The Music of Catalonia

Catalan music—classical and modern—is a deep subject, and one full of surprises.

Catalans stick to tradition like glue, and it's a constant wonder how a people so modern and sophisticated can be at the same time so ethnic. West of the Ukraine, it doesn't get any more folkloric than the Catalans dancing the sardana, as they do every Sunday in front of the Cathedral. The music is unclaimed 19th century popular tunes that may drive non-Catalans crazy; the purpose is patriotic, cultural affirmation.

Folk tunes survive in many forms, mostly in arrangements for choir or classical guitar, like this one, the Canço del Lladre (Thief's lullaby).

Choral singing has always been a passionate affair here. In Barcelona, even bureaucrats can sing. The revival of choral music was an important part of the 19th-century cultural Renaixença, and it was a choral society, the Orfeo Catalá, that built the spectacular Palau de la Musica.