The Music of the Fishermen in Soller

This is the week of celebration for St Pere – St Peter. All the fishing communities in Majorca revere the name of their patron saint and Soller is no exception. The fiesta of St Pere is in full swing and one of the highlights of the Soller programme takes place on Wednesday 27th June 2012 at 20.30 hrs - a concert by Pro Musica.

Pro Musica are the highly skilled choir of Soller under the leadership of Pep Alarcon - a Musical Director of the Conservatory in Palma. He works his choir very hard and they give performances throughout Mallorca and go on tours to other European destinations. In August they are to give a series of concerts in Berlin. Soller music travels and the choir represents the musical traditions of Mallorca to its maximum and they sell out venues wherever they go.

There are plenty of traditions and genres in Mallorquin choir music. Apart from a universal love of the classical composers, the choir have a varied programme for this concert and includes Balearic folk music and the Habaneras. The Habaneras music is known locally as the' fishermen’s lament' as it originates in the exile of fishermen and others from the Catalan region of Spain to Cuba.

The songs were exported back to the Costa Brava and Mallorca in the 19th century by Catalan sailors and emigrants who came back home. It is widely sung in the resorts of the Costa Brava and in Mallorca. The Port of Soller hosts a weekend each year in July devoted to the music of the Habeneras.

In Havana, the capital of Cuba the first Habaneras appeared around 1825 and were called "Danzas Habaneras". The Tango was the dance that came from this era of music. In 1842 the first habanera, "El amor en el baile" was published as a score. "Amics dels habaneres" and other music groups in 1967 organized the first public Cantada on the beach in the Costa Brava and which has continued annually ever since. This event is today known all over Europe and thousands occupy the beach to listen to the Habaneras. The Port of Soller is working hard to be the place where the annual Mallorquin Habaneras event takes place. Look out for the posters next month!

Pro Musica include the Habaneras in their repertoire and are one of the few choirs in Mallorca that do. This concert is a rare opportunity to hear this music which is very fitting for the fiesta of Sant Pere.

Mallorca has many tales of people leaving to find work and then returning either in retirement or because they couldn't bear to be away. The sadness of this is evident this year as so many of Mallorca's young people are considering life in other countries. This is the last Mallorquin summer for some of them as their migration is taking them to Australia and South Africa. Maybe the sounds of the Habeneras will remind them that there always is a way back and that the returners will always be welcome.

The concert starts on 8.30pm in the Church of San Ramon Penyafort in the Port de Soller.