Vistes al mar

"It is undeniable that the work of Eduard Toldrà (1895-1962) can only be correctly understood within the cultural framework of Catalonia prior to the Spanish Civil War and the personal circumstances of his manifold, yet logical, artistic evolution. In fact, he is usually classified as a representative of "Noucentisme", a cultural-political movement at the beginning of the XXth century in Catalonia. The only reference to the Noucentisme's musical expression in the Gran Enciclopèdia Catalana is an article by Albert Manent and Francesc Fontbona which speaks of "…the musical intimacy of Eduard Toldrà's songs, he who set Carner's El giravolt de maig to music" and to "the short and carefully-written compositions by Frederic Mompou, which act as a counterpoint to Wagner's monumental art so idolized by the Modernists. In Toldrà's case, however, this relationship was not so much a strict adherance -not even a theoretical reflection- as S spontaneous personal affinity. Toldrà came from a modest family and soon developed an irrepressible vocation. At the same time, he practiced his profession on many levels with exemplary dignitiy and in conditions which were not always gratifying. His talent lay in his musical and communicative abilities; his musical education was more intuitive than strictly academic and his cultural and literary preferences were a reflection of the innate quality of his sensitivity. The essence of what we call "Noucentisme" in Toldrà's music is also part of a generational factor; specifically, we find (apart from personal characteristics which are difficult to define) an absence of rhetorical artifice, purity of discourse, brightness and transparent sonority, a visceral aversion to any apparent speculation and, especially, poetical inspiration (not only literary or programatic) that forms the basis of his music with text as well as a great deal of his instrumental compositions.

We should also note that the greater part of Toldrà's output is during the period 1920-1936, an equally significant period for Catalan poetry. As we have already said, this symbiosis of music and poetry in Toldrá's production is not restricted to his vocal music (the Catalan "Lieder" that show his literary affinities and the opera El giravolt de maig in which the poetical sense and lieder-like character are far removed from the Modernist's attempt to create, a Catalan lyric theatre) but also finds expression in his two most significant chamber works: the quartet Vistas al mar (1920) and the Sis Sonets for violin and piano.

The ten years Toldrà devoted to the Quartet Renaixement (1911-1921) which he himself founded at the age of sixteen and which played such an important role in Catalan musical life, represent a decisive impulse in his musical education; and really, with the break-up of the group we can establish a dividing line between Toldrà the violinist and Toldrà the composer. After that his creative ability came to the foreground, even though the first work he considered his own (in spite of earlier attempts) was the Quartet in c minor, dated 1914, which we now present in its very first recording.

It won the Premi Olot in 1919. Since that time It has gone unpublished, although the Quartet Renaixement performed it often with Toldrà playing first violin, Toldrà's opera prima shows us to what extent this very young Catalan musician identified with the great music he discovered In his first passionate and decisive professional experience as a string quartet player. The result, however, easily goes beyond the limits of a simple exercise in style because of the sureness and the spirit with which he tackles the classic/romantic form.

Mendelssohns's Influence may be felt hovering, in the distance; this, certainly, would be very agreeable with Toldrà's personal communicability. Six years later, the three movements of his Quartet Vistes al mar (an absolutely, classic example of Catalan music in the first third of the XXth century) shows us a composer very much at home with himself, although he never considered originality to be his chief aim.

Once again, Toldrà found a stimulus for his inspiration in a specific poetical model -Joan Maragall's three poems which head the score: "La ginesta" (allegro con brio), Allà a les llunyanies de la mar" (lento), "La mar estava alegre" (molto vivace)- now recreated in purely musical terms. Without any descriptive concession, each movement formally develops a musical material -melodic, rhythmic or motivic- quite suitable and suggestive of the poetical atmosphere he wishes to express, without being academic or stereotyped and including a number of daring tonal modulations.

Vistes al mar can best be understood as expressing a specific period in the civic and cultural history of Catalonia; we must, therefore, take this context into account (including its objective musical qualities) if we want an overall evaluation of it. After the Spanish Civil War a drastic change took place in the city's life which had important consequences Toldrà became increasingly involved in orchestral conducting. Personally, we heard him comment, on the great difficulty of being a composer in the second half of the twentieth century and his wish to devote more of his time to composition after retiring as conductor of the Barcelona City Philharmonic Orchestra. His death prevented him from doing this,. Nevertheless, we can only wonder how Eduard Toldrà would have assimilated and personalized his experiences as one of the most competent conductors of a good number of twentieth century works. This question, unfortunately, will have to go unanswered."