TECLA X 10277
Mangado | José Viñas y Dias (1823-1888)
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Josep María Mangado’s new book José Viñas y Dias (1823-1888) is about a major figure in the musical life of Barcelona in the late nineteenth century and a composer of many works including for guitar. This book, like others by Josep Maria Mangado, is based on original documents from the period. It has 568 pages and includes a catalogue of Viñas’ approximately ninety compositions. It gives fascinating insights into the musical world of Barcelona when that city was at a height of culture.
The book is exclusively distributed by Tecla Editions. It has 568 pages and is written in Spanish.
Here is an English translation of part of Mangado’s prologue:
The multifaceted musician José Viñas y Dias did not live a life of adventures and travels as many other artists of his generation did, but rather he spent his life in his native city Barcelona with just occasional visits to other cities. Viñas was a violinist, pianist, guitarist, conductor, singer, composer and pedagogue, but above all throughout his life he was a recognized orchestral conductor. He conducted not only the orchestras of the Teatro Principal, Gran Teatro del Liceo, Teatro del Circo Barcelonés, Teatro Romea, Teatro Jardín de Variedades, Prado Catalán, Teatro Español, etc., but also his own dance orchestra. When we look at the details of his daily life over the course of a year in the middle of the nineteenth century, we see that theatre presentations of opera or zarzuela began in September all the way through to Holy Week; then there was a short spring period of more opera or zarzuela; then in summer there were two alternative arrangements which were not mutually exclusive: either Viñas would conduct his own orchestra in the towns around Barcelona, or sometimes he might be contracted by one of the summer theatres in the Paseo de Gracia (which at that time had not yet been built up) interspersed with private or public musical events. That was more or less his annual routine, with one or two exceptions as we will see as we go through this book. The chapters of this book are organized according to his theatre obligations, with various annexes for each chapter and appendices. Direct information about Viñas is not very plentiful, but it is sufficient for us to be able to follow his traces through the years. When we read about theatre presentations in which he took part we need to bear in mind that the praises (or the ferocious opposite) were about the singers who were the stars of the moment, not about the conductors of orchestras who did not have the importance that they have today but were just one cog more in the theatre organization that existed to serve those singers. Now at two hundred years from his birth (1823-2023) the memory of Viñas remains alive through his compositions for guitar which have been published by various editorials.
Also by Josep María Mangado:
TECLA X 10272 Josep Maria Mangado: Fernando Sor volume 1
TECLA X 10273 Josep Maria Mangado: Fernando Sor volume 2
TECLA X 10274 Josep Maria Mangado: Fernando Sor volume 3
TECLA X 10278 Josep Maria Mangado: La Guitarra en Cataluña
TECLA X 10276 Josep Maria Mangado: José Martínez Toboso (1857-1913), El señor de las once cuerdas
TECLA X 10279 Josep Maria Mangado: Los conciertos de guitarra en el Palau de la Musica en Barcelona 1908-1940
