Maria del Mar Bonet
Encyclopedia
Maria del Mar Bonet i Verdaguer (məˈɾi.ə ðəɫ ˈma boˈnət) (born 1947) is a Balearic singer from the island of Majorca.
. She has published many albums of folk music
in Catalan
, in spite of the prohibitions during Francisco Franco
's dictatorship. She has performed throughout Spain as well as in Turkey
, the former USSR, Tunisia
, Netherlands
, Poland
, Italy
, Japan
, Portugal
, Belgium
, France
, United Kingdom
, Brazil
, Sweden
, Switzerland
, Venezuela
, Mexico
, and the U.S.
, along with accompaniment by Jacques Denjean
and noted Breton
harp
ist Alan Stivell
. She has worked with the Ensemble of Music Traditionelle di Tunis and Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento
. She has earned the French Charles Cross Academy Prize and the Catalan
Cross of San Jordi and the National Prize awarded by the Catalan government. In 1984 the French Government gave her the Charles Cross Academy Award for the best foreign record released in France. That same year Bonet was awarded the Cross of Saint George, the highest distinction of the Generalitat de Catalunya
(the Catalan Government).
In 1985, as a result of her interest and research into North African music, she recorded Anells d’aigua (Rings of Water) with the Ensemble de Musique Traditionelle of Tunisia, and then toured with the group throughout France
and Spain
. In 1998 she toured abroad and collaborated with other well-known Spanish artists such as Amancio Prada, Loquillo
, Jordi Sabatés and Rosa Vergés. In 2001 Bonet recorded a Jackson Browne
tribute album, Sing My Songs. The album was recorded live in July 2001 in the Gothic district of Barcelona
. The album won the 2002 Spanish World Music Awards.
Early life and career
She studied ceramics in the school of arts, but eventually she decided to dedicate herself to song. She arrived in Barcelona in 1967, where she began to sing with the group Els Setze JutgesEls Setze Jutges
Els Setze Jutges was a group of singers in the Catalan language founded in 1961 by Miquel Porter i Moix, Remei Margarit, and Josep Maria Espinàs...
. She has published many albums of folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, in spite of the prohibitions during Francisco 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 dictatorship. She has performed throughout Spain as well as in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, the former USSR, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Recording career
In 1981, Bonet recorded Jardí Tancat in ParisParis
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...
, along with accompaniment by Jacques Denjean
Jacques Denjean
Jacques Denjean is a French composer and arranger, active in the 1960s and 1970s.He worked with artists such as Dionne Warwick, Françoise Hardy, Nana Mouskouri, Johnny Hallyday, Baris Manco, Maria del Mar Bonet and Guy Béart, chiefly as an arranger....
and noted Breton
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
ist Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell
Alan Stivell is a Breton musician and singer, recording artist and master of the celtic harp who from the early 1970s revived global interest in the Celtic harp and Celtic music as part of world music.- Background: learning Breton music and culture :Alan was born in the Auvergnat town of Riom...
. She has worked with the Ensemble of Music Traditionelle di Tunis and Brazilian musician Milton Nascimento
Milton Nascimento
-Biography:Nascimento's mother was the maid Maria Nascimento. As a baby, Milton Nascimento was adopted by his mother's former employers: the couple Josino Brito Campos, a banker employee, mathematics teacher and electronic technician; and Lília Silva Campos, a music teacher and choir singer...
. She has earned the French Charles Cross Academy Prize and the Catalan
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...
Cross of San Jordi and the National Prize awarded by the Catalan government. In 1984 the French Government gave her the Charles Cross Academy Award for the best foreign record released in France. That same year Bonet was awarded the Cross of Saint George, the highest distinction of the Generalitat de Catalunya
Generalitat de Catalunya
The Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
(the Catalan Government).
In 1985, as a result of her interest and research into North African music, she recorded Anells d’aigua (Rings of Water) with the Ensemble de Musique Traditionelle of Tunisia, and then toured with the group throughout France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. In 1998 she toured abroad and collaborated with other well-known Spanish artists such as Amancio Prada, Loquillo
Loquillo
José María Sanz Beltrán, Loquillo or Loco is a Spanish rock singer. He was born in Barcelona.-Discography Loquillo y los Intocables:*1980- Los tiempos están cambiando, Cúspide...
, Jordi Sabatés and Rosa Vergés. In 2001 Bonet recorded a Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
tribute album, Sing My Songs. The album was recorded live in July 2001 in the Gothic district of Barcelona
Barcelona
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...
. The album won the 2002 Spanish World Music Awards.
Discography
- Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1969
- Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1971
- Maria del Mar Bonet (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1974
- A l'Olympia (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1975
- Cançons de festa (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1976
- Alenar (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1977
- Saba de terrer (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1979
- Quico-Maria del Mar (Maria del Mar Bonet + Francesc Pi de la Serra) 1979
- Sempre (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981
- L'àguila negra (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981
- Jardí tancat (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1981
- Breviari d'amor (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1982
- Cançons de la nostra mediterrània (Maria del Mar Bonet + Al TallAl Tall (band)Al Tall is a Catalan folk music group from Valencia in Spain. It was formed in 1975 by Vicent Torrent, Manuel Miralles, and Miquel Gil....
) 1982 - Anells d'aigua (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1985
- Gavines i dragons (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1987
- Ben a prop (Maria del Mar Bonet + Manel Camp) 1989
- Bon viatge faci la cadernera (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1990
- Coreografies (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1990
- El·las (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1993
- Salmaia (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1995
- Primeres cançons (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1997
- El cor del temps (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1997
- Cavall de foc (Maria del Mar Bonet) 1999
- Raixa (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2001
- Cants d'Abelone (Maria del Mar Bonet + Rafael Subirachs) 2001
- Collita pròpia (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2003
- Amic, amat (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2004
- Terra Secreta (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2007
- Bellver (Maria del Mar Bonet) 2010
Awards and Accomplishments
- 1984: Creu de Sant Jordi de la Generalitat de CatalunyaGeneralitat de CatalunyaThe Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
. - 1984: Premi de l'acadèmia al millor disc estranger editat a França.
- 1990: Premi Gabriel Alomar i Villalonga dels Premis 31 de Desembre de l'Obra Cultural Balear.
- 1992: Premi Nacional de Música de la Generalitat de CatalunyaGeneralitat de CatalunyaThe Generalitat of Catalonia is the institution under which the autonomous community of Catalonia is politically organised. It consists of the Parliament, the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Government of Catalonia....
. - 1999: Premi Ramon LlullRamon LlullRamon Llull was a Majorcan writer and philosopher, logician and tertiary Franciscan. He wrote the first major work of Catalan literature. Recently-surfaced manuscripts show him to have anticipated by several centuries prominent work on elections theory...
del govern de les Illes Balears. - 2000: Premi a la Millor Cançó en Català de la IV Edición de los Premios de la Música.
- 2001: Premi al Millor Àlbum de Música Tradicional-Folk per "Raixa" de la VI Edición de los Premios de la Música.
- 2002: Millor Àlbum en Català per "Raixa" de la VI Edición de los Premios de la Música.
- 2002: Premi Altaveu 2002.
- 2002: Premi Enderrock de la crítica al millor álbum Folk-Noves Músiques.
- 2003: Premi Luigi TencoLuigi TencoLuigi Tenco was an Italian singer, songwriter and actor.-Biography:Tenco was born in Cassine in 1938, the son of Teresa Zoccola and Giuseppe Tenco. He never knew his father, who died in unclear circumstances...
2003, de Italia. - 2003: Premi de Música Ciutat de BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona 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...
per "Amic, Amat" - 2003: Medalla d'Or de la ciutat de MallorcaMallorcaMajorca or Mallorca is an island located in the Mediterranean Sea, one of the Balearic Islands.The capital of the island, Palma, is also the capital of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands. The Cabrera Archipelago is administratively grouped with Majorca...
. - 2008: Premio Maria CartaMaria CartaMaria Carta was a Rome-based Sardinian folk music singer-songwriter. She also performed in film and theater and, in 1975, she wrote a book of poetry, Ritual Song.She was born in Siligo, Sassari, Sardinia....
of SardiniaSardiniaSardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
.