Berga musicians revive forgotten scores from iconic Catalan festival

Music and dance are at the center of Berga's 'La Patum' festival. In fact, the UNESCO-recognized celebration of medieval origin is named for the sound of the drum that reverberates throughout.  

Now musicians have a new tune to play after the discovery of a long-forgotten score in the inland Catalan town. 

The 'Patum Dances' have not been performed since before the Spanish Civil War but have revived by local musicians. 

Berga musician Lluís Gual discovered the long-long sheet music to accompany three of the festival's dances, part of the archive of the collector Ramon Miquel Safont. 

"I always say that I didn't find these scores, they found me," Gual tells the Catalan News Agency (ACN). 

The collector Ramon Miquel Safont invited Gual to visit his archive to consult some old scores that he thought might be of interest. 

"My surprise was when, in two documents from different sources, I discovered the sheet music of three dances that are not currently performed in La Patum," Gual explains. 

Gual underlines the importance of the find, pointing out that the documents date from 1925 to 1936 and saying it has been more than 30 years since new scores from La Patum have been discovered. 

Arrangements by Gual of the three pieces will be performed by the Cobla Berga Jove on Sunday, April 21, at the Teatre Municipal de Berga, and on April 27 in L'Ametlla de Merola. 

Podcast

Listen to the podcast below to learn more about La Patum, Catalonia's medieval rave.