Suite Rovira i Virgili (Cor i Orquestra)

This Suite was composed on poems from the books La Collita Tardana [The Late Harvest] and La Collita Darrera [The Last Harvest] by the journalist, writer and politician Antoni Rovira i Virgili (1882–1949), born in Tarragona. My wish was to manage to capture his innermost intention, the essence and aroma that lay hidden among his words, the feelings, thoughts and memories that emanate from poems written in exile, with the intention of making the music vibrate in harmony.

The work was the result of a commission from Montserrat Ríos, conductor of the URV Chorus, and Miquel Massana, conductor of the URV Orchestra, to celebrate the 30th and 20th anniversaries, respectively, of the two ensembles. It is dedicated to them as well as to the URV (Rovira i Virgili University) itself.

I would also like to dedicate it to the author’s memory and to his family, to whom I am grateful for enabling me to explore his environment more deeply; and also to all the refugees who still today unfortunately have to flee their countries in very difficult and extreme circumstances, in the hope that music and poetry will help us to make a more just and peaceful world. My thanks to all those of you who have supported me in some way during the process.

Each of the pieces in the Suite can be performed independently. The version for chorus and orchestra is also available.

Carlota Baldrís