Atlantis - PAMPLONA CHAMBER CHOIR

March 5 / 7:30 p.m.

World premiere of the chamber version

Manuel de Falla, Ernesto Halffter
Pamplona Chamber Choir
Musical direction David Gálvez Pintado
Stage direction Tomás Muñoz
Production Pamplona Chamber Choir and MUN

100 minutes
Catalan with Spanish subtitles
€18 and €20

Additional discounts with youth card. 20% discount + €5 discount vouchers.

This camera version of Atlàntida seeks to capture the essence and understanding of the staged cantata. Manuel de Falla's mythical work, of epic proportions, which the maestro never finished. A project produced by the Pamplona Chamber Choir and the University of Navarra Museum, in collaboration with the Manuel de Falla Archive Foundation and with the support of other entities.

"It is the work I have put the most enthusiasm into. I wish I had the health to finish it. It will be quite complex, and I have respected the text of Jacinto Verdaguer's poem, not only because of the deep admiration the Catalan poet deserves, but also because ATLANTIS has existed within me since my childhood. In Cádiz, my hometown, the Atlantic Ocean stretched out before me through the Pillars of Hercules, and my imagination flew to the most beautiful garden of the Hesperides."Manuel de Falla

Atlàntida was destined to be a masterpiece, not only for Manuel de Falla but also in the history of 20th-century music. Its Prologue, a marvel of musical plasticity, sets the tone for what it was destined to be, to the point that Ernest Ansermet described it as "the most beautiful sequence of chords in all of contemporary music." However, Manuel de Falla never finished the work, and thus began the myth that fuels its enigma.

Where is Falla's Atlantis? We will never know, but we can get closer to it by delving into the essence of the work and of Falla himself. Atlàntida is an essential work in the truest sense of the word, containing as many interpretations and meanings as there are notes and years of creation: the twenty that Falla devoted to it, the subsequent years of Ernesto Halffter, and those that still remain.

THE CHAMBER MUSIC VERSION

The Pamplona Chamber Choir, conducted by David Gálvez Pintado, offers the audience a chamber version of the staged cantata, based on Ernesto Halffter's so-called Lucerne version (1976) but with added parts from Falla's original score that give it greater theatrical meaning, for example, the scene of the death of the Pleiades is respected. Over the years, Falla stripped down the orchestration of the work, and this version follows suit, lightening the orchestral bombast, especially in the parts that Halffter had to finish. In this way, the work becomes more human in scale and easier to understand.

ARTISTIC CREDITS

SYNOPSIS

Prologue: the coryphaeus, a wise spirit of the sea, rescues a child from a shipwreck and shows him a vision of the submerged Atlantis. The child is Columbus, and this vision will inspire him to discover the New World. The choir sings a hymn to the Hispanic world.

Part One: Hercules, a hero who arrives from distant lands, meets Queen Pirene in Hispania, who entrusts him with the mission of going to Gades to recover the scepter stolen by Geryon. Before that, Hercules founds Barcelona. Once in Gades, Hercules is persuaded by Geryon to go to Atlantis, a kingdom more befitting his greatness, whose riches are sung about by the chorus.

Part Two: In the heart of Atlantis, the garden of the Hesperides is inhabited by the Pleiades and guarded by a dragon. Hercules bursts into the garden, kills the dragon, and steals its oranges. The Pleiades die of sadness because they sense the end of Atlantis. Hercules returns to Gades, plants the orange tree on Spanish soil, and opens the strait through which the sea invades Atlantis. The sinking is announced by messenger voices, and the divine voice condemns Atlantis for its arrogance.

Part Three: Columbus, a prophetic traveler, meets Queen Isabella in Spain, who dreams of a New World emerging beyond the sea like a new Atlantis. Columbus sets sail to fulfill his mission, and the caravels cross the sea on their way to the New World. The sailors pray the Salve Regina and keep vigil on the supreme night preceding the Discovery, a night that is not Columbus's but Falla's supreme spiritual asceticism.

PAMPLONA CHAMBER CHOIR

The Pamplona Chamber Choir was founded by Maestro Luis Morondo in 1946 with the aim of studying, working on, and cultivating music from the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, although over the years it has expanded its repertoire to include all genres of vocal music.

Throughout its 70-year history, it has participated in the world's most important international festivals.

DAVID GÁLVEZ PAINTED

He was born in Valencia, where he studied music theory, piano, choir conducting, and composition. He obtained diplomas in choir conducting, orchestra conducting, and composition in Budapest. Throughout his career, he has worked with prestigious performers, colleagues, and groups, and is a renowned choir master. As a composer, he has extensive experience, mainly in the field of choral music, and his works have been performed in the best concert halls. He is currently the Artistic and Musical Director of the prestigious Pamplona Chamber Choir. He has also been the musical director of the Central American Youth Orchestra and Choir (JOCCA) since its foundation in 2008.

Thomas Muñoz

Born in Pamplona, he received his early artistic training in the studio of his father, a painter and collector. He graduated with a degree in Fine Arts and Geography and History, and later obtained a PhD in Fine Arts from the Complutense University of Madrid. He studied set design with Carlos Citrinovsky and opera direction and staging with Simón Suárez. As a set designer and lighting designer, he has worked on more than forty theater, dance, zarzuela, and opera productions. He is a professor at the School of Design, Engineering, and Architecture at the European University of Madrid. He has taught various master's degrees in performing arts and given lectures on lighting and set design.

RELATED ACTIVITIES 

MAR 3 / 7:00 p.m. ·HOW TO DO THINGS WITH... Falla's Atlantis

TO LEARN MORE

Stage notes from the Museum 

Museum artist residency program 

Program