American music and the funniest tunes, with Banda Municipal
The Recinte Modernista de l'Hospital de Sant Pau is hosting two concerts by the band on 19 and 26 July.
The Hospital de Sant Pau's Art Nouveau Site has been open to the public for two years now, and has become a space for leisure and culture that is not only a work of architectural art in itself, but also the perfect setting for cultural activities such as the two concerts given by the Banda Municipal de Barcelona on 19 and 26 July.
It all begins on Thursday, 19 July, in the early afternoon, when the Municipal Band sets up in the hall ready to recreate with its instruments (in the picture, a photograph showing aspects of the hall reflected on the surface of a metal instrument) the sounds of the USA.
The Band's first concert in Sant Pau is entitled Made in USA, and it will be a great opportunity to hear live performances of music created by great composers from the other side of the Atlantic.
Thus, among the pieces performed by the Municipal Band will be music by a classic of North American marches, John Philip Sousa (1854-1932) in a musical tribute entitled Sousa! Tribute to John Philip Sousa. The tributes continue with the music of another veteran North American composer of classical music and soundtracks, Aaron Copland (1900-1990) and with a musical tribute to Louis Armstrong entitled Satchmo! Also playing will be works by an essential figure in American musicals, Georges Gershwin, in the most symphonic vein; Leonard Bernstein and the soundtrack composer John Williams. Rafa Agulló is in charge of conducting the band in this concert.
Come back to the concert hall on 26th July and, this time, you will find Ximo Tarín conducting the Municipal Band. This time, also at 9 p.m., he will perform a series of musical Divertimenti, including the composition Iuventûs by the teacher, composer and conductor Carlos Pellicer. The piece, dedicated to the Youth Band of the Sociedad Musical La Tropical de Benigánim (Valencia) recreates the freshness, intensity and uncontrolled joy typical of youth.
Two pieces with the same title, Divertimento, by the American Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987) and the composer, conductor and musicologist Bernardo Adam Ferrero (1942- 2022) also form part of the programme, as does the piece Ballroom Bamboozles by the Dutch composer Hardy Mertens. Finally, don't miss the hilarious La mosca, a creation for symphonic band by the composer Óscar Navarro that musically simulates the flight of an insect over the different rhythmic sections of the group.
If you want to feel the sounds of America or have a good time with all kinds of musical entertainment, don't miss the two concerts of the Barcelona Municipal Band at the Recinte Modernista de Sant Pau, but first check the website for all the information about the event and book a ticket at L'Auditori.