Federico Mompou
Encyclopedia
Frederic Mompou i Dencausse (fɾəðəɾig mumˈpow) (16 April 189330 June 1987) was a Catalan
Spanish composer and pianist. He is best known for his solo piano
music and his songs.
to the lawyer Frederic Mompou and his wife Josefina Dencausse, who was of French origin. His brother Josep Mompou (1888–1968) became a painter; his sketch of a simple farmhouse appeared on the covers of all of Frederic's published music.
Mompou studied piano under Pedro Serra at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
before going to Paris
, to study at the Conservatoire de Paris
, which was headed by Gabriel Fauré
, whom Mompou had heard perform in Barcelona when he was 9 years old, and whose music and performing style had made a powerful and lasting impression on him. He had a letter of introduction to Fauré from Enrique Granados
, but it never reached its intended recipient. He entered the Conservatoire (with another Spaniard, José Iturbi
), but studied with Isidor Philipp
, head of the piano department; he also took private piano lessons with Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix, and harmony and composition lessons with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau
. His extreme shyness, introspection and self-effacement meant that could not pursue a solo career, but chose to devote himself to composition instead. In 1917 he returned to Barcelona, fleeing the war. His first published work, Cants magics, appeared in 1920, mainly as a result of the advocacy of his friend Agustin Quintas.
Mompou returned to Paris in 1921, by which time his music was being regularly performed publicly, by his former teacher Motte-Lacroix and others, and he found himself the darling of Paris. In 1921, his Scènes d'enfants (1915–18), performed by Motte-Lacroix, inspired the French critic Émile Vuillermoz to proclaim Mompou "the only disciple and successor" to Claude Debussy
. Mompou himself often performed his own compositions, but only at private soirees, never in public. However, his time in Paris was not easy. He published no music between 1931 and 1941, when he left for his native Catalonia
, fleeing the German occupation of Paris. In that time, his father died and his brother became seriously ill. The Spanish Civil War
troubled him greatly. And his personal financial situation was often dire enough to lead him away from music and into various business ventures, including an attempt to revive the traditional family bell foundry.
Kenneth MacMillan
's ballet La Casa de los Pájaros (The House of Birds), set to orchestrations by John Lanchbery
of various piano pieces by Mompou, was premiered at Sadler's Wells in London
in 1955, and was also staged at the 4th Festival de Música y Danza at Granada.
In 1956 appeared Don Perlimpin (also seen as Don Perlimpinada), a ballet written in collaboration between Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge
. Most of the music was by Mompou, but Montsalvatge helped with the orchestration and linking passages, and added two numbers of his own.
In 1957, aged 64, Mompou married the pianist Carmen Bravo (c.192329 April 2007). She was 30 years his junior; it was the first marriage for both of them, and they had no children.
In 1974 Mompou recorded his piano works for the Spanish label Ensayo. These invaluable recordings have been issued on four CDs by both Ensayo and Brilliant Classics. Mompou's music has also been recorded by notable pianists such as Alicia de Larrocha
, Stephen Hough
, and others. Both Arthur Rubinstein
and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
made recordings of selections from the Cançons i Danses
. The great Spanish soprano Victoria de los Ángeles
recorded Mompou's haunting song cycle El combat del somni, and a video from 1971 survives of her singing one of these songs in her living room with the composer as her accompanist.
During his career Mompou received numerous awards, including: Chevalier des arts et lettres
(France), Premio Nacional de Música
(Spain), Doctor honoris causa, Universitat de Barcelona (1979); and Medalla d'Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1980).
An initial supporter of Franco
's regime, in Barcelona he became a member of the Royal Academy of San Jorge, but otherwise lived quietly there until his death at the age of 94, from respiratory failure
. He is buried at the Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona.
After the death of his widow in 2007, about 80 unpublished and hitherto unknown works were discovered in Mompou’s files at his home, and also in the files of the National Library of Catalonia. Some of them were given performances in Barcelona in 2008 by Jordi Maso and Mac McClure. Many others were given their premiere performances in 2009 by Marcel Worms.
music often described as "delicate" or "intimate." His principal influences were French impressionism
, Erik Satie
and Gabriel Fauré
, resulting in a style in which musical development is minimized, and expression is concentrated into very small forms. He was fond of ostinato
figures, bell imitations (his mother's family owned the Dencausse bell foundry, and his grandfather was a bell maker), and a kind of incantatory, meditative sound, the most complete expression of which can be found in his masterpiece Musica Callada (or the Voice of Silence) based on the mystical poetry of Saint John of the Cross
. It employs very simple, even child-like melodies, but tinged with sadness, melancholy, and a nostalgic echo of a forgotten far-away land.
He was also influenced by the sounds and smells of the maritime quarter of Barcelona, the cry of seagulls, the sound of children playing, and popular Catalan culture. He often dispensed with bar lines and key signatures. His music is rooted in the chord G-C-E-A-D, which he named Barri de platja (the Beach Quarter).
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
Spanish composer and pianist. He is best known for his solo piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
music and his songs.
Life
Mompou was born in BarcelonaBarcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
to the lawyer Frederic Mompou and his wife Josefina Dencausse, who was of French origin. His brother Josep Mompou (1888–1968) became a painter; his sketch of a simple farmhouse appeared on the covers of all of Frederic's published music.
Mompou studied piano under Pedro Serra at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu
Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu is a music college in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was created in 1837 with the name Liceo Filo-dramático de Montesión....
before going to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, to study at the Conservatoire de Paris
Conservatoire de Paris
The Conservatoire de Paris is a college of music and dance founded in 1795, now situated in the avenue Jean Jaurès in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, France...
, which was headed by Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
, whom Mompou had heard perform in Barcelona when he was 9 years old, and whose music and performing style had made a powerful and lasting impression on him. He had a letter of introduction to Fauré from Enrique Granados
Enrique Granados
Enrique Granados y Campiña was a Spanish pianist and composer of classical music. His music is in a uniquely Spanish style and, as such, representative of musical nationalism...
, but it never reached its intended recipient. He entered the Conservatoire (with another Spaniard, José Iturbi
José Iturbi
José Iturbi was a Spanish conductor, harpsichordist and pianist. He appeared in several Hollywood films of the 1940s, notably playing himself in the 1943 musical, Thousands Cheer and in the 1945 film, Anchors Aweigh...
), but studied with Isidor Philipp
Isidor Philipp
Isidor Philipp was a French pianist, composer, and distinguished pedagogue of Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris.-Biography:...
, head of the piano department; he also took private piano lessons with Ferdinand Motte-Lacroix, and harmony and composition lessons with Marcel Samuel-Rousseau
Marcel Samuel-Rousseau
Marcel Samuel-Rousseau was a French composer, organist, and opera director. He studied composition at the Paris Conservatoire and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1905. He was the organist at Saint-Séverin from 1919–1922 and president of the Société des auteurs, compositeurs et éditeurs de musique...
. His extreme shyness, introspection and self-effacement meant that could not pursue a solo career, but chose to devote himself to composition instead. In 1917 he returned to Barcelona, fleeing the war. His first published work, Cants magics, appeared in 1920, mainly as a result of the advocacy of his friend Agustin Quintas.
Mompou returned to Paris in 1921, by which time his music was being regularly performed publicly, by his former teacher Motte-Lacroix and others, and he found himself the darling of Paris. In 1921, his Scènes d'enfants (1915–18), performed by Motte-Lacroix, inspired the French critic Émile Vuillermoz to proclaim Mompou "the only disciple and successor" to Claude Debussy
Claude Debussy
Claude-Achille Debussy was a French composer. Along with Maurice Ravel, he was one of the most prominent figures working within the field of impressionist music, though he himself intensely disliked the term when applied to his compositions...
. Mompou himself often performed his own compositions, but only at private soirees, never in public. However, his time in Paris was not easy. He published no music between 1931 and 1941, when he left for his native Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, fleeing the German occupation of Paris. In that time, his father died and his brother became seriously ill. The Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
troubled him greatly. And his personal financial situation was often dire enough to lead him away from music and into various business ventures, including an attempt to revive the traditional family bell foundry.
Kenneth MacMillan
Kenneth MacMillan
Sir Kenneth MacMillan was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977.-Early years:...
's ballet La Casa de los Pájaros (The House of Birds), set to orchestrations by John Lanchbery
John Lanchbery
John Arthur Lanchbery OBE was an English, later Australian, composer and conductor, famous for his ballet arrangements.-Life:...
of various piano pieces by Mompou, was premiered at Sadler's Wells in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1955, and was also staged at the 4th Festival de Música y Danza at Granada.
In 1956 appeared Don Perlimpin (also seen as Don Perlimpinada), a ballet written in collaboration between Mompou and Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge
Xavier Montsalvatge i Bassols was a Spanish Catalan composer and music critic. He was one of the most influential music figures in Catalan music during the latter half of the 20th century.-Life:...
. Most of the music was by Mompou, but Montsalvatge helped with the orchestration and linking passages, and added two numbers of his own.
In 1957, aged 64, Mompou married the pianist Carmen Bravo (c.192329 April 2007). She was 30 years his junior; it was the first marriage for both of them, and they had no children.
In 1974 Mompou recorded his piano works for the Spanish label Ensayo. These invaluable recordings have been issued on four CDs by both Ensayo and Brilliant Classics. Mompou's music has also been recorded by notable pianists such as Alicia de Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha
Alicia de Larrocha y de la Calle was a Spanish pianist from Catalonia. One of the great piano legends of the 20th century, Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", Time "one of the world's most outstanding pianists" and The Guardian "the leading Spanish pianist of her...
, Stephen Hough
Stephen Hough
Stephen Andrew Gill Hough is a British-born classical pianist, composer and writer. He became an Australian citizen in 2005 and thus has dual nationality .-Biography:...
, and others. Both Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein
Arthur Rubinstein KBE was a Polish-American pianist. He received international acclaim for his performances of the music of a variety of composers...
and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli
Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli was a virtuoso Italian classical pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century, as well as one of the most important Italian pianists along with Ferruccio Busoni and Maurizio Pollini.-Biography:Born in Brescia, Italy, he began...
made recordings of selections from the Cançons i Danses
Cançons i Danses
Cançons i Danses is the title of a collection of 15 pieces by Federico Mompou, written between 1918 and 1972. All were written for the piano, except No. 13 for guitar and No...
. The great Spanish soprano Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles
Victoria de los Ángeles was a Spanish Catalan operatic soprano and recitalist whose career began in the early 1940s and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s. Her obituary in The Times noted that she must be counted “among the finest singers of the second half...
recorded Mompou's haunting song cycle El combat del somni, and a video from 1971 survives of her singing one of these songs in her living room with the composer as her accompanist.
During his career Mompou received numerous awards, including: Chevalier des arts et lettres
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
(France), Premio Nacional de Música
Premio Nacional de Música
The Premio Nacional de Música forms part of the annual National Awards in Spain....
(Spain), Doctor honoris causa, Universitat de Barcelona (1979); and Medalla d'Or de la Generalitat de Catalunya (1980).
An initial supporter of Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's regime, in Barcelona he became a member of the Royal Academy of San Jorge, but otherwise lived quietly there until his death at the age of 94, from respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
. He is buried at the Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona.
After the death of his widow in 2007, about 80 unpublished and hitherto unknown works were discovered in Mompou’s files at his home, and also in the files of the National Library of Catalonia. Some of them were given performances in Barcelona in 2008 by Jordi Maso and Mac McClure. Many others were given their premiere performances in 2009 by Marcel Worms.
Style
Mompou is best known as a miniaturist, writing short, relatively improvisatoryImprovisation
Improvisation is the practice of acting, singing, talking and reacting, of making and creating, in the moment and in response to the stimulus of one's immediate environment and inner feelings. This can result in the invention of new thought patterns, new practices, new structures or symbols, and/or...
music often described as "delicate" or "intimate." His principal influences were French impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
, Erik Satie
Erik Satie
Éric Alfred Leslie Satie was a French composer and pianist. Satie was a colourful figure in the early 20th century Parisian avant-garde...
and Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Fauré
Gabriel Urbain Fauré was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th century composers...
, resulting in a style in which musical development is minimized, and expression is concentrated into very small forms. He was fond of ostinato
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
figures, bell imitations (his mother's family owned the Dencausse bell foundry, and his grandfather was a bell maker), and a kind of incantatory, meditative sound, the most complete expression of which can be found in his masterpiece Musica Callada (or the Voice of Silence) based on the mystical poetry of Saint John of the Cross
John of the Cross
John of the Cross , born Juan de Yepes Álvarez, was a major figure of the Counter-Reformation, a Spanish mystic, Catholic saint, Carmelite friar and priest, born at Fontiveros, Old Castile....
. It employs very simple, even child-like melodies, but tinged with sadness, melancholy, and a nostalgic echo of a forgotten far-away land.
He was also influenced by the sounds and smells of the maritime quarter of Barcelona, the cry of seagulls, the sound of children playing, and popular Catalan culture. He often dispensed with bar lines and key signatures. His music is rooted in the chord G-C-E-A-D, which he named Barri de platja (the Beach Quarter).
Piano solo
- (1911–1914) (Intimate impressions)
- Scènes d'enfants (1915–1918; Scenes of children; later orchestrated by Alexandre TansmanAlexandre TansmanAlexandre Tansman was a Polish-born composer and virtuoso pianist. He spent his early years in his native Poland, but lived in France for most of his life...
) - Suburbis (1916–1917; Suburbs; later orchestrated by Manuel RosenthalManuel RosenthalManuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
) - Cants magics (1920; Magic Songs)
- Charmes (1920–1921)
- Cançons i DansesCançons i DansesCançons i Danses is the title of a collection of 15 pieces by Federico Mompou, written between 1918 and 1972. All were written for the piano, except No. 13 for guitar and No...
(1921–1979) (Songs and dances) - Dialogues (1923)
- Préludes (1927–1960)
- Variations on a Theme of ChopinVariations on a Theme of Chopin (Mompou)Not to be confused with the work with the same title by RachmaninoffThe Variations on a Theme of Chopin is a work for solo piano by Federico Mompou. It is based on the Prelude in A major, Op. 28, No. 7, by Frédéric Chopin....
(1938–1957; based on ChopinFrédéric ChopinFrédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
's Prelude No. 7 in A major) - Paisajes (1942–1960) (Landscapes)
- Canción de cuna (1951) (Lullaby)
- Musica callada (Silent music or Voices of silence) (Primer cuaderno - 1959, Segundo cuaderno - 1962, Tercer cuaderno - 1965, Cuarto cuaderno - 1967)
Voice and piano
- L'hora grisa (1916) (The grey hour)
- Cuatro melodías (1925) (Four melodies)
- Comptines (1926–1943) (Nursery Rhymes)
- Combat del somni (1942–1950) (Dream combat)
- Cantar del alma (1951) (Soul Song)
- Canciones becquerianas (1971) (Songs after Bécquer)
Choral
- Los Improperios for chorus and orchestra (1964; written in memory of Francis PoulencFrancis PoulencFrancis Jean Marcel Poulenc was a French composer and a member of the French group Les six. He composed solo piano music, chamber music, oratorio, choral music, opera, ballet music, and orchestral music...
) - L'Ocell daurat, cantata for children's choir (1970)
Guitar
- Suite Compostelana for guitar (1962; composed for Andrés SegoviaAndrés SegoviaAndrés Torres Segovia, 1st Marquis of Salobreña , known as Andrés Segovia, was a virtuoso Spanish classical guitarist from Linares, Jaén, Andalucia, Spain...
) - Cançó i dansa No. 13Cançons i DansesCançons i Danses is the title of a collection of 15 pieces by Federico Mompou, written between 1918 and 1972. All were written for the piano, except No. 13 for guitar and No...
(Cançó: El cant dels ocells; Dansa (El bon caçador)) for guitar (1972) - Cançó i dansa No. 10Cançons i DansesCançons i Danses is the title of a collection of 15 pieces by Federico Mompou, written between 1918 and 1972. All were written for the piano, except No. 13 for guitar and No...
(Sobre dos Cantigas del Rei Alfonso X), originally for piano (1953), transcribed for guitar by the composer (undated manuscript).