The new Catalonian roots music ensemble La Baula’s debut album Cançons a l’ombra (Songs in the Shadow) is a listener friendly collection of traditional songs collected from various sources.
La Baula is a big group. Members include Roger Andorrà, Pau Benítez, Patri Garcia, Xavier Rota, Roser Serrano, and Joan Tomàs. All of them contribute vocals and most play multiple instruments. The main instruments include guitar, accordion, lots of varied percussion, violin and double bass, with also lots of woodwinds — clarinet, whistle, and a couple of Catalonian shawms, the tarota and the tenora.
For the most part these songs are presented in lively arrangements, with a very modern production style that makes this music quite accessible even for those who don’t speak the language, a deliberate strategy on the part of the musicians, whose aim at least in part is “reaching a wider audience and revaluing Catalan musical heritage.” The opening track is particularly inviting. This rendition of the traditional “La llàntia de Felip Quint” features lovely vocal harmonies and some very jazzy playing on the tenora.
One of the most striking arrangements comes on the second track “La presa de Roses,” which has a recognizably Iberian rhythm that evokes the classical Catalan dance the sardana. On this one, guest Martí Villegas plays the fiscorn, a baritone flugelhorn, which along with the clarinet and whistle give it an air somewhere between festive and martial. “La veu del cor” is a warm romantic song and its followup “El cornut” is a sprightly song with a humorous take on infidelity. Both feature nice harmony vocals from Patri Garcia along with one or more of the men singers, and a swinging solo on the tenora from Roser Serrano, giving it a feel somewhat like klezmer.
Another playful one is “Contrapàs de broma,” which means something like “reverse joke” with obvious auto-tune effects added to the lead male vocals. “Diu que hi ha una noia empordanesa” finds Patri Garcia singing lead on this song about a girl from Emporda, backed by both shawms and that lovely warm fiscorn again. Garcia again sings lead on “Amunt i crits,” (Up and Shouting) the only original on the album.
Cançons a l’ombra is a good introduction to Catalan roots music with its lovely vocals and a wide variety of traditional instruments on updated arrangements of traditional songs.
(Microscopi, 2025)
