Tres peces acadèmiques

As the biographer of composer Francesc Taverna-Bech, I have very few clues to situating these three pieces. They date from 1976 when he was coming out of one of his periods of a certain innate pessimism, and yet he was also in a hopeful situation as in September 1976 his first son was born of his marriage with Pietat Homs. These works stand out from the rest of his compositions for their expressive confidence, the clear concept they abide by and a certain austerity in the score that demonstrates, once again, his desire to express the maximum content with the minimum possible notes. His admiration for Bela Bartok and Johann Sebastian Bach undoubtedly led him to offer this musical score. Indeed, the composer himself indicates in the choral part, “in the style of J. S. Bach”.
The firm Canon of the first piece, “Enérgico” (Energetic) as the composer indicates, exemplary in its clarity, is the gateway to the second work, Invenció (Invention) which is a development of the musical themes of the first, and with a complexity that seeks lightness builds a framework which, through projected outward, opens up an inner path to which the player needs to give depth. The third piece, Coral (Choral) is actually an eighteenth century model but with absolutely contemporary language. The three pieces were played for the first time in public 21 years later by pianist Mercedes Pomilio in the Argentinian city of Rosario.

Jordi Maluquer