Pica de peus
Els esclops de Pau
La dansa-sa
La sardana de l’avellana
La solipanta
Napoleó
Volta cap aqui
Last updated: 07/01/2016 20:59
The songs below are part of ‘Joan del Rui’ The Catalan collection
compiled,
adapted, translated and illustrated by Dany Rosevear
To listen to music from these
songs click on O
To watch the
author sing a song click on the title at:
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games for children’ home page
Why a
separate Catalan collection?
My
intention in researching Catalan songs was to add just a small number to my
original Spanish collection. However it was obvious from the outset that this
region of Spain is a particularly rich source of wonderful music and rhythms
and before long I had assembled and translated a dedicated compilation of
singing games and dances.
Many
of these had been accessed on the internet in the form of videos. The dances
themselves should be self evident from the directions given but I would urge
anyone who would like to introduce these songs in the Catalan language to
classes of children to illustrate the dances using these videos as a model to
copy on their whiteboards.
I have
recently begun to sing these songs on YouTube – mostly in translation as they
can be found online in the Catalan language!
© Dany Rosevear 2008 All rights reserved
You
are free to copy, distribute, display and perform these works under the
following conditions:
·
you must give the original author credit
·
you may not use this work for commercial purposes
·
for any re-use or distribution, you must make clear to others the
licence terms of this work
·
any of these can be waived if you get permission from the copyright
holder
Your
fair use and other rights are no way affected by the above.
The
Catalan Collection
Catalan
pronunciation
Spoken
Catalan like Spanish is quite distinctive from spoken English. The more
distinctive sounds of letters in the words of the songs are provided to aid
pronunciation in the guide below. The letters not listed are pronounced
approximately as in English.
a stressed sounds like ah (father) as
in pa
a unstressed sounds like a (sugar) as
in porta
e open sounds like e (met) at the beginning or within a word as in nen
e closed sounds like e (they) at the beginning or within a word as in llet
i sounds like ee (feet) as
in nit
e sounds like ay at the end of
a word as in leche
o sounds like oa (boat) as
in boca
u sounds like oo (boot) as
in una
b is silent after m as
in amb
c sounds like c (acid) before the letters i and e as in cel
ç sounds like c (acid) as
in canço
g (before e and i) and j sounds like sh
(vision) as in pàgina jeure
g sounds like h (hallo) before the letters i and e as in gente
h is always silent unless the word is of foreign origin
ll sounds like lli (million) as
in llapis
p is silent after m as
in llamp
v at the beginning of a word sounds like b as in vi
rr sounds
like a Scottish r as in
carro
v sounds
like b as in vaca
s and z sounds like z (zoo)
as
in casa zero
u is silent after g
and q as
in gue qui
x at the beginning of a word or after l, n, r sounds like sh as in xarop
There are many sites on line
that provide help with pronunciations
Catalan
punctuation
Written
Catalan like Spanish is distinctive from written English; fewer capitals are
used at the beginning of each line of verse, exclamation and question marks are
used both at the beginning and end of sentences. However, for familiarity I
have usually conformed to the English model when writing Catalan verse.
Els esclops d'en Pau O The origin of this pulse
keeping game is to be found in the rituals of the harvest. Find this dance and a
passing game at: http://blocs.xtec.cat/musicaidansa/2009/02/11/1r-els-esclops-den-pau-i2/
|
La dansa-sa O
Make up simple
dances for partner to copy once the first dance is familiar. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voei61GOleE&feature=related Make two circles
one inside the other each child faces a partner.
|
La sardana de
l'avellana O The Sardana is a traditional Catalan circle dance. This children’s version is
a balancing game that causes great mirth as they try to bob down without a
tumble. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozmvy2PJ3gI
|
La solipanta / pallari pica foc O
These two songs sung
together make a great contrast both in timing and movement. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qn79sXdTDc A line of Joans stand side
by side opposite a line of partner Peres.
|
Napoleó O Sieges and blockades were
common tactics used by Napoleon’s armies. The city of Girona suffered two
sieges one in 1808 and a longer one in 1909. After failing to defend Girona
Spanish troops were sent to Barcelona to break the blockade. Mocking songs and dances
helped to keep up spirits of the hungry inhabitants. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acN6Z3hOEw0
|
Volta cap aquí O A
Catalan bird scaring song, traditionally danced around a bonfire on the eve
of St. John. Watch
at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZFfqSfcLd4
|
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games for children’ home page