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INSIGHTS ABOUT THE PROJECT
Converses (Catalan word for conversations) is an album for solo violin where musician Bernat Bofarull performs entirely new works by composer and double bassist Jan Fité.
However, the album you have in your hands is more than just an album. It is the result of the artistic harmony between a performer and a composer. A friendship built and grounded in artistic dialogue, in endless discussions, and in imaginative digressions that have shaped the creation of this album.
During the long hours spent together, the performer found himself reflected in the composer’s music, while the composer was equally inspired by the performer’s understanding and transmission of music. This close and fluid dialogue between both artists is the reason why the album is titled Converses.
Nonetheless, what adds a unique element to this project is that throughout the album, five duets for violin and double bass (titled Converses) are interspersed, linking the main solo violin pieces (Almavera, Sinera, Silva, and Sospir trencat).
These duets, played on the double bass by the composer himself, contain motifs and musical elements from the main works, making them both a piece and a bridge. With these duets, the album becomes a journey from start to finish, guiding the listener through the various worlds suggested by each piece and materializing the idea of conversation within the music itself.
THE PROCESS AND THE WORKS
We met within the ranks of the Orquestra Simfònica Camera Musicae (now Franz Schubert Filharmonia). It was from there that we started playing together in various chamber groups, most notably Murtra Ensemble. After countless trips, rehearsals and concerts, and realizing that we shared similar – or at least complementary – interests and views on music and art in general, in 2018, Jan showed Bernat a piece he had written some time before for solo violin (titled Sinera), which Bernat immediately embraced, incorporating it into his concerts. Without realizing it, this was the birth of the album Converses.
Bernat’s over 20-year relationship with the theatre company Títeres Etcétera marked the next chapter of this story. Enrique Lanz and Yanisbel Victoria Martínez, from the Granada troupe Títeres Etcétera, were eager to return to small-scale productions and create a new show with just one actress and one musician, for which they counted on Bernat’s collaboration. Faced with this challenge and after months of exploration and various trials, Bernat introduced Jan’s music to the company through the piece Sinera. The spirit of the piece aligned with what Enrique and Yanisbel were looking for, and soon a mutual interest developed between the company and the composer. This led first to the creation of the bucolic triptych Silva, and the following year, to the incidental music for the play Almavera, sonata para violín y títeres, which premiered in Granada in the summer of 2021. Naturally, as one might imagine, Bernat was the unifying figure throughout this entire process, as well as the performer in the perfomances.
After these shared experiences, the idea arose to record the works in an album, including Sinera, Almavera – in this case as a concert suite version – and Silva. However, we wanted the album to be more than just a mere recording of the works. It had to illustrate the spirit of artistic dialogue between a performer and a composer. Out of this desire to capture the artistic symbiosis that had developed over the years, the violin and double bass duets titled Converses were born, later joined by the works Meditació (also for violin and double bass) and Sospir trencat for solo violin.
Performing these duets together not only brings cohesion and direction to the album compositionally, but it also takes us back to where it all began, when we played together in orchestras and chamber groups, thus closing the circle.
Therefore, we simply hope that the listener experiences the album as a portrait of a friendship translated into music, as a collection of seemingly isolated pieces that, in reality, act as a whole from beginning to end, and as a glimpse into our musings, which we now dare to share, allowing them to no longer be just ours.
SCORES & ALBUM
If you are interested in the scores of any of the pieces included in the album, contact us, and we will provide them to you.
Si estàs interessat en les partitures d'alguna de les peces incloses a l'àlbum, contacta'ns i te les enviarem.
Si estás interesado en las partituras de alguna de las piezas del álbum, contáctanos y te las enviaremos.
Album available in physical format. Contact us, and we will send it to you.
Àlbum disponible en format físic. Contacta'ns i te l'enviarem.
Álbum disponible en formato físico. Contáctanos y te lo enviaremos.
Published by Aglae Música