Riera avall (Sardana)

Premiered in 1922, Riera avall (Downstream) is the only sardana (Catalan folk musical genre) composed by Margarida Orfila. We can place it at the end of her first compositional period, after she had written works for piano, songs, and choral pieces, at a time when her output slowed down due to motherhood and her dedication to family life.

For this work, she reused motifs from her seven-voice choral piece of the same title, dated 1909 and based on a poem by Apel·les Mestres. True to her style, Orfila uses harmony and textures as key elements to create colors and contrasts between the different sections.

Riera avall was performed throughout Catalonia at various sardana gatherings between 1922 and 1929, by coblas such as La Principal de Peralada and Cobla Barcelona, among others, alongside sardanas by much more popular composers such as Pep Ventura, Enric Morera, and Joaquim Serra. In this context, Orfila’s presence as the only female composer is particularly relevant given the predominance of male authors.