Live life, love life

We may think of departed loved ones at any time of the year, but the memories are often particularly poignant as we’re about to see in a new year with all its promise.

Words can console. Like music, poetry speaks to the soul, and reminds us we all share in the ‘human condition’ no matter what colour, creed or political or sociological persuasion.  

Our dear departed could be saying this:

‘I want you to live while I wait for you, asleep.

I want your ears still to hear the wind, I want you

To sniff the sea’s aroma that we loved together,

To continue to walk on the sand we walk on.

I want what I love to continue to live.’

- From 100 Love Sonnets by Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

Open the door into a new year, and live life, love life.

Wishing all who read this a peaceful and healthy new year, 2018.

Cheeky Chapí et al

Monday, 6 January was a bank holiday in Spain – the celebration of the Three Kings. This, traditionally, is bigger than Christmas. That evening, Jen and I with our two visiting long-standing friends Margaret and Neil attended the New Year’s Concert at Torrevieja. Certainly, it wasn’t Vienna, but it was still great music and all tickets were sold out. It was a traditional new year concert with an enjoyable Spanish twist.

The orchestra of Torrevieja was conducted by José Francisco Sánchez, a diminutive man who exuded plenty of bravura and was clearly liked by his musicians. The orchestra was a good mix of males and females, many of them young, and they all played with gusto and fervour and enjoyed the whole performance.

 

The concert began with El Tambor de Granaderos (Prelude) by Ruperto Chapí y Lorente (1851-1909). Chapí wrote a large number of symphonic, band, choral and chamber works, as well as zarzuelas and operas. He was one of the most popular and important composers of his time. Many of the preludes to his zarzuelas (including those to El tambor de granaderos and La patria chica) have remained staple items in Spanish orchestral concerts, hence its inclusion here.

There followed Tchaikovsky’s Polonesa de ‘Eugene Onegin’ and Vals del Lago de Los Cisnes (Swan Lake).

Johann Strauss’ New Pizzicato Polka was rendered with great precision, one of several highlights of the night; this was followed by the Tik-Tak polka. The first half concluded with the Intermedio de la Boda de Luís Alonso (1897) by Gerónimo Giménez (1854-1923). He was commissioned by Chapí to write the openings to his zarzuelas El Milagro de la Virgen and La bruja. Giménez  was a prolific composer and his influence is often noticeable in the compositions of subsequent Spanish composers, such as Manuel de Falla. In 1939, Joaquín Rodrigo paid his respects with a Homenaje a la tempranica, which contained a solo part for castanets.

The second half began with the prelude to El Bateo (the baptism, 1901) by Federico Chueca (1846-1908). Chueca entered the conservatory aged eight, but his family later forced him to abandon music to study medicine. He was arrested in 1866 as a participant in the student demonstrations against the government. While he spent three days in the Madrid prison, he composed several waltzes that he entitled Lamentos de un preso ("Lamentations of a Prisoner"). Later, his works were orchestrated, and their success helped Chueca leave medicine and devote himself once more to music…

The rest of this half was dedicated to Johann Strauss – Tritsch-tratsch polka, Voices of Spring, the thunder and lightning polka and lastly the Blue Danube waltz, which was beautifully played.

Then we had a good ten minutes of encore music - The Champagne Gallop, a piece of orchestral music by the Danish composer Hans Christian Lumbye (1810–1874) which was written to celebrate the second anniversary of Copenhagen's Tivoli in 1845; this was complete with the traditional popping of corks! Next, the audience was in for a treat with witty and clever piece, The Typewriter (1950) by Leroy Anderson (1908-1975), a novelty instrumental first performed by the Boston Pops. One of the percussionists, the kettle drummer, brought out a typewriter: keystrokes, the typewriter bell, and the carriage return mechanism provide amusing components of the piece. In fact, the typewriter is modified so that only two keys work.

Finally, to be expected, the musical evening concluded with Strauss’ dedication to Field Marshal Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, The Radetsky March (1848).

 
This concert took place in Torrevieja’s controversial €40m auditorium; it has a symphony hall with 1,452 seats and a smaller hall with 384 seats. This evening’s event was in the symphony hall and was virtually full. The Concert Hall was opened over two years ago, but has only featured a handful of events since then. The extensive music conservatory for more than 240 students, as part of the complex, has never been used. Apparently, two nearby universities have expressed an interest in managing the music conservatory. To date, it is an underutilised gem.

Happy New Year, Salamanca!

Students in Salamanca celebrate New Year tonight (Thursday, 12 December).

Founded by Alfonso IX of Léon in 1218, Salamanca University is the oldest in Spain. Opposite is the statue of Fray Luis de Léon, who taught theology at the university; within, his former lecture room is preserved in its original style. The university’s ancient library houses some 40,000 volumes, while its modern counterpart contains over 165,000.

 

 

In its early days it made major contributions to the development of international law, and Columbus sought support for his voyages of  discovery from the enlightened faculty of astronomy. The university continued to flourish under the Reyes Católicos, even employing a woman professor, Batriz de Galindo. It resisted the Inquisition but extreme clericalism of the 17^th and 18^th centuries stifled free thought; books were banned as being a threat to the Catholic faith, and mathematics and medicine disappeared from the curriculum. Decline worsened when Napoleon’s armies demolished twenty of the 25 colleges. Salamanca is still a prestigious seat of learning and runs a highly successful language school.

The premature celebrations are held in the Plaza Mayor (Main Square). This magnificent square was built by Felipe V to thank the city for its support during the War of Spanish Succession, completed in 1755. Once used for bullfights, the square now belongs to shopping arcades, cafés and the people.

 

Instead of the Spanish tradition of eating 12 grapes as the clock chimes midnight, the students eat gummy sweets (ugh!). A sweet manufacturer in Madrid has even created a bag of sweets specifically for the occasion, with 12 grape-shaped sweets.

This celebration began in 1999 when a group of Salamanca students got together to celebrate the new year early before they parted for home at the end of term. They drank cava and ate sweets while the clock chimed. In subsequent years, more and more students took part and now it is organised by an event co-ordinator and supported by the city hall. The event is broadcast on Castilla y Leon regional TV.