Anem a cantar
i ballar
A la vora
de la mar
Ball de cercavila
de Salàs
Ball dels
mocadors
La bolangera
Picarel la
Sant Antoni i el dimoni
Tots els
ocells que canten
Last edited: 01/02/2016 13:55
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.
A la vora
de la mar O An ‘Oranges and lemons’ type of
game. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2SjpRZ0Iyk
|
Ball de cercavila
de Salàs O The
citizens of Salàs de Pallars
move around the town to this stately slow music for the festival of Saint Cyprien in September. As part of the festivities young
fellows in two long rows, wearing bells on their legs are pursued and beaten
by leaders wielding two large birch brooms. In other areas it is adapted as a
dance of the dwarves and is known as "La Tereseta". Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNDd_YYCEmM&feature=related In pairs stand in a circle side by side, facing anticlockwise. Hold
hands at shoulder height. Identify which pairs will make groups of four.
|
Ball dels mocadors O Make a collection of colourful scarves for this game. The dance below
is a simple one where the aim is to learn to perfect the stately toe and step
walk round the circle. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qKo8QN9-_U
|
La bolangera O ‘La
bolangera’ is a popular Catalan female character, a hard working woman who makes
money without much effort and who has inspired the text of this traditional
dance. The title hints at French
origins since its name is similar to ‘boulangère’
(baker’s wife). Since the
song is more than 300 years old there may be links with the Moorish tradition
as their influence pervaded the culture of the time. Watch at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CooCisQ0ia8&feature=related
|
Picarel·la O What are the birds up to in the schoolyard? Get ready to dance with
them. A ‘pique-soques’ is the name for a
woodpecker. During the refrain use claves to make the sounds of the woodpecker and
the wine maker hammering in corks. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdEjSRQI_aE&feature=related
|
Sant Antoni i el dimoni O Catalonian children invent humorous verses
for this song for the festivities of Sant Antoni,
held around January 17th. Listen to
the Miqui Giménez
adaptation at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_xXgrb9xAw0 and more Catalan songs on his
CD ‘Canta-me'n una, canta-me'n dues’. Hear him play the ximbomba,
a percussion hand drum, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD-IYQyV-MU&feature=related . Watch
at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrbRNBKmcoA
|
Tots els ocells que canten O Listen very carefully but you will soon learn every child’s voice is
different and it is not always easy to distinguish one voice from another. Watch at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tew51TrteU&feature=related
|
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