Carles Baguer (1768-1808) - Simfonia en Do menor, No.2 (1790)
Performers: Acadèmia 1750
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Spanish composer and organist. Known affectionately as ‘Carlets’ to his
Catalan contemporaries, he studied under his uncle Francesc Mariner
(1720-1789) and in 1786 succeeded him as organist of Barcelona
Cathedral, where he remained until his death. He played an active part
in the city's musical life, was much admired for his organ
improvisations and attracted many pupils, such as Francisco Andreví y
Castellar, Ramón Carnicer and Mateo Ferrer. He was a prolific composer
and his work was unusually widely disseminated for a Catalan composer of
the day. Baguer's sacred works testify to a clear Italian influence and
he only occasionally used the learned style. His oratorios consist
chiefly of four-part homophonic choruses alternating with arias (often
with coloratura) and recitative interspersed with arioso passages. His
sinfonías fall into two patterns: a single sonata-form movement with a
slow introduction, or four movements. In the latter case the second
movements take the form of theme and variations and the third are
minuets. His style shows a desire to emulate that of Haydn, especially
in his use of musical form and his melodic patterns. But in tonal range,
thematic treatment, textures and harmonic progressions Baguer's style
is simpler and more restrained. His keyboard works, for organ or piano
and probably written for his own and his pupils' use, span a broad
variety of styles and forms. Some pieces recall the Spanish polyphonic
organ tradition. Others in the modern pianistic style combine Italian
and Austrian influences with a traditional local style. On the whole,
his output bears witness to this singular mixture of influences that
affected Catalan music at the time. Baguer's works, however, remain the
only surviving examples of a movement of unprecedented diffusion within
this geographical area.
