Gegant i petit
Balla el drac
El gegant
del Pi
El tio
fresco
Els
petits putxinel li
En Patufet
Peix peixet
Un tren
petito
Last updated: 14/01/2016 14:25
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:
Return to the ‘Singing
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.
© 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.
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Balla el drac O A simple but energetic dance from Vilafranca. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rbqBSgjE-c&feature=related
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El gegant
del Pi O Giants feature in many Catalan festivities usually as Christian and Muslim
medieval kings and queens. ‘El gegant del Pi’ also known as El Farrell is one of the most
famous and is linked to the church of Santa Maria del Pi in Barcelona. Legend
has it that on his way to Barcelona El gegant del
Pi uprooted a pine tree to do battle with the Moor, the giant of the City,
who he threw over the rooftops. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSd1WzgAVnc&feature=related
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El tio fresco O Traditionally ‘el tio’ is a log, often filled
with goodies, for burning at Christmas. Saint Patllari was a French bishop; his
relics were stolen by Benedictine monks who placed them in a barrel on a
donkey. Legend has it that after crossing the Pyrenees the load became so
heavy that the animal would go no further and the relics were laid to rest in
the nearby monastery of St Peter. The feast day of Saint Patllari
is celebrated with dances such as this one and with a procession of giants. If you worry that the words might lead to fire raising ideas change
them to; ‘I will snitch and snatch...’! Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvKStpSkl7I&feature=related Also at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE8e7W2983M&feature=related
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Els petits putxinel·lis O
A very simple dance for little puppets to play. Instead of the game below you could use finger puppets to play this
game. Watch the circle game at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtXcQctGVIU&feature=related
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En Patufet O
In Catalan folklore little Patufet rather
like our Tom Thumb, is just the size of a rice grain, a good natured and
hardworking fellow. He avoids being stepped on by singing the song below.
Find out more about this well-known character at Wikipedia. There are also many videos online of school children dramatizing one
of the many stories about this tiny child who wears a red hat. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gce4jxmWcxI&feature=related Listen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1naKW3puZW4&feature=related
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Peix peixet O Each child makes a colourful cardboard fish which is attached to a pole
by an elastic string. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBZ18ANpMpU&feature=related
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Un tren petitó O Off goes the train! Co-ordinate movements around the room. Make loud
train noises. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4qsyCDIG28&feature=related
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Return to the ‘Singing
games for children’ home page