Jump to content
Main menu
Main menu
move to sidebar
hide
Navigation
Main page
Recent changes
Random page
Help about MediaWiki
Special pages
Niidae Wiki
Search
Search
Appearance
Create account
Log in
Personal tools
Create account
Log in
Pages for logged out editors
learn more
Contributions
Talk
Editing
Palau de la Música Catalana
(section)
Page
Discussion
English
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Tools
move to sidebar
hide
Actions
Read
Edit
View history
General
What links here
Related changes
Page information
Appearance
move to sidebar
hide
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Building== ===Location=== The palace is located in the corner of a cramped street, Carrer Palau de la Música, and Carrer de Sant Pere Mes Alt, in the section of old Barcelona known as ''Casc Antic''. Most of the other prominent ''modernista'' buildings, those designed by [[Antoni Gaudí]], for example, are located in the chic 19th-century extension of the city known as the [[Eixample]]. ===Design=== The design of the palace is typical of Catalan modernism in that curves predominate over straight lines, dynamic shapes are preferred over static forms, and rich decoration that emphasizes floral and other organic motifs is used extensively. In contrast to many other buildings built in the modernisme style, however, it must also be said that the design of the palace is eminently rational. It pays strict attention to function and makes full use of the most up-to-date materials and technologies available at the beginning of the 20th century (e.g., steel framing). As Tim Benton has commented:<ref name="Benton"/> : "To eyes unaccustomed to the architecture of Barcelona, the impression of a riot of ornament lacking any logic or control seems overwhelming. And yet the building follows exactly the exhortations of the [architectural] rationalists. The structure, in brick and iron, is clearly expressed." Actually, its walls are the first example of [[Curtain wall (fortification)|curtain wall]] structures. The wealthy citizens of Barcelona, who were becoming ever more sympathetic to the ''Renaixença'' at the time the palace was built, asked its architect for building materials and techniques that symbolized the Catalan character. In response, he commissioned and gave great creative freedom to a variety of local artisans and craftsmen to produce the fabulous ornamentation, sculpture, and decorative structural elements for which the palace is famous. ===Façade=== [[Image:Modernisme.jpg|right|thumb|upright|Miquel Blay's sculptural group (''The Catalan song'') on the corner.]] The rich decoration of the façade of the palace, which incorporates elements from many sources, including traditional Spanish and Arabic architecture, is successfully married with the building's structure. The exposed red brick and iron, the mosaics, the stained glass, and the glazed tiles were chosen and situated to give a feeling of openness and transparency. Even [[Miguel Blay]]'s massive sculptural group symbolizing Catalan music on the corner of the building does not impede the view into or out from the interior (see photograph). As Carandell and co-authors (2006, 20) have pointed out, in the palace "the house as a defense and protected inner space has ceased to exist". Two colonnades enjoy a commanding position on the second-level balcony of the main façade. Each column is covered uniquely with multicolored glazed tile pieces in mostly floral designs and is capped with a candelabrum that at night blazes with light (see photograph). Above the columns are large busts of [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], and [[Ludwig van Beethoven]] on the main façade and [[Richard Wagner]] on the side. The top of the main façade is graced by a large allegoric mosaic by Lluís Bru that represents the members of the Orfeó Català, but it is impossible to see it clearly from the narrow street below. [[Image:DiM PalaudelaMusica 6345.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Former ticket box, in an entrance pillar.]] [[File:Mosaic at palau de la música catalana.jpg|right|thumb|Mosaic on balcony façade]] [[Image:Palau de musica 2.JPG|right|thumb|A detail from the entrance]] ===Entrance=== Originally, guests entered the palace from the street through two arches supported by thick pillars that opened into the vestibule. The former ticket windows, which are located in the center pillar, are beautiful concentric arches adorned with floral mosaics of various materials created by Lluís Bru. ===Vestibule, staircases, and foyer=== The ceiling of the vestibule is decorated with glazed [[Ceramic art|ceramic molding]]s that are arranged in the shape of stars. From the vestibule, on the left and right, grand marble staircases ascend from between crowned lamps on columns to bring visitors to the second floor. The balustrades of the staircases, also marble, are supported by unusual transparent yellow glass balusters. The underside of the staircases is covered with tiles that form gleaming canopies on either side of the vestibule. Today, guests generally enter the palace through the [[foyer]], which was created in the renovations of Tusquets and Díaz from what originally were the headquarters of the Orfeó Català. The large space of the foyer is more soberly decorated than the rest of the palace, but the wide exposed brick arches with their marvelous glazed green, pink, and yellow ceramic flowers recapitulate the ornamentation of the rest of building. The foyer features a large counter where tapas and beverages can be served to concert-goers or visitors who are touring the building. The bar is situated between massive pillars of brick and is illuminated from behind by expansive stained-glass panes that are suspended above it. A glass case in the foyer displays the Orfeó Català's banner, which bears its crest embroidered on fabric in the modernisme style. [[Image:Palau de la Musica Catalana - foyer.jpg|thumb|Vestibule and staircase]] ===Lluís Millet hall=== The [[Lluís Millet]] hall is a salon located on the second floor of the palace that is named after one of the founders of the Orfeó Català. The hall is a popular gathering place for concert-goers and also serves as a teaching area for visitors touring the building. From floor to ceiling the hall is two stories high and affords views of the intricate mosaics on the two rows of columns outside its windows that are much better than those available from the street. It is ornated by several bronze busts of musicians related to the palace: Lluís Millet and [[Amadeu Vives]] (Orfeó Català founders), [[Pablo Casals]], [[Eduard Toldrà]] (founder and first conductor of the [[Orquestra Simfònica de Barcelona|Orquestra Municipal de Barcelona]]), [[Just Cabot]] (Orfeó Català president) and pianist [[Rosa Sabater]]. ===Concert hall=== [[File:Palau - Vitrall platea.jpg|right|thumb|Stained-glass skylight]] :''The concert hall is one of the most beautiful in the world (...) without exaggeration. It is one of its most important architectural treasures. Its pace, simple, complex, mystical and paradoxical, defies accurate description.'' -David Mackay<br /> (Quoted in Carandell et al. 2006, 62) The concert hall of the palace, which seats about 2,200 people, is the only auditorium in Europe that is illuminated during daylight hours entirely by natural light. The walls on two sides consist primarily of stained-glass panes set in magnificent arches, and overhead is an enormous skylight of stained glass, designed by Antoni Rigalt, whose centerpiece is an inverted dome in shades of gold surrounded by blue that suggests the sun and the sky. The architectural decoration in the concert hall is a masterpiece of creativity and imagination, yet everything has been carefully considered for its utility in the presentation of music. The hall is not a theater, because the massive sculptures flanking the stage make the use of scenery nearly impossible. Likewise, even though a noble pipe [[Organ (music)|organ]] graces the apse-like area above and behind the stage, the hall is not a church. [[Image:Palau de la Música - Escenari.JPG|thumb|left|Stage with the muses in the background]] The dominant theme in the sumptuous sculptural decor of the concert hall is choral music, something that might be expected in an auditorium commissioned by a choral society. A choir of young women surrounds the "sun" in the stained-glass skylight, and a bust of [[Josep Anselm Clavé|Anselm Clavé]], a famous choir director who was instrumental in reviving Catalan folk songs, is situated on the left side of the stage, under a stone tree. Seated beneath this statue are sculpted girls singing the Catalan song ''Les Flors de Maig'' (''The Flowers of May''). The whole arch over the front of the stage was sculpted by Dídac Masana and [[Pablo Gargallo]]. On the right side is depicted the 'Ride of the Valkyries' from Wagner's opera ''[[Die Walküre]]''. Under the Valkyries and among two [[Doric columns]] is a bust of Beethoven. The arch thus represents folk music on the left and classical music on the right, both united at the top of the arch. [[File:Palau de la Música - Escultures d'Eusebi Arnau.JPG|thumb|The muses on the right side, with one showing the [[coat of arms of Austria]] and [[double-headed eagle]]]] In a semicircle on the sides of the back of the stage are the figures of 18 young women popularly known as the '[[muses]]'.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Cazurra |first=Anna |title=The Symbolism of the Muses of the Palau de la Música Catalana |journal=Music in Art: International Journal for Music Iconography |volume=27 |issue=1–2 |date=2002 |pages=116–126 |issn=1522-7464}}</ref> The upper bodies were sculpted by Eusebi Arnau and the mosaic work of their lower bodies was created by Lluís Bru. The monotone upper bodies of the women protrude from the wall and their lower bodies are depicted by colorful mosaics that form part of the wall. Each of the women is playing a different musical instrument, and each is wearing a different skirt, blouse, and headdress of elaborate design. In the middle between the two groups is a mosaic of the [[coat of arms of Catalonia]]. The muse to the right of the Catalan coat of arms is the only one that depicts on her dress the [[coat of arms of Austria]] and [[double-headed eagle]] of the [[Spanish Habsburgs]] dynasty. The sculptures of winged horses that enjoy a commanding position in the upper balcony are in honour of [[Pegasus]], the horse of [[Greek mythology]] and the symbol of high-flying imagination. In each of the vaults between the pillars and the glass walls, there is a white tile medallion, bordered with laurel green leaves, with the names of notable musicians. To the left of the stage, starting from it: [[Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina|Palestrina]], [[J. S. Bach]], [[Carissimi]], [[Beethoven]] and [[Chopin]]; to the right: [[Tomás Luis de Victoria|Victoria]], [[Handel]], [[Mozart]], [[Gluck]] and [[Wagner]]. On the wall between the ceilings of the main room and that of the back of the second floor of the same room, there are four more ceramic medallions, which synthesize the history of [[Catalan music]]: [[Joan Brudieu]], Mateu Fletxa el Vell, [[Anselm Viola i Valentí]], [[Domènec Terradellas]] and [[Josep Anselm Clavé]]. Robert Hughes has noted how the non-soundproof glass walls of the palace impact the acoustics of the hall: : "...there was never a shortage of complaint about its acoustic conditions - which, since its glass walls carry music like drum skins, have always been awful."<ref name="Hughes">Hughes, Robert, ''Barcelona''. Alfred A. Knopf (New York), {{ISBN|0-394-58027-3}}, pp. 462-463 (1992).</ref>
Summary:
Please note that all contributions to Niidae Wiki may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here.
You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see
Encyclopedia:Copyrights
for details).
Do not submit copyrighted work without permission!
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)
Search
Search
Editing
Palau de la Música Catalana
(section)
Add topic