Melodia, Llegenda i Tarantel·la (Melody, Legend and Tarantella)

Melodia, Llegenda and Tarantel·la are the three works that Margarida Orfila composed for cello and piano, all in one movement. They belong to two different moments in life: the first is a piece of youth, while the others were written two decades later when Margarida Orfila resumed the compositional task after a few years dedicated to the family due to the birth and upbringing of her children.

Melodia dates from 1908 and is a transcription for cello and piano of the third of the Three Melodies for piano made by the same composer, a work awarded the fourth prize at the “Festa de Joventut” contest of 1912 organized by Catalan Illustration magazine. Written in the key of D Major – unlike the original version for solo piano,  which is in E Major -, it is a piece of great melodic inspiration where the author’s taste for modulations is evident.

Llegenda and Tarantel·la were written in 1929 and premiered jointly by Margarida Orfila herself on the piano and her son Francisco Alfonso Orfila (1919-2006) on the cello, on May 11, 1941 at the Municipal School of Music from Barcelona. The reviews of this concert, published in the press of the time, refer to the healthy inspiration of the composer as well as the broad technique and vigorous temperament of the young cellist. We find two alternative titles for Llegenda: Elegia or Impresión; they all give an idea of ​​the character of the work, sung and expressive, with a more moving central section. Tarantella, on the other hand, contrasts for its liveliness with the typical rhythm of the popular dance of the same name, in which we also enjoy moments of intense expressiveness and bold modulations.