Sardana

Sardana [ sərðanə ] is a Catalan folk dance. Spread the Sardanes are mainly in the Spanish Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the French northern Catalonia, where they are found wherever Catalans come together to celebrate.

Introduction

The dancers hold in a circle on the hands, as in a circle dance moves the circle around the left and right, in alternating pace, but usually slow, focused and serious. As a national symbol of the Catalan Sardana was banned under Franco long time.

The dancers need to count the short and long steps and jumps exactly. For the music Cobla, an eleven-member orchestra, makes a senior musician with his left hand a dreilöchrige Hand Flute, the Flabiol, and with his right hand a small drum, the Tamborí ( sometimes also called tabal ) plays. The Cobla consists of a total of five wood - and five brass and the double bass.

From the basic type, a distinction is the older " Sardana curta " (German: short Sardana ) and the more modern " Sardana llarga " (Eng.: long Sardana ). In addition to pure dance sardanas there are also concert sardanas and sardanas that are added to a chorus part.

A very famous Sardana, for example, La Santa Espina.

Structure of the dance

The Sardana consists of a specific sequence of dance movements of short ( " tirada de Curt ", called " Curt " ) and long ( " tirada de llargs ", called " llargs " ) steps. The " Curt's " keep all the dancers hands down while they raise this with the " llargs " upwards. Each Sardana is opened by a short prelude that to some extent the Listen-In and Counting of dancers is, by the Flabiol, one-handed flute. Then follow two " Curt " and two times two " llargs ". The last two " llargs ' shall be initiated by the Flabiol as a solo instrument with a" counterpoint ". Because of the complexity of the 2/4 or 6 /8 time pattern and the clock division is an experienced dancers during the dance explicitly counting the pace. This clock needs to know the entire piece of music and mentally anticipate so that it can lead to end the dance with a matching step combinations.

The Cobla, the Sardana Orchestra

The Cobla is the popular Catalan Sardana Dance Orchestra. This orchestra has since the beginning of the 20th century following eleven -member standard instrumentation with twelve instruments on:

In its origins to the mid-19th century joined the cast of Cobla depending on the availability of the musicians and the respective venue. So at performances outdoors more, at performances in halls or warehouses smaller ensembles were put together. When occupations were at that time the so-called "tres quartans " ( three musicians play 4 instruments) that " enteres cobles " ( the full Cobla with 4 musicians ), the " Mitges cobles " ( half Cobla with only two musicians ) and the widespread, especially in the Roussillon " cobla rossellonesa " (with 6 musicians ) are used. These always have the following basic instruments were used: the flabiol that tamborí that cornamusa (a type of bagpipe) and the tarota, a shepherd's pipe. These were usually supplemented by a tible or Tenora.

The around the middle of the 19th century newly introduced in the brass valve technology led to the development of these instruments and in a creative process of finding the final composition of the Cobla. The Brass newly included into the ensemble ( The flugelhorn or fiscorn, the trumpet or the Trombo and a second Tenora ) occurred in a wonderful balance with the old wood wind instruments. The bass has Pep Ventura, the first tangible Sardanakomponist (see below ), even introduced into the ensemble. The flabiol and be tamborí by the same musicians played simultaneously. This Spielmann practice was widespread in the 13th century all over Europe. Today the Pyrenees ( Basque Country and Catalonia ) apply worldwide to develop this technique as a last reserve. End of the 19th century, today known composition of Cobla stabilized.

The Cobla is thus characterized by a successful combination of medieval woodwind and brass instruments of the 19th century extended to elements of the medieval minstrel of practice. Its characteristic sound is due to the blaring Schalmeienton the two tenors and two patible ago. The Brass give the orchestra the extensive volume. The melody has mostly held the first Tenora.

Motifs, themes and Dress Code

Thematically sing the sardanas very often the landscape and the Catalan people related motives. For example, portrays the Sardana " L' Empordà " the rise of the fertile, flat, coastal landscape of the Empordà as a result of love between a mermaid of the Mediterranean and a shepherd from the Pyrenees, leaving the inhospitable mountains with his flock in the winter to to survive on the coastal plain. Here forfeit the shepherd of the love of a siren. The end of the song in Catalan is: " ... i de l' amor plantar Mata's church, fou L' Empordà " to German: "... and from this love, they created their home. So both the librettist and the composer Joan Maragall this Sardana from 1908 was the Empordà " Enric Morera in Catalonia enjoy the highest esteem.

Because of their principled " cosmopolitanism " - everyone can occur at any time in a Sardana - circle precisely when it is then itself felt - there are no clothing optional or dress code for dancing the Sardana. There you will find dancers in Freizeitrobe easier, but just as it is possible that businessmen engage in business dress or public also nationalities in their specific Landesrobe (this, above all, in Barcelona) in the dance scene. Nevertheless, there are frequently in the Catalan folk art drawn, but at least no longer encountered in real life ideal of a Sardana dance circle in which all the dancers dancing in the traditional Catalan peasant costume. At this costume include the following elements: The charges of the two ladies in the picture traditional Catalan hairnets ( cat.: XARXA ), which are similarly created like a fishing net of nodes and threads. The red ( for younger men) / dark purple ( more sedate for men ages) Catalan, supported by Messrs. Bauer cap ( cat.: barretina ), which is also carried by the men, mostly black cummerbund ( cat.: faixa ) ( the left figure supported by the left men) and of course the well-known in Germany for ladies and gentlemen alike borne espardenyes. It remains, however, the Sardana has long been emancipated clothing moderately and everyone in his typical for his stand or work clothing must, can and should bring to the dance circle and be easily integrated.

History

The " early history " of the Sardana is still in its infancy very inaccurate. Some researchers find their origin in magical dances of the early Iberian peninsula, while others see him in imitation of movements of the stars in the sky. So are the " Curt " movements of certain stars in the night sky and the " llargs " symbolize the movement of the sun. Still other researchers see the Sardana relics of the Cretan culture, mediated by the Iberians, continue to live to this day. After Jacint Verdaguer the Sardana has already been described in In Old Greece from Homer ... It comes from Sardus, " a son of Heracles from that occupied that island in the Mediterranean, which he then gave his name to Sardinia. And so the original form of the Sardana ultimately to the Atlantean culture may reject, because the Apollonian harmony of the dance, the music, steps and circular figure seems to follow the original Star rhythms ".

In the 14th century, the medieval " Llibre Vermell " describes a "ball Rodó " a round dance, which the " Romeus " ( pilgrims on their way to Rome ) danced on the mountain massif of Montserrat and the Montserrat Monastery itself. This is likely to have been a early form of today's Sardana. The word " Sardana " itself emerged only on in the 16th century documents. Both the common people and the rulers are said to have practiced this dance, a clear indication of the lasting until today social integration power of this dance. Even at the Castilian court to dance the Sardana without, however, mention that there is a Catalan dance. The linguist and Hofgeistliche Sebastián de Covarrubias y Horozco (1539-1612), who has the first etymological dictionary of the Spanish language written, writes about this in this 1611 Tesoro de la lengua castellana: Among the older dances " the sardanas and other dances were now introduced ".

Since the beginning of the 19th century, the Sardana is easily grasped as a music genre. It develops in the context of the romantic return to the Catalan language and culture to the identity- folk dance par excellence. Pep Ventura (also known as " Pep de la Tenora " real name " Josep Maria Ventura i Casas ", * 1817 in Alcalá la Real, Andalusia, † 1875 in Figueras, Catalonia ) is the first known Sardana composer. He learned about 1840 in Perpignan know the there still practiced Cobla - making music and developed it specifically Catalan Sardana. He wrote over 400 pieces that Tenora has evolved (wind instrument of Cobla ) to its present form, and finally determined the overall composition of Cobla binding. Original note sets secures the Orfeó Català ( Catalan Music Society) in Barcelona. Venturas contemporary Miquel pardas i Roure, an excellent Sardana dancers, wrote in 1850 in Figueras, the first Sardana school. Then Coblas were founded in many cities and the Sardana sat on her triumphal march. A festival in honor of the Spanish queen Isabel II (1830-1904) was celebrated in 1860 in Catalonia, with large Sardana festivals. The reawakening ( Renaixença ) of the Catalan language and culture was celebrated in 1902 with a large Sardana - Barcelona meeting.

For the etymology of the word " Sardana "

The origin of the name is not known with absolute certainty. According to the linguist Joan Coromines some evidence for believing that the name originally from the Catalan form of an adjective Cerdaña ( Cerdà m, Cerdaña f ) is derived, which means "from the Cerdanya arise " or in our context, " how in the Cerdanya dances ". The Cerdanya ( in no case to be confused with the toponym and the island of Sardinia, Catalan Sardenya ) is a landscape in the eastern Pyrenees. The previously oldest known document on Sardana in Catalan to 1577 comes from the Arxiu Municipal d' Olot (city archive of Olot, Garrotxa, Catalonia ). Here is the provision: " It is forbidden to the Sardana and other indecent dances to dance " ( in Old Catalan: " que.s prohibescha lo ball de la sardana y altres balls desonests ..."). There are also many early citations for the word in Spanish ( Castilian ) language. Here especially well the transition from the notation " Cerdaña " about " Cardana " ( in the Castilian - French dictionary d' Oudin in the edition of 1616, in the edition of 1607 is not included) to " sardana " be pursued. When the Sardana mid-19th century in the Empordà by Figueras starting came to life, it was probably in the Cerdanya, in their region of origin, no longer known. The theory presented above for Etymology represented F. Pujol and J. Amades in their " Diccionari de la dansa ". , Who then disseminated among the Etruscans and Sardinians The thesis of the philologist Pella i Forges, the Iberians learned after this dance in Asia and the latter have had a namesake, given today's source material (2006) can not be represented.

The Sardana and the Catalans

In Barcelona, ​​the Sardana is danced every Sunday at 18:30 clock on the Plaça de Sant Jaume and noon on the square in front of the Cathedral La Seu. It is also in many festivals and special, some -day meetings, the Aplecs listed. Since 1960, each year is named a Catalan city to " Ciutat de la Sardana pubilla ", heiress and guardian of the Sardana tradition. This was the case in 1960 Girona, Lleida in 1961, 1968 and 1979 Olot Barcelona. 2010, the city situated on the Costa Brava L' Escala to 50th " Ciutat de la Sardana pubilla " was chosen. Even today the southern French town of Banyuls 1977 was included in this tradition with care. The respective city hosts the end of April a large Sardana Festival. The Catalan musician Pau Casals on such an Pubillatge ( Olot, 1968) to " Sardana and the Catalans '

195677
de