Silenci

The text of “Silenci” is taken from POESIA CATALANA DEL SEGLE XX, written by Joseph M. Castellet and Joaquim Molas. It is derived from modern Catalan poetry of the 20th century, describing the silence of society. The Baroque tonal quality of the past rekindles the modern lyrics from the Catalan text. The purpose of this piece is to rekindle not only the use of Baroque techniques but a love for the Catalan language. The use of modern techniques in score writing (breath markings) allows for both the past and present to create a harmonic union.
The historical realism presented by the text offers the story of the Catalan language. At the end of the Civil War, silence came in a literary context, drying up a once thriving language. Maria A. Capmany, a well-known author, wrote that it was a time when the land was devastated by silence. This text refers to this dense, stiff silence. The minor key allows this dense silence to blind the listener’s sound, restricting the music’s and text’s scope. Vocal parts begin to overlap slowly lifting the dense, stiffness of the different inversions of the tonic chord. The shift between vocal parts in holding the focus and melody allows for the understanding that the many forms of silence are from many forms of people. The staccatos offer a march-like sound, which shows the power of standing for a cause. The fear found in this silence created a hopeless society.
The silence of the piece suggests the different types of silence found in society, whether not speaking or not referencing that of importance. It is a silence that murdered the language of the Catalan community. Yet, the music offers hope. The use of the picardy third allows the once unknown and unforeseen hope to become revealed.