Music specially composed for the Night of the ARA

Barcelona“Lluís Cabrera called me,” recalls Cristina López, a composer from Tarragona. The founder of the Taller de Músics wanted to convey a proposal he had negotiated with the newspaper ARA: to compose and perform the music for the newspaper’s 15th anniversary gala, which will be held at the Palau de la Música this Thursday starting at 7 p.m. Cabrera knew that López, a graduate in flamenco singing from the Esmuc, a teacher at the Taller de Músics, and a sound and image engineer, was the right person to take concepts like the Mediterranean, poetry, journalism, history, epic, energy, tradition, and contemporaneity, and transform them into the music that will accompany the music in the concert hall. Long live Verdi!The concert by the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, the Madrigal Choir, soprano Berna Perles, tenor Antoni Lliteres, and baritone Àngel Òdena, under the direction of Beatriz Fernández Aucejo.

"I had projects with Mediterranean music, and I drew inspiration from that era, from sound archives of traditional Catalan, Valencian, and Balearic music, as well as Greek and Turkish, because I spent a few years working in Istanbul. And for the lyrics, I was inspired by anonymous folk verses, such as those by Joan Margarit and Narcís Comadira," he explains. The composition for the ARA has a distinctly Mediterranean feel, characterized by microtonality, so prevalent in traditional music from all sides of the Mediterranean, from Turkey to the Iberian Peninsula. "I love using microtonality for the voice," he affirms. And the connection with a "flexible" electronic production that generates tension, combining techniques from urban and hip-hop music with traditional instrumentation and microtonality with 5/8 rhythms.

Cristina López herself provides the vocals and will perform ARA's music live in a trio format: with percussionist Lucas Balbo and guitarist Toni Abellán. Balbo will play percussion with "noble materials" (ceramics, leather, wood...); Abellán will also use Greek diving, and she will sing and handle the electronic elements.

Singer and producer, López will release an album next year, Fata Morganawhich will continue pieces like Omenwhich she released some time ago and in which she contrasts flamenco vocals with experimental electronic music. All of this is the fruit of a background and aesthetic interests that over the years have led her to work with Silvia Pérez Cruz, Maria Arnal, Albert Pla, Niño de Elche, Alizzz, and Mayte Martín, among others. She was also the artistic director of the show. Barcelona, a mixed heritagewhich premiered at the 2024 Grec Festival. And this year he created Duck Studio, where artists like Las Migas have recorded. "It's really cool that as soon as we finished setting up the studio, Las Migas came, and that a few months later they won the Grammy for the album Flamenco dancers"López recalls."

From Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Rosalía to Estrella Morente and Albert Pla

Cristina López's relationship with music has family roots. "My parents sing and play instruments, and I have very fond memories of when I was little and we sang at every gathering. Singing with my family and friends was the best thing in the world," she recalls. Her conservatory training wasn't so pleasant. "When I started studying academically, and playing classical piano, I didn't like the rigidity and the somewhat conservative way of teaching. Sometimes the teacher would try to impose their knowledge to highlight what you didn't know, or they would be hard on the student thinking they would learn more. Music lost its appeal. I couldn't understand why my teacher called me," she says. Everything changed when she took the step towards higher music education at Esmuc, where Sílvia Pérez Cruz had made her mark and where she met Rosalía, two vocal and artistic role models for Cristina López. "Sílvia has created a school of thought. Of all the Catalan singers who use their voices the way she does, Sílvia was the first. She has the virtuosity, the technique, the vocal placement, and also the ability to convey emotion. Many Catalan singers, including Rosalía and myself, studied Sílvia.

When asked to choose two different artists, who don't have much in common but who are role models for Cristina López, the composer of the ARA music says: Frank Ocean and Estrella Morente. The former is mainly related to the field of production, and Enrique Morente's daughter for "her courage." "Estrella Morente has a lot of tradition behind her, and at the same time a lot of avant-garde vocal technique," she explains. "It's no coincidence that Rosalía has chosen Sílvia Pérez Cruz and Estrella Morente as role models [with whom she share the song The rumba of forgiveness on the disc Lux] La Estrella is very modern, and she sings from a place of great truth."