 23,

2012).

105

Example 43. Mompou, “Yo soy ardiente” Measures 7–18.

“Yo soy ardiente” contains many unique rhythmic characteristics not commonly

used in Mompou’s other songs. The exciting and energetic polo dance rhythms feature

displacements of strong metric accents from beats two to three. The rhythmic intensity

continues until the very end of the piece with a final sharp abrupt fortissimo and marcato

chord to punctuate the ending.

Yo sé cuál el objeto

Range: D4 – G-sharp5

Tessitura: D5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lento

Form: Modified strophic


106



de tus suspiros es.

Yo conozco la causa de tu dulce

secreta languidez.

¿Te ríes …?

Algún día sabrás, niña por qué:

Tú lo sabes apenas

y yo lo sé.

Yo sé cuándo tú sueñas,

y lo que en sueñas ves;

como en un libro puedo lo que callas

en tu frente leer.

¿Te ríes …?


Tú lo sabes apenas

y yo lo sé.

Yo sé por qué sonríes

y lorras a la vez:

yo penetro en los senos misteriosos

de tu alma de mujer.

¿Te ríes …?


mientras tú sientes mucho y nada sabes,

yo que no siento ya, todo lo sé.

I know the reason

I know the reason

for your sighs.

I know the cause of your sweet,

secret languor.

Your laugh …?

Some day, my love, you’ll know why:

you scarcely sense it

and I know it.

I know when you dream,

and what in your dreams you see;

Like a book I can read on your brow

what you conceal.

You laugh …?

Someday, my love, you’ll know why;

you scarcely sense it

and I know it.

I know why you smile

and weep in one:

I can fathom the mysterious declivities

of your woman’s soul.

You laugh …?

Some day, my love, you’ll know why;

while you feel many things and know none,

I, who can no longer feel, know all.

“Yo se cual objeto” returns to a lyric and quiet demeanor and is similar in style to

“Los invisbles atomos.” The opening features A minor harmonies with emphasis on

intervals of fourths, fifths, and octaves, again reflecting the common intervals of the

bells. The descending line of the piano introduction imitates sighing and is shown in

Example 44. Open fifths are seen at many cadence points of the song; this sonority is first

introduced in mm. 5-6 before the vocal entrance.

107

Example 44. Mompou, “Yo sé cuál el objeto,” Measures 1–12.

Example 44 also shows undulating legato phrases encompassing a range of more

than an octave. Leaps of fourths, fifths, and sixths are typical in all vocal phrasesof this

song. Four-bar phrase lengths are most common, but some phrases are of irregular two-

bar or six-bar lengths. This modified strophic song uses the same melody for first two

stanzas of text, but the third stanza is mildly modified. A more familiar lento tempo is

sustained in this song with a steady eighth note pulse. The phrase endings are

accompanied by the characteristic ritardando and a tempo markings.

Volverán las oscuras golondrinas

Range: D-flat4 – G-flat5

Tessitura: D-flat5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Molto tranquillo

108





en tu balcón sus nidos a colgar,

y otra vez con el ala a sus

cristales jugando llamarán.

Pero aquéllas que el vuelo refrenaban

tu hermosura y mi dicha a contemplar,

aquéllas que aprendieron

nuestros nombres …

ésas … ¡no volverán!

Volverán las tupidas madreselvas

de tu jardín las tapias a esclar

y otra vez a la tarde aún más hermosas

sus flores se abrirán.

Pero aquellas cuajadas de rocío

cuyas gotas mirábamos temblar

y caer como lágrimas del día

ésas … ¡no volverán!

Volverán del amor en tus oídos

las palabras ardientes a sonar,

tu corazón de su profundo sueño

tal vez despertará.

Pero mudo y absorto y de rodillas

como se adora a Dios ante su altar,

como yo te he querido

…desengáñate, así …

¡no te querrán!

The darkling swallows will return

The darkling swallows will return

to hand on your balcony their nests,

and brush again your windows with their

wings as they playfully call.

But those that lingered in their flight

to behold your beauty and my joy,

those that learned

our names …

those … will not return!

The dense honeysuckle will return

to climb again your garden walls

and again at evening, lovelier still,

their flowers will unfold.

But those that hung bedecked with dew,

whose dewdrops we saw tremble

and fall like tears of day …

those… will not return!

Upon your ears will fall again

the sound of ardent words of love;

your heart from its deep sleep

will then perhaps awake.

But mute and rapt and kneeling,

as God before His altar is adored,

as I loved you,

you may be sure,

none shall ever love you so!

The fifth song of the Becquerianas shares characteristics with “Los invisibles

atomos” largely because of the rhythmic motive that permeates all but ten measures of

109

the song. A composition totaling one-hundred twelve measures, this six-stanza poem is

the longest text that Mompou set.

Although F minor harmonies occur at a few cadences in the song, the majority of

the song features chromatic harmonies and constantly shifting keys. The most important

unifying device of the song is the rhythmic motive that appears in the very first measures

of the piece (see Example 45). The motive is divided between right and left hands of the

piano, with either a half or quarter note followed by three sixteenth notes in the right

hand. The motive shown in measures 1-3 also appears in exact repetition at the ends of

the second, fourth, and sixth stanzas.

Example 45. Mompou, “Volveran las oscuras,” Measures 1–4.

110

The melodic phrases of “Volveran” are varied in contour including stepwise,

undulating, and disjunct lines. The first vocal phrase, starting in m. 3, has a descending

contour with a descending minor third skip while the second phrase, starting in m. 7, is an

undulating melody sung at a slightly higher tessitura (see Example 45). No two phrases in

this song are exactly alike, although they share similar melodic contours.

The drama and intensity of the song is heightened by contrasting melodic phrases,

extreme shifts of dynamic contrast from piano to forte, and variations in tempi in

adjacent phrases. The contrasts in dynamics and phrases reflect the conflicting emotions

presented by pleasant memories with the painful reality of a lost love. Although the

tempo of the song is marked molto tranquillo, frequent markings of accelerando,

ritardando, and a tempo markings indicate a disturbance in the tranquil intention.

Example 46 shows how contrasting phrase contours, dynamics, and tempi combine to

create one of the most dramatic moments in the song. A sforzando in the piano in m. 81

leads to a poco accelerando in m. 82. The voice and piano lines both feature rising

melodic lines accompanied by a crescendo that lead to the climax in m. 84. However, the

intense moment is short lived because the dynamics change back to piano in m. 85 and

the texture of the piano is notably thinner than the previous measures.

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Example 46. Mompou, “Volveran las oscuras golondrinas”, Measures 80–89.

In spite of the moments of great intensity and forte dynamics, subdued and subtle

dynamics prevail as the piano resumes playing the opening rhythmic motive. A final

thirty-second note flourish at the close of the piece imitates swallows in flight

disappearing from the horizon.

Olas gigantes

Range: E-flat4 – G-flat5

Tessitura: D-flat5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Con energía



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Olas gigantes

Olas gigantes que os rompéis bramando

en las playas desiertas y remotas,

envuelto entre la sábana de espumas,

¡llevadme con vosotras!\

Ráfagas de huracán, que arrebatáis

del alto bosque las marchitas hojas,

arrastrado en el ciego torbellino,

¡llevadme con vosotras!

Nubes de tempestad que rompe el rayo

y en fuego ornáis las desprendidas orlas

arrebatado entre la niebla oscura,

¡llevadme con vosotras!

Llevadme, por piedad, adonde el vertigo

con la razón me arranque la memoria.

¡Por piedad! Tengo miedo de quedarme

con mi dolor a solas!

Vast waves

Vast waves, breaking with a roar

on deserted and distant strands,

shroud me in a sheet of foam,

bear me away with you!

Hurricane gusts, snatching

the tall wood’s withered leaves,

dragging all along in dark turbulence,


Storm clouds rent by lightning

with your edges bordered in fire,

snatch me up in a dark mist,


Bear me away, I beg, to where vertigo

eradicates my memory and reason…

Have mercy… I dread being left

alone with my grief!

The dramatic conclusion of the Cançiones Becquerianas is filled with intense

grief, despair, and sorrow. Vast waves appear as thirty-second note arpeggios in A-flat

minor in the piano introduction and continue through the entire song (see Example 47).

A-flat minor is the tonal center of the A and A’ sections of the song (stanzas one and

four). The B section features more chromaticism and shifting harmonies to intensify

imagery of vast, gigantic, and tumultuous ocean waves and the protagonist’s suicidal

thoughts.

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Example 47. Mompou, “Olas gigantes,” Measures 1–7.

The opening vocal phrase uses dramatic leaps of a minor sixth and a rhythm of

double-dotted eighth and thirty second notes (see Example 47, mm. 3-7). Forte and

fortissimo dynamics prevail through the song and are atypical of the colors and dynamics

usually identified in Mompou’s songs. In addition to a fortissimo dynamic, the voice is

indicated with the word amplitud in mm. 17-22, the only such indication seen in

Mompou’s songs (see Example 48). This song, specifically this moment in mm. 17-22, is

quite operatic and implies singing with full voice and forte dynamics to heighten the

emotion and drama of the text.

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Example 48. Mompou, “Olas gigantes,” Measures 17–22.

The piano is of utmost importance in this song because it is a clear example of

text painting of the violent ocean waves. In addition, the accompaniment provides

chordal support for the vocal line, but the piano is largely independent from the voice.

The piano is responsible for the rhythmic pulse and driving the motion of the song

forward until its crashing conclusion with fortissimo repetitions of the giant waves.

Cinq Mélodies sur des textes de Paul Valéry

Paul Valéry (1871-1945) was one of the last late nineteenth-century symbolist

poets, following the literary traditions established by his predecessors including Charles

Baudelaire and Stéphane Mallarmé. Valéry was born in Sète, a small seaport on the

Mediterranean coast of France. His family moved to nearby Montpellier where he was

educated from childhood through college. Although he completed a law degree, he was

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never extremely active as an attorney. He served a mandatory military term in 1889-1990

and he met poet Pierre Louÿs. Through Louÿs he eventually met other poets, including

Stéphane Mallarmé.

Valéry composed over 200 poems as a young man but he later dismissed them as

being too emotional. In his late adolescence and twenties, he believed in cultivating

purely intellectual pursuits including mathetmatics, science, architecture, and music. As

an adult, Valéry returned to writing poetry with more life experience and a different

outlook on life. His mature poetry embraced both emotion and intellect as being

important experiences in life. This “unconscious awareness of the activities of the

unconscious forms”46

allowed Valéry to focus on complex thoughts, emotions, and

uncertainties of life. The collection of Charmes, written by Valéry in the 1920s, is one of

his most famous collections and features highly complex and rich symbolism. Mompou

set five of the poems from Charmes to music in 1973.

La fausse morte


Language: French

Range: C-sharp4 – A-flat5

Tessitura: C5 – D5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Tranquillo


46

Charles Chadwick, “Paul Valéry” in Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 258:

Modern French Poets, Ed. Jean-François Leroux, (Farmington Hills, MI: The

Gale Group, 2002), 386.

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La fausse morte

Humblement, tendrement,

sur le tombeau charming,

sur l’insensibile monument,

Que d’ombres, d’abandons,

Et d’amour prodiguée,

Forme ta grace fatigue,

Je meurs, je meurs sur toi,

Je tombe et je m’abats,

Mais à peine abattu

sur le sépulcre bas,

Dont la close étendue

au cendres me convie,

Cette morte apparent,

En qui revient la vie,

Frémit, rouve les yeux,

M’illumine et me mord,

Et m’arrache toujours une nouvelle mort

Plus précieuse que la vie.

The woman falsely dead

Humbly, tenderly,

On the enchanting tomb,

Over the insensate monument

Which, with a wealth of shadow,

Abandon and love,

Your exhausted grace forms,

I die, I die above you,

I fall and subside;

But I have scarcely slumped

on the low sepulcher

Whose narrow confines beckon me

to the ashes,

than this seeming dead woman,

regaining life,

quivers, opens again her eyes,

illuminates and bites me,

and wrests me for another death,

more precious than life.

Although “La fausse morte” begins and ends in D-minor, harmonies shift often to

create a sense of ambiguity. Both the voice and piano lines use primary motives that are

featured in the opening ten measures. The first piano motive occurs in mm. 1-2 starting

with a minor chord in the left hand and followed by a series of suspension and resolutions

in steady eighth notes in the right hand (see Example 49). The two-bar motive is heard

often throughout the song at cadences, and beginnings of new phrases in a variety of

harmonies. Example 49 also shows the second important motive in the piano occurring in

mm. 7-10 in conjunction with the appearance of alternating tritones in the bass line of the

piano. The highly chromatic passages resolve back to the piano motive as seen in mm. 1-

2. The harmonies of the song are constantly moving between dissonance and resolution.

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Example 49. Mompou, “La fausse morte,” Measures 1–10.

The long, lyric, legato vocal lines are difficult because they contain leaps of

octaves, sevenths, and sixths in both ascending and descending directions in a single

phrase. Similar to the piano line, the vocal melody uses two primary motives as the

foundation of the piece. Example 49 shows the first vocal motive is in mm. 3-4, which is

characterized by a descending octave leap. The second motive occurs in mm. 7-10 and is

doubled by the right hand of the piano above the moving tritones in the left hand, also

seen in Example 49. This highly chromatic passage provides a tremendous challenge in

achieving legato, especially when considering the tranquillo marking of the piece.

Another tranquillo tempo reflects an introspective poem and the rhythm is

characterized by steady eighth notes interrupted by frequent ritardando and a tempo

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markings that correspond with phrase endings. The through-composed song is unified by

the frequent repetitions of the piano motives.

L’insinuant


Language: French

Range: D4 – A5

Tessitura: C-sharp5 – D5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Quarter note equals 116



L’insinuant

O courbes, meander,

Secrets du menteur,

Est-il art plus tendre

Que cette lenteur?

Je sais où je vais,

Je t’y veux conduire,

Mon dessein mauvais

N’est pas de te nuire…

(Quoique souriante

En pleine fierté,

Tant de liberté

La désoriente!)

O courbes, meander,

Secrets du menteur,

Je veux faire attendre

Le mot le plus tendre

The hinter

O curves, o meanders,

Secrets of the liar,

Is there an art more tender

Than this slow pace?

I know where I go,

I shall take you there;

My evil design

Is not to harm you…

(Though smiling

In her full pride,

She is thrown

By so much freedom)

O curves, o meanders,

Secrets of the liar,

I shall make her wait

For that most tender word.

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It comes as no surprise that the harmonies of “L’insinuant” are ambiguous and

frequently changing based on the first line of the poem – “O courbes, meander, Secrets

du menteur,” (O curves, o meanders, secrets of the liar). No key signature is notated and

the use of tritones in both the vocal melody and piano accompaniment further obscure the

tonalities. A pointillistic texture is created by the sparse texture of the piano and the

intervallic distance between the right and left hands of the piano. The piano texture is

largely dominated by single notes and few chords are used in this accompaniment.

The vocal phrases again feature angular and disjunct contours with large

intervallic leaps. Following a sixteen measure introduction, the voice first enters by

singing tritones. The voice begins by singing descending tritones from E5 to B-flat4 and

the dissonance is echoed by the top voice of the piano (see Example 50). The ending of

the first phrase features an ascending leap of a tenth from F4 to A5, as shown in m. 19 in

Example 50. The second vocal phrase imitates the opening phrase by moving down a

whole step as shown in mm. 20-24.

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Example 50. Mompou, “L’insinuant,” Measures 14–25.

The tempo of “L’insinuant” is one of a handful of songs given a specific

metronome marking. With a quarter note equaling 116, this song is quicker than most of

Mompou’s songs. However, the piece is still marked with a number of ritardandi at

phrase endings. Although the music is through composed, the first line of text is repeated

in the final vocal phrases of the song. The final stanza concludes textually with a

statement and musically with an authentic cadence rather than the question posed in the

first stanza.

Le vin perdu


Language: French

Range: C4 – G5

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Tessitura: C5 – D5

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Moderato



Le vin perdu

J’ai, quelque jour, dans l’océan,

(Mais je ne sais plus sous quells cieux,)

Jeté, comme offrande au néant,

Tout un peu de vin précieux…

Qui voulut ta perte, ô liqueur?

J’obéis, peut-être au devin?

Peut-être au souci de mon Coeur,

Songeant au sang, versant le vin?

Sa transparence accoutumée

Après une rose fume

Reprit aussi pure la mer…

Perdu ce vin, ivres les ondes! …

J’ai vu bondir dans l’air amer

Les figures les plus profondes…

The lost wine

One day, into the ocean,

(but under which skies I no longer know,)

I threw, as an offering to the void,

A sprinkling of precious wine…

Who willed this waste, o liquor?

Did I perhaps obey the soothsayer?

Or perhaps my heart’s anxiety,

Dreaming of blood, spilling the wine?

Its usual transparence

Later a pink spread of cloud

Was assumed as purely by the sea…

Lost this wine, drunken the waves! …

I saw hurtling through the bitter air

The profoundest figurations…

The piano accompaniment is prominently featured in “Le vin perdu,” beginning

with a twenty-one measure introduction. A two-voice contrapuntal texture in the piano

permeates the majority of the song. Imitative of unpredictable ocean waves, chromatic

descending sixteenth-notes consistently appear as a unifying motive in the piece.

Example 51 shows a perfect fifth between B and F-sharp in the upper voice of the piano,

providing a sense of harmonic stability. The inner voice of the piano features descending

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chromatic sixteenth notes that descend from B to E-sharp. Example 51 shows the most

commonly used pattern of descending sixteenth notes. The descending motive of B, G, F-

sharp, and E-sharp outlines a descending fifth that is overshot by a half-step. The

descending sixteenth note motive shifts frequently throughout the song, but returns to the

B, G, F-sharp, E-sharp motive at important cadences.

Example 51. Mompou, “Le vin perdu,” Measures 21–28.

The vocal lines of the melody are first played by the piano and then repeated

exactly in mm. 22-38 and is seen in Example 51. After m. 38, no melodic material is

repeated for the remainder of the piece. The difficult vocal melody is again filled with

disjunct, angular lines, and large leaps. Irregular phrase lengths range between two to five

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bars and assist in creating a sense of instability, again reflecting the nature of the text.

Further drama is achieved through dramatic variations in dynamics and tempi.

Le sylphe


Language: French

Range: C4 – G5

Tessitura: C5

Meter: 3/8

Tempo: Allegro



Le sylphe

Ni vu ni connu

Je suis le parfum

Vivant et défunt

Dans le vent venu!

Ni vu ni connu,

Hasard ou genie?

A peine venu

La tâche est finie!

Ni lu ni compris?

Aux meilleurs esprits

Que d’erreurs promises!

Ni vu ni connu

oLe temps d’un sein nu

Entre deux chemises!

The sylphe

Neither seen nor known

I am the perfume

Living and dead

That came on the wind!

Neither seen nor known,

Fate or genius?

Scarce arrived,

My task is done.

Neither read nor understood?

To the finest of spirits

How many have promised errors!

Neither seen nor known

The moment for a naked breast

Between two shirts!

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“Le sylphe” supplies an exciting and energetic contrast to the other songs of Cinq

Mélodies. The light, playful character piano texture sets the mood for the entire piece by

accentuating ascending fifths. The playful dance-like melody is immediately introduced

in brief two- and three-bar phrases starting in D major. Although D major is the opening

tonal center, this key is short-lived. The conclusion of the first stanza cadences in B-flat

major. The remainder of the song remains in B-flat major, with only a brief venture to the

dominant F major harmonies, but then returns to conclude solidly in B-flat major.

The initial phrases, characterized by leaps of fourths and fifths, are reminiscent of

a horn call. These declamatory three-bar phrases are frequently used and can be seen in

Example 52. Most of the vocal phrases follow the two and three bar length established in

the beginning of the song.

Example 52. Mompou, “Le sylphe,” Measures 30–41.

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The lively allegro tempo in 3/8 is interrupted numerous times by poco ritardando

to match the questions posed in the poetry. The piano makes the final on the song with a

flourish of an ascending five-note figure while a decrescendo fades to a pianissimo

dynamic.

Les pas


Language: French

Range: D4 – F5

Tessitura: B4

Meter: 2/4

Tempo: Lent


Poet: Paul Valéry


Les pas

Tes pas, enfants de mon silence,

Saintement, lentement placés,

Vers le lit de ma vigilance

Procèdent muets et glacés.

Personne pure, ombre divine,

Qu’ils sont doux, tes pas retenus!

Dieux! … tous les dons que je devine

Viennent à moi sur ces pieds nus!

Si, de tes lèvres avancées,

Tu prepares, pour l’apaiser

A l’habitant de mes pensées

La nourriture d’un baiser,

The steps

Your steps, children of my silence,

With slow and saintly tread,

Towards my vigil’s bed

Are advancing mute and frozen.

Pure person, divine shadow,

Your constrained steps, how sweet they are!

God! … all the gifts that I surmise

Come to me on those naked feet!

If, with your proffered lips,

You prepare, to appease

The inhabitant of my thoughts,

The nourishment of a kiss,

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Ne hate pas cet acte tendre,

Douceur d’être et de n’être pas,

Car j’ai vécu de vous attendre,

Et mon coeur n’était que vos pas.

Do not hasten this tender act,

Sweetness of being and being not,

For I have lived off awaiting you,

And my heart was naught but your steps.

Cinq Mélodies concludes with the quiet and restrained quality essential to the

personality of the composer. The piano once again presents the most important motive in

the very first measures. Example 53 shows the motive as presented in mm. 1-3. The

highly repetitive A-sharp, B, E-sharp motive is altered only slightly during the piece. The

deliberate, plodding, heavy, and static accompaniment imitates the “slow and saintly

tread” (saintement, lentement places) expressed in the poem. The tonal center of the song

is a modally-inflected B. The texture is largely in two voices with the rhythmic motive in

the right hand and a single note bass line.

Example 53. Mompou, “Les Pas,” Measures 1–8.

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The vocal melody further supports the imagery of heavy, plodding steps through

the small stepwise movement of the phrases. Example 53 shows a two-note motive using

notes B and A in mm. 3-5. This two-note motive appears several times in the song and

further helps establish B as the tonal center. In contrast to the previous songs of the set,

the vocal melody of “Les Pas” is largely stepwise with considerably fewer large leaps.

The lento tempo contains only a few ritardando markings, as the tempo is already

slow and steady. The rhythmic motive presented in the opening measures occurs in every

measure of the song providing a greater sense of stability from the beginning to the end

of the song.

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CONCLUSION

Twentieth-century composer Federico Mompou wrote a relatively small number

of songs for voice and piano, but these songs contain a variety of technical and

interpretive challenges for singers wishing to explore the Catalan song repertoire. The

primary purpose of this essay is to provide analysis of Mompou’s thirty-five songs as a

vocal repertoire guide and secondly to provide a basic pedagogical guide for teachers and

performers.

Each of the thirty-five songs was analyzed using Jan LaRue’s Guidelines for Style

Analysis with the SHMRG mnemonic (Sound, Harmony, Melody, Rhythm, and Growth).

The combination of prose analysis and musical examples of each of the songs provides

performers and teachers with an overview of the songs. General charactics of Mompou’s

music are described in the following paragraphs following the SHMRG format.

The initial impressions of the songs are characterized by elegance, restraint,

simplicity, and a sentiment of nostalgia. One of the most important elements in

Mompou’s songs are the use of small motives that may appear in the harmony, melody,

accompaniment, and sometimes in multiple elements. These small motives are important

basic ideas that make the songs familiar to the listener but not stagnant.

Mompou’s harmonies are tonal and he commonly uses diatonic and modal

progressions in his songs. Mode mixture and chromaticism are important elements of

Mompou’s harmonic language and one of the most common harmonies is a major-minor

chord. Harmonies of many songs feature altered scale degrees in succession, the most

common chromatic alterations occurring on scale degrees 3, 6, and 7. Open harmonies of

fourths, fifths and octaves are another common characteristic in Mompou’s compositions.

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Melodies in Mompou’s songs also feature the perfect intervals of fourths, fifths,

and octaves in addition to a variety of melodic shapes. The vocal melodies range from

simple, stepwise motion to disjunct, and highly chromatic lines. The majority of the

melodies consist of regular two-bar or four-bar phrases and all sung with legato. The

vocal melodies are unadorned with melismas or ornaments.

Rhythms in the songs are uncomplicated and often feature ostinati. The majority

of the songs are designated in simple meters of 2/4, 3/4, and 4/4 and a few compound

meters in 6/8. Many of the meters are indicated only with a single numeral in the score.

Only a few songs – “Pito, pito, colorito,” “Aquesta nit un mateix vent,” and “Sant Marti”

– contain changing meters with in the song; all other songs retain the same meter for the

duration of the piece. The tempi of the songs range from lento to allegro, but Mompou

preferred the slow and lento tempi. More than a third of the songs are marked as lento,

lentement, placid, or tranquillo.

Growth and development in Mompou’s songs occur in very small scales because

he usually wrote brief songs. Spanish scholar Tomás Marco has described Mompou as a

“miniaturist” because he preferred to work in small forms. Large scale growth is not

common in Mompou’s songs, instead preferring to modify the motives that are the main

musical ideas of each individual composition.

The piano plays an important role in Mompou’s songs because piano was his

primary instrument. The vast majority of his compositions were for solo piano, and it is

natural that the piano is featured prominently in his songs. Often, the piano doubles the

vocal melody in octaves and is highly supportive of the singer. The piano provides a

general sense of mood painting in the songs and contains some brief introductions,

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interludes, and postludes. The piano imitates specific ideas or concepts in some of

Mompou’s later songs. The piano motive imitiates invisible atoms of air in “Los atomos

invisibles” and crashing ocean waves in “Olas gigantes” both found in the Becquerianas

set.

The organization of the songs was based on basic pedagogical concepts and the

songs were divided into three groups based on difficulty of the songs. The first group of

songs features the Comptines, a set of six songs that are particularly good for beginning

students. The poetry, written by Mompou, is reminiscent of childhood poems, counting

games, dances, and stories. Musical characteristics of the songs include tonal and modal

harmonies, vocal ranges of about an octave, rhythmic and melodic ostinati, syllabic

melodies, and simple, straightforward rhythms.

The largest group includes seventeen songs of intermediate difficulty that are

appropriate for intermediate to advanced students. These seventeen songs are more

harmonically complex as they are more chromatic, and appear difficult because the songs

often lack key signatures. The vocal melodies of these seventeen songs have an average

range between and octave and an octave and a half. Many of the vocal melodies require

sustained singing in passaggio and demand solid breath support. The piano lines of these

songs are supportive of the vocal line, but some of the songs feature more independent

lines between voice and piano.

The final group of twelve songs includes Mompou’s most difficult vocal

compositions. The song sets Cançions Béquerianas and Cinq Mélodies were the last

vocal compositions that Mompou composed. These tonal songs feature combinations of

mode mixture and chromaticism. The vocal melodies of these difficult songs often

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contain large leaps of tenths of twelfths in a single phrase. The songs contain a wide

range of dynamics, often requiring sustained piano or pianissimo singing at high vocal

tessituras. The piano is featured more prominently in these twelve songs and the voice

and piano are more independent of each other in these songs. In addition, the piano line

contains most of the small motives that are the unifying features of the songs.

Analysis of each of these songs gives a more complete idea of how the songs

were composed and what individual musical elements are most prominent in the

composition. However, no amount of analysis is truly able to convey the meaning and the

emotions in the music. Above all, Mompou wished to create music that evoked a highly

personal response that transcended place and time. His songs that were of great personal

importance to him and he hoped his songs would evoke a strong visceral reaction for

those listening to and performing his compositions.

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APPENDIX A

CATALAN PRONUNCIATION AND DICTION GUIDE

Catalan is one of the official languages spoken by more than 13 million people in

the autonomous Spanish regions of Catalunya, the Balearic Islands, and Valencia.

Catalan, a romance language, is linguistically related to French, Spanish, Italian, and

Portuguese. Catalan shares many cognates and structural similarities with other romance

languages, most notably, Castilian Spanish and Provincial French.

There are similarities between the romance languages, but Catalan also possesses

many distinctive characteristics that are important for performers to known when

preparing Catalan texts. There are a very large group of songs written in Catalan, and the

songs of Federico Mompou are only a small number of this total collection of Catalan

Singing these songs in their original language is important in helping preserve the rich

Catalan culture.

Performing Catalan songs in the original language provides a challenge to

American performers because there are no currently available Catalan diction guides. Of

the Catalan pronunciation guides that are available, they do not include IPA, an

especially useful tool for singers. This appendix serves as an introductory guide to

Catalan pronunciation and IPA and is not a comprehensive guide to understanding

Catalan diction. Furthermore, the appendix is not a substitute for study of the Catalan

language and grammar.

The following guide is adapted from Teach Yourself Complete Catalan by Anna

Poch Gasau and Alan Yates. The chapter entitled “Pronunciation and Spelling” is

particularly helpful in introducing the sounds of the Catalan language. A two-CD set is

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included as a supplement that provides audio files that correspond with examples in the

text. The audio guide is helpful in developing a sense of syllabification, word stress, and

allows a listener an opportunity to scribe the IPA symbols.

Syllabification

In general, Catalan words have as many syllables as the number of vowels in the

word. The syllables are stressed and unstressed, as is true of all languages. Monosyllables

can be stressed or unstressed depending on the word. Stressed monosyllables include

words gros, set, and vuit. Unstressed monosyllables include words que and i, articles (el

and la), weak pronouns (em, ens), and some prepositions (a de, en, amb, per).

Multi-syllable words fall into two general categories. In a multi-syllable word

ending in a vowel, the stress is placed on the penultimate syllable, as in parlo. The stress

on the penultimate syllable remains in endings of a final vowel plus –s, –en, or –in.

Parlo, parles, and parlen all have penultimate stressed syllables. Other multi-syllable

words (i.e. those not ending in vowels) receive stress on the final syllable, as in parlem

and parleu.

Accents written over a vowel are always stressed in the word, regardless of how

many syllables are in the word. The presence grave or acute accents both indicate word

stress. Examples include màquina, església, and gimnàs.

Vowels

The Catalan language has several regional variations in pronunciation. The

conventions of the written language are standardized. The vowel sounds are addressed

first in this guide. There are five vowels in written Catalan and there are eight vowel

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sounds possible with these vowels. There are also two glides. The discussion will begin

with the stressed vowels, lead to the unstressed vowels and conclude with the glides.

Stressed Vowels

There are seven stressed vowel sounds in Catalan. These stressed vowels are pure,

sharp, clear, bright and distinct. The stressed vowels, the corresponding IPA symbols,

and a description of pronunciation is provided below. Stressed vowels and syllables

receive the greatest length in the word.

Vowel IPA Symbol Pronunciation47

a [a] The stressed Catalan a is a combination

between the English words cat and father.

This is always an open sound, and can only

take a grave accent when stress is indicated in

writing.

Examples: pa, anys, català, germà

i [i] The vowel i sounds like the vowel in the

English word feet.

Stressed i is always a closed vowel and takes

only the acute accent when stress is indicated

in writing.

Examples: mida, matí

e [e] Closed [e] is a forward sound with a half-

closed mouth position and the lips slightly

extended.

An acute accent indicates closed [e].

The closed sound closely resembles a closed

47

Examples for pronunciation are based on British English pronunciation and not

American English.

135

[e] in Italian.

Examples: bé, gens, adéu

e [Ɛ] Open [Ɛ] is closely related to the vowel sounds

in the English words get and bet.

A grave accent indicates open [Ɛ].

Examples: vostè, guerra

o [o] Closed [o] is described as a ‘backward’48

sound

with a closed mouth position and rounded lips.

This pure vowel closely resembles a closed [o]

in Italian.

An acute accent indicates closed [o].

Examples: fons, meló, estació

o [Ɔ] An open [Ɔ] sounds similar to the vowels in the

English words hot and coffee.

A grave accent indicates open [Ɔ].

Examples: bona, però, història

u [u] The vowel u sounds like the vowel in the

English word hoot.

Stressed u is always a closed vowel and takes

only the acute accent when stress is indicated

in writing.

Examples: alguna, menu

Unstressed Vowels

There are two main unstressed vowel sounds in Catalan. One of the most difficult

tasks for a novice to the Catalan language is determining the stressed and unstressed

48

Ana Gasau and Alan Yates, Complete Catalan, 12.

136

vowels. Careful study of the language and listening to the syntax of the language is the

best way to learn these stressed and unstressed vowels. Syllabification is one way to

determine if a vowel is stressed or unstressed. Generally, a stressed syllable will contain a

stressed vowel.

The schwa is the neutral syllable in Catalan, as it is in other languages. In the

Catalan language, vowel sounds change depending on whether it is stressed or unstressed.

For example, in an unstressed syllable the vowel o becomes an [u] sound.

Vowel IPA Symbol Pronunciation

a or e [ə] The schwa sound in Catalan is similar to the

sounds in the final vowel sounds of the English

words sugar or butter.

The schwa is a ‘relaxed’49

vowel and always

unstressed.

Examples: el, perdoni, senyor

o [u] In an unstressed syllable, the vowel o is

changed to sound like [u].

Examples: sento, ho

Diphthongs

Diphthongs are two contiguous vowels that make a single syllable. In Catalan,

diphthongs are formed in two ways. The first vowel of the diphthong receives the longest

length of the syllable, as is common in diphthongs in other languages. The first type of

diphthong is formed with a vowel plus i (except i plus i) and the second type is formed

49

Ana Gasau and Alan Yates, Complete Catalan, 12.

137

with a vowel plus u. Not all vowels plus i or u are diphongs and syllabification helps

determine whether two contiguous vowels are diphthongs or separate syllables.

Diphthong IPA Symbol Example

ai [a:i] esplai

ei [e:i] llei

oi [o:i] oi

ui [u:i] avui

au [a:u] sisplau

eu [e:u] teu

iu [i:u] riu

ou [o:u] ous

Glides

There are two glides in Catalan and can also be described as semi-vowels.

Letter IPA Symbol Pronunciation

i [j] Placed between two vowels, an unstressed

letter i sounds similar to the beginning of the

English word yesterday.

Examples: noia, feien

y [j] The letter y appears only in foreign words that

have been assimilated and in a few proper

names.

The symbol and sound [j] is a glide and also

considered a semi-vowel.

138

Examples: yacht, Ruyra

qu or qu [kw] Example: aquesta

Consonants

Most of the Catalan consonants are similar to English consonants. As one might

expect, there are also some differences between the sounds of the languages. The letters k

and w are used only in foreign words and any derivitives. Two examples include kaiser

and clown. The letter y is sometimes found in proper names, but it usually only occurs in

the combination of –ny. It is found in such words as catalunya, espanya, and lluny. The

chart below lists the consonants, IPA symbols, a pronunciation guide and any similarities

and differences of the sounds of English and Catalan.

Consonant IPA Symbol Pronunciation

b or v [b] The [b] is similar to the English word bat.

Between vowels, the letter b has a softer sound

with only minimal contact between the lips.

Examples: dèbil, hivern

c

c before e and i

[k]

[s]

The letter c is similar to the English word cat.

Examples: català, cantar

Ce- or Ci- combinations sound similar to the

English word acid.

Examples: ciutat, acceptar, cèntim

ç [s] The ç occurs only before the vowels a, o, and

u. It may also appear at the end of a word.

139

Examples: canço, feliç

d [d] The letter d is more dental than the English d.

The sound is pronounced with the tip of the

tongue on the teeth.

Examples: damunt, del, dedicar

d [ð] An intervocalic letter d is changed to a theta

sound, similar to the beginning of the English

words they and the.

Examples: cada,

g followed by e or

i

[ʒ] The g + e or i combination sounds similar to

the French words joli, jeune, and jardin.

Examples: germà, Girona

h always silent Examples: hora, hivern

j [ʒ] The letter j always makes the same sound as

the combinations of ge or gi regardless of the

position in the word.

Examples: jardí, juliol, mitja

l [l] The Catalan pronunciation of l is farther back

in the mouth. It is more similar to the English

word all.

When l is in the final position of the word, the

sound of the consonant is perceived even

further back in the mouth.

Examples: lavabo, abril, total

m [m] The sound is similar to the English word man.

Examples: mar, molt, damunt

n [n] Usually n sounds approximately like the

English words nothing and nose.

140

Examples: nas, plena, parent

n [ɳ] The [ɳ] sound occurs before final c or g, before

initial c, qu, or g.

Examples: cinc, sang, encara, tranquil

p [p] In most positions, p is pronounced in a similar

fashion to the English word poem.

Examples: preparar, perdere

The p becomes silent following the letter m at

the end of a word. It also becomes silent

between the letter m and another consonant,

except letters l and r.

Examples: camp, temps, assumpte

qu before e or i [k] The qu combination makes a single sound,

unless there is a diaeresis over the u before i or

e.

Examples: que, quinze

qu before a or o [kw] The qu combination before a or o is similar to

the English word quit.

Examples: quatre, quota, question

r [r] A single r is distinguished by a trill (two

repetitions of the letter) and is more

pronounced than in English.

Examples: flores, ara, Carme

rr [r:r] The letter r is strongly rolled (three or more

repetitions of the letter) when it appears as rr

in a word.

It is also rolled when it is at the beginning of a

word or following the letters l, m, n, or s.

Examples: roba, riure, enraonar

141

s [s] The letter s is unvoiced when it is at the

beginning or the end of a word. It is also

unvoiced when it appears as ss in a word.

Examples: sal, capses

s [z] The letter s becomes voiced when it is

intervocalic or when it preceds a voiced

consonant like m or n.

The English word rose is an approximation of

the voiced s.

Examples: casa, cosa, turisme

t [t] The letter t is unvoiced and is more dental than

its English counterpart. The sound is produced

by the tip of the tongue on the teeth.

Examples: total, sant, turisme

t [d] The sound changes to a voiced [d] when it is

before a voiced consonant.

rts

Examples: viatge, fullatge

Exception: The letter t becomes silent

following l or n at the end of a word. It also

becomes silent in the consonant cluster

Examples: molt,content

Exception: In consonant clusters of tl,til, or tm,

the letter t assimilates to the consonant around

it, essentially creating a double vowel.

Example: atlas [allas], setmana [semmana]

v [b] The letter v is pronounced as [b] in any

position in a word.

The sound is a much softer plosive consonant

than its English counterpart. The lips make

very little contact in the formation of the

consonant.

142

The sound is similar to the English word

birthday.

Examples: vida, conversa, aviat

w [b] The letter w occurs only in foreign words that

have been assimilated.

The sound creates a [b] as found in words with

the letters b and v.

Examples: water,

x [ʃ] The first of three sounds x can make sounds

like the English sound in the word sherry.

This sound usually occurs when x appears at

the beginning of words.

Examples: xai, xerrar

x [ks] The x sounds like [ks] when it is intervocalic

or in certain prefixes.

The sound is comparable to the English word

tax.

Examples: taxi, explicar

x [gz] The x sounds like [gz] when it is used in

certain prefixes.

The sound is similar to the English word eggs.

Examples: èxit, exacte

y [j] The letter y appears only in foreign words that

have been assimilated and in a few proper

names.

The symbol and sound [j] is a glide and also

considered a semi-vowel.

Examples: yacht, Ruyra

143

z [z] The letter z is always voiced in any position in

a word.

The sound is similar to the English word zoo.

Examples: zero

Digraphs

In addition to the above listed vowels and consonants, there are digraphs that

make single sounds. A digraph is a pair of consonants or a vowel and a consonant that

make one sound. There are several digraphs in the Catalan language.

Digraph IPA Symbol Pronunciation

-ix [ʃ] Following a vowel the –ix combination is

pronounced like the sound in the English word

sherry.

Examples: mateix, caixa,

ny [ɲ] The ny digraph occurs in few words in Catlan.

The sound is similar to the English word onion.

Example: Catalunya

–ig or –tx [tʃ] These suffixes sound similar to the English

words match and catch.

Examples: maig, cotxe

tz [ds] The tz digraph sounds similar to the ending of

the English word beds.

Examples: dotze, tretze

–tg or –tj

–tg plus e or i

–tj plus a, o, or u

[dʒ] These digraphs sound similar to the English

words ledge or hedge. It also sounds similar to

the beginning of the name George.

144

Examples: metge, mitjó

Liason

In many instances, final sounds of words are modified by the initial sound of the

following word. This running together of words occurs in French and also in Catalan.

Learning where to use liason helps achieve fluency in speech and in singing. The

following information outlines rules of liason.

1. Two accented vowels in contact are unaffected. Examples: pi alt [pi at],

carrer ample [karre amplə]

2. A schwa [ə] sound in contact with another vowel is elided. Examples: aquesta eina

[akƐstjnə], ma esquerra [maskƐrra]

3. In the event of two unstressed schwa sounds in contact, only one is pronounced.

Examples: quinze amics [kinzəmiks], una eglésia [unəzgleziə]

4. Final –nc and –ng before a vowel are pronounced [ɲk]. Examples: cinc homes [saɲk

Ɔməs], sang i aigua [saɲk i ajgwə]

5. The final –b of the word amb is pronounced before a vowel. Examples: pa amb oli

[pamb Ɔli], amb honor [amb unor]

6. The final –t of –nt is pronounced before a vowel in the exceptions of sant before a

name beginning with a vowel, vint followed by a hypen, and occasionally cent before a

vowel. Examples: Sant Hilari [sant ilari], vint-i-dos [bintiðos], cent homes [sentƆməs]

7. Final –f, –s, –ç, –ix, –tx, and –ig are voiced before a vowel or a voiced consonant.

Examples: baf horrible [bav ur:riblə], les alters [lez altrəs], dolç o salat [dotz o səlat],

145

dibuix antic [dibuʒ əntik], despatx obert [dəspadʒ ubƐrt], passeig meravellos [pəsƐdʒ

mərəbəʎos]

8. Final –s before r, s, or x is not pronounced. Examples: dues raons [duə r:rəons], els

sastres [el sastrəs], molts xais [mot ʃajs]

9. Final –n before b, m, v, or p is pronounced [m]. Example: un marit [um mərit], Sant

Marti [sam marti], mon pare [mum parə], bon vi [bom bi], ben bé [bem be]

146

APPENDIX B

SELECT DISCOGRAPHY FROM 1992-2012

A number of famous singers have recorded Mompou’s songs, including sopranos

Monserrat Caballé and Victoria de los Angeles, tenor Jose Carrerras, and mezzo-soprano

Teresa Berganza. Most of the recordings were from concerts or studio sessions from the

1950s and 1960s. These recordings were originally made on LPs and are now difficult to

locate. In the last twenty years, the original recordings by Caballé, de los Angeles,

Carrerras, and Berganza have been re-released on CD.

Since 1992, there have been over forty records that feature Mompou’s songs. In

addition to the re-released recordings from the 1950s and 60s, one present-day recording

label has made an effort to preserve and record the musical traditions of Catalunya.

Columna Musica, in Barcelona, specializes in the works of nineteenth and twentieth

century composers who remain largely unknown in Western music circles.50

Mompou’s

complete vocal works have been recorded on the Columna Musica label.

Recorded Songs on Compilations

Combat del somni. On Canciones Españolas. José Carreras, Robin Stapleton, Roberto

Benzi, Antoni Ros-Marbá, Martin Katz, José Padilla, María Grever, Francisco

Alonso, Agustín Lara, Amadeo Vives, Reveriano Soutullo, and José Serrano.

Orig.record 1978. Reissued CD, Phillips, 432 745-2, 1992. (Includes Combat del

somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Jo et

pressentia com la mar.)

Combat del somni. On La música española. Alicia de Larrocha, piano ; London

Philharmonic Orchestra ; Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, conductor ; José Carreras,

tenor, Martin Katz, piano, and Pascal Rogé, piano. CD, Madrid Salvat 428 941-2,

1994. (Includes Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un

mateix vent, and Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

50

Columna Musica’s website clearly states the record label’s mission. The website has a

complete listing of recordings and provide online program notes for many of the

recordings. The website is http://www.columnamusica.com. (Accessed March 29, 2012).

http://www.columnamusica.com/

147

Damunt de tu només les flors. On Songs of Spain. With Victoria de los Angeles, Renata

Tarragó, Graciano Tarragó, José M Lamaña, Jean-Claude Gérard, Enrique

Gispert, Oscar Ghiglia, Miguel Zanetti, Gonzalo Soriano, Gerald Moore, Alicia

de Larrocha, Domingo Sagu, Luis Antonio García Navarro, Rafael Frühbeck de

Burgos, Juan Cornago, Diego Pisador, Juan del Vado, Antonio Literes, Manuel

Plà, Blas de Laserna, and José Palomino. Orig. Recording 1951. Reissued CD,

EMI Classics 7243 5 66937 2 2, 1998. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors.)

Damunt de tu només les flors. On New York Festival of Song: Spanish Love Songs. With

Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Joseph Kaiser, Steven Blier, and Michael Barrett. CD,

New Rochelle, NY Bridge 9228, 2007. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors.)

Recorded Songs by Recording Artist

Alonso, Laura and Juan Manuel Varela. Na boca das camelias. CD, Santiago de

Compostela Clave Records 1040, 2004. (Includes Aureana do Sil.)

Aragall, Jaume and Salvador Brotons. Pel teu amor. CD, Barcelona Discmedi DM725-

02, 2002. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors.)

Badia, Conchita. Enregistraments inèdits. CD, Barcelona Editat per DK-90 CD1136,

1995. (Includes Cançoneta incerta and Damunt de tu només les flors.)

Bustamante, Carmen and Carlos Cebro. Mélodies. CD, Belgium Discover International

DICD 920189, 1994. (Includes Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors,

Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Jo et pressentia com la mar; Cinq melodies – La

fausse morte, L'insinuant, Le vin perdu, Le Sylphe, Les pas; Sant Marti, Cançó de

la fira, Aureana do sil, Quatre comptines – D'alt d'un cotxe, Frédéric tic, tic, Pito,

pito, colorito, J'ai vu dans la lune; Becquerianas – Hoy la tierra y los cielos me

sonrien, Los invisibles átomos del aire, Yo soy ardiente, yo soy morena, Yo sé

cual el objeto, Volverán las oscuras golondrinas, Olas gigantes, and Cantar del

alma.)

Bustamante, Carmen and Miguel Zanetti. Història de la música catalana, valenciana i

balear – Del Modernisme a la Guerra Civil (1900-1939). Volume IV. CD,

Barcelona Tritó Edicions TRHM13-TRHM16, 1998. (Includes Damunt de tu

només les flors.)

Bustamante, Carmen and Carmen Bravo. Cançons. CD, Barcelona, Picap distribuit per

Actual Records Distribució 910633-02, 2008. (Includes Jo et pressentia com la

mar, Ara no sé si et veig, encar, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Fes-me la vida

transparent, Damunt de tu només les flors, Dalt d'un cotxe, Margot, la Pie, J'ai vu

dans la lune, Aserrín, aserrán, Petite fille de París, Pito pito colorito, Frederic, tic,

tic, Cançoneta incerta, L'hora grisa.)

148

Bustamante, Carmen and Miguel Zanetti. Cançons de Toldrà, Guridi, Mompou, Halffter.

CD, Barcelona Tritó TD0028, 2006. (Includes Combat del somni.)

Caballé, Montserrat. Casta Diva. Orig. Recording 1963. Reissued CD, RCA Victor Gold

Seal 74321-23675-2, 1994. (Includes Damunt de tus només les flors, Aureana do

sil, Canço de la fira, Pastoral.)

Caballé, Montserrat and Rosa Sabater. A la Unesco. Orig. Recording 1981. CD Barcelona

Picap distribuït per Actual Records Distribució 910576-02, 2008 (Includes

Damunt detu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, and Jo et pressentia

com la mar.)

Campos, Maria Dolores and Katharine Durran. Classical Spanish Songs. CD, Herald

HAVPCD184, 1995. (Includes Combat del somni – Sólo las flores sobre tí, Esta

noche un mismo viento, and Te presentía como el mar. The songs are sung in

Spanish rather than the original Catalan.)

Carreras, José. My Barcelona. Orig. Recording 1976. Reissued CD, Phillips 434 745-2,

1992. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors)

Casariego, Lola and Aurelio Viribay. Canciones. CD, Asturias Carlota Música 0205,

2008. Includes Damunt de tu, només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, and Jo

et presentía com la mar.)

Dardinyà, Núria and Angel Soler. Salvador Brotons, Miquel Martí Pol, J.V. Foix. CD,

Barcelona Edicions Albert Moraleda 0167, 2000.

De los Angeles, Victoria. The Fabulous Victoria de los Angeles. Orig. Recording 1960.

Reissued CD, EMI CMS5 65061 2, 1993. (Includes Combat del somni – Damunt

de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

De los Angeles, Victoria. Canciones para recorder. CD, Barcelona Columna Música

1CM0231, 2009. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors.)

De los Angeles, Victoria. The Maiden and the Nightingale: Songs of Spain. Orig.

Recording 1962. CD, EMI Classics 7243 5 62905 2 5, 2004. (Includes El combat

del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, and Jo et

pressentia com la mar.)

Ferrante, Maria and Alys Terrien-Queen. Sea Tides and Time. CD, Worcester, MA,

Firestar FSD 001, 2010. (Includes Cantar del alma, Jo et pressentia com la mar,

and Fes-me la vida transparent.)

Frauca, Titón and Montserrat Massaguer. Cançons per a veu i piano Vol. I. CD, Jafre,

Girona Produccions Anacrusi AC 029, 2002. (Includes L'hora grisa, Quatre

melodies – Rosa del camí, Cortina de fullatge, Incertitud, Neu ; Cançoneta incerta

149

; Comptines – I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII; Le nuage, Combat del somni –

Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Jo et presentia com la

mar, Ara no sé si et veig, encar, Fes-me la vida transparent; Dues melodies –

Pastoral, Anteprimavera; El viaje definitive and Cançó de la fira.)

Frauca, Titón and Montserrat Massaguer. Cançons per a veu i piano Vol. II. CD, Jafron,

Girona Produccions Anacrusi AC 039, 2003. (Includes Cantar del alma, Aureana

do Sil, Sant Martí, Primeros pasos, Becquerianas, and Cinc melodies de Paul

Valéry.)

Gonzalez, Dalmacio and Liliana Maffiotte. Endreça. CD, Barcelona Edicions Albert

Moraleda 7372 EAM, 1997. (Includes L’hora grisa and Neu.)

Gragera, Elena, Alain Damas, and Antón Cardó. Integral de la obra para voz y piano.

CD, Madrid Iberautor Promociones Culturales SA01157, 2004. (Includes

Cançoneta incerta, Quatre melodies, L'hora grisa, Comptines I-III, Le nuage,

Comptines IV-VI, Pastoral, Llueve sobre el río, Comptines VII-VIII, Cançó de la

fira, Cantar del alma, Combat del somni, CD 2. Aureana do Sil, Sant Martí, Ave

María, Primeros pasos, Becquerianas, Cinq mélodies sur des Poèmes de Paul

Valery.)

Ibarra, Ana and Rubén Fernández. A l'ombra del lledoner. CD, Barcelona RBA Música

ENSAYO ENY-CD-9816, 2001. (Includes Cançó de la fira.)

Martins, Marisa and Mac McClure. Cançons & Danses. CD, Barcelona Columna Música,

2010. (Includes Cinq mélodies de Paul Valéry, Pastoral, and Llueve sobre el río).

Martins, Marisa and Mac McClure. Combat del somni. CD, Barcelona Columna Música

1CM0136, 2004. (Includes Cançó de la fira, L'hora grisa, Cançoneta incerta, Sant

Martí, Comptines – Dalt d'un cotxe, Margot la pie a fet son nid, J'ai vu dans la

lune, Frédéric tic tic, Rossignol joli, Aserrín, aserán, Petite fille de Paris, Pito,

pito, colorito; Quatre melodies – Rosa del camí, Cortina del fullatge, Incertitud;

Neu, Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Fes-me la vida

transparent, Jo et pressentia com la mar; Cantar del alma.)

López, Begoña and Alejandro Zabala. Rumor de besos y batir de alas. CD, Barcelona,

Edicions Albert Moraleda, 2008. (Includes Hoy la tierra, Los invisibles átomos,

Yo soy ardiente, Yo sé cuál el objeto, Volverán las oscuras golondrinas, and Olas

gigantes.)

Lorengar, Pilar and Miguel Zanetti. Los adioses. CD, Madrid RTVE Música 65010,

1992. (Includes Cantar del alma, Solo las flores sobre ti, Pastoral, and Aureana do

sil.)

Merriman, Nan and Gerald Moore. Nan Merriman sings French and Spanish Songs.

Orig. Recording 1954. Reissued CD, London Testament SBT 1134, 1998.

150

(Includes Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un

mateix vent, Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

Montano, Alexandra and Martin Néron. L’heure exquise. CD, New York One Soul

Records PLR 2003.11.18, 2000. (Includes Combat du rêve sung in French.)

Monteyrol, Laurence and Narcís Bonet. Mélodies. CD, Arrou, France Maguelone, 1993.

(Includes Cinq melodies – La fausse morte, L'insinuant, Le vin perdu, Le sylphe,

Les pas; Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix

vent, Jo et pressentia com la mar; Comptines – Margot la pie; J'ai vu dans la lune;

Petite fille de Paris; Rossignol joli; Frédéric, tic, tic.)

Oelze, Christiane and Rudolf Jansen. Las locas por amor. CD, Berlin Classics DDD

0011892BC , 1999. (Includes Combat del somni – Damunt de tu només les flors,

Aquesta nit un mateix vent, and Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

Pixán, Joaquín and Alejandro Zabala. Poemas Musicados. CD, Barcelona Columna

Musica CM0083, 2001. (Includes Aureana do Sil.)

Pons, Josep, Virginia Parramon and Jerzy Artysz. Suburbis. CD, Arles, France, Harmonia

Mundi HMC 901482, 1993. (Includes Combat del somni - Damunt de tu només

les flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

Ricci, Anna and Angel Soler. Anna Ricci canta a Frederic Mompou y su entorno. CD,

Madrid RTVE Musica 65034, 1992. (Includes L’hora grisa, Canconeta incerta,

Quatre melodies, Comptines, Cancó de la fira, Cantar del alma, Sant Marti,

Primeros pasos, and Combat del somni.)

Salza, Herminia and Gustavo Tauschek. Ensueños- y olé! CD, Argentina, Piscitelli

Producciones P-011, 1998. (Includes Combat del Somni - Damunt de tu només les

flors, Aquesta nit un mateix vent, and Jo et pressentia com la mar.)

Serra de Larrocha, Olga and Josep Buforn. Canta! CD, Barcelona Santa Maria de

Palautordera 07010, 2007. (Includes Damunt de tu només les flors, Pastoral, and

La fausse morte.)

Supervía, Conchita. The Unknown Supervia. Orig. Record, 1929. Reissued CD, Pearl

Records GEMM CD 9969, 1992. (Includes L’hora grisa)

Supervia, Conchita. The Complete Conchita Supervia, Vol. 3. With Gaston Micheletti,

Andrée Vavon, Andrée Bernadet, Alejandro Vilalta, Ivor Newton, Pedro

Vallribera, Gustave Cloez, Antonio Capdevila, and Paul Minssart. Orig. recording

1930-1932. CD, Swarthmore, PA Marston 520602, 2008. (Includes L’hora grisa.)

151

Tintes- Schuermann, Helen and Winifred Goodwin. Para Entonces: Spanish Poetry in

20th-21st Century Song. CD, Newtown, CT, MSR Music MS1192, 2007.

(Includes Cantar del alma, Pastoral, and Llueve sobre el rio.)

Varela, Celestino. Las canciones de un tiempo CD, Avilés Norte Sur Records NS2046,

2007. (Includes Pastoral.)

152

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bendell, Christine Jean. “Federico Mompou: An Analytical and Stylistic Study of the

“Canciones Y Danzas “ for Piano.” DMA diss, University of Northern Colorado,

1983.

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Documents

essay committee

essay of lynell joy

essay supervisor

essay requirement

university of iowa iowa

style analysis

permission letter

doctor of musical arts