Traditional Christmas Concert by the UAB Choir and Orchestra
The UAB christmas concert, which took place on 17 December, was directed by Marta Dosaiguas, Jesús Badia and Poire Vallvé, with the performances of works by C. Schumann, J. C. Bach, B. Bartók and contemporary authors such as J. M. Serrat, Coldplay and Sidnéad O’Connor, in addition to the traditional Catalan Christmas carol Nit de vetlla.
This year, the UAB Choir and Orchestra offered a variety of songs at the traditional Christmas concert. There was a commemoration performance for the 200th anniversary of the birth of German pianist and composer Clara Schumann. Several popular music and singer/songwriter pieces were also performed, as well as a call to the end of the climate emergency with songs by Sidnéad O’Connor, Coldplay and Joan Manuel Serrat.
The UAB Orchestra began with pieces from the early Classical period, represented by the symphony J.C. Bach wrote from the opening of the operas La clemenza di Scipione and Amadis de Gaule, something quite common in those times in which symphonies had not yet been defined stylistically. Together with his brother Carl Philipp Emanuel, he became an influence to the two great composers who consolidated symphonies such as Haydn and Mozart. The orchestra then interpreted Romanian dances that Hungarian composer Béla Bartók composed in suite format in 1917 based on popular Romanian music. He composed them during a time of consternation when his country had entered an open war with Romania.
The end of the concert included the choir and orchestra interpreting Nit de vetlla, one of the most traditional Christmas carols of Catalonia.
CONCERT PROGRAMME
Part I
UAB Choir:
In This Heart - Sinead O'Connor
Gondoliera - Clara Schumann
Abendfeier in Venedig - Clara Schumann
California Dreamin' - John Philips & Michelle Gilliam
Viva la Vida - Coldplay
UAB Chamber Choir:
El Musclo - Manuel Oltra / Pere Quart
La nuit - Rameau
An Irish Blessing
UAB Choir:
Secrets of Cosmos - Poire Vallvé / Lisa Randall
Vuelie (from the film Frozen) - Frode Fjellheim & Michelle Gilliam
Pare - Joan Manuel Serrat / Francesc Vila
PART II
UAB Orchestra:
Symphony in R Major (W Clnc2-ca.1785) - Johann Christian Bach (1735-1782)
Allegro assai - Andante - Allegro assai
Popular Dances from Romania (1915) - Béla Bartók (1881-1945)
Joc cu Bâtâ (dance with sticks)
Brâul (dance with sashes)
Pe loc (dance with kicks)
Buciumeana (dance with a horn)
Poargà Româneascà (polka) -Màruntel-I (fast-pace dance)-Màruntel-II
PART III
UAB Choir and Orchestra:
Nit de Vetlla - Popular Catalan song. Harmonisation by Francesc Civil (1895-1990)