EL NUS LA FLOR, for soprano, recitor and piano

EL NUS LA FLOR is a cycle of 47 pieces for voice and piano with texts by Enric Casasses, composed by Daniel Ariño during the second half of 2015 in Barcelona, ​​taking as a reference the great lied cycles of German romanticism. Its innovative format, which alternates sung numbers with recited numbers, is inspired by the structure of the novel Rayuela by J. Cortázar. The cycle premiered on February 12, 2016 at the now historic Pianos Puig store (C/Progrés, 42) with Enric himself as reciter, Maria Mauri as soprano, Daniel on a Fazioli grand piano, and a packed audience. At the end of the premiere, actor Jaume Comas wrote: “When art strips itself, the spirit dresses up. We left Pianos Puig changed.”

From that day until the summer of 2023, EL NUS LA FLOR was warmly welcomed in more than forty halls, festivals and theaters: Fundació Palau, Sala Tarafa de Granollers, Jamboree, Jazz Cava in Terrassa, Monastery of Pedralbes, Auditori Viader de Girona, Casino i Atlàntida in Vic, Palau de la Música, Cloister of Ciutadella in Menorca, Sala Beckett, Teatre Condal, Festival Dansàneu, among many others. Journalist Roger Cassany, at the end of the massive performance held in the cloister of the Institut d’Estudis Catalans as part of Barcelona Poesia 2016, wrote: “The entire show includes about forty poems of diverse colors, themes and styles. The music, always by Ariño, is equally heterogeneous and delicately gives them delightful textures that are pleasant, sad, angelic or burlesque. And Mauri’s voice, lyrical and powerful on the one hand, very clear and understandable on the other, makes them navigate in attractive and often unpredictable dimensions. All in all, a magical and earthly potion at the same time, surprising and pleasant, comforting and disturbing.”

In 2018, Edicions Poncianes published the 248 writings that make up the entirety of the book EL NUS LA FLOR by Enric Casasses in a careful edition with illustrations by the author himself which, in its first printing, was accompanied by a CD with the recording of the entire musical cycle. The recording, made in the Edicions Albert Moraleda studio with a Steinway&Sons grand piano, was also published on the main music streaming platforms that same year. The book, in addition to being a bestseller, was awarded the Lletra d’Or award and contributed to the fact that, in 2020, Enric Casasses received the 52nd Premi d’Honor de les Lletres Catalanes.

Daniel Ariño