Repertoire
Double beat
I
Presentation and interpretation of keyboard compositions from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries by Rubén Ramos Nogueira.
Approximate duration: 60′
II
Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes, by György Ligeti
With the collaboration on stage of Martí Ruiz and Ignacio Aldanondo.
Approximate duration: 45′
Historical metronomes and keyboards from the Museum’s collection: Christian Zell harpsichord (Hamburg, 1737), Zumpe & Buntebart table pianos (London, 1776) and Miguel Slocker (Madrid, 1831), Érard piano (Paris, 1884) and Pérez Molero organ (Segovia, 1719).
Artists
Rubén Ramos Nogueira, creation and interpretation
Antoine Forgeron, lighting design
With the participation of students from the Master’s in Sound Art of the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona, under the coordination of Martí Ruiz.
Programme
What if tempo had been artificially accelerated to the point of completely distorting the intentions of classical composers? How would we feel if we went back in time, now that the acceleration of life causes us anxiety?
Musical performance tempo accelerated during the 19th century to such an extent that it became inaccessible to amateur performers (the intended audience for much of the period’s music), thereby distorting the intentions of many composers. This is suggested by recent research into the current misinterpretation of the metronome markings left in 19th-century scores. According to proponents of the double beat theory, these composers intended a tempo twice as slow as what we now consider correct. Playing at half the speed represents a massive change — it transforms not only the performance and listening experience but also the relationship with music itself, which from that moment became the domain of virtuoso professionals and those who commercialize art. It marked the first step toward an industry beyond domestic control, where the public becomes a passive spectator.
Once again, Barcelona’s creative factories and museums come together for a shared experience. A series of the city’s museum and heritage spaces will serve as venues for artists-in-residence from Barcelona’s artistic creation centers, whose proposals engage in dialogue with the artistic, historical, or ethnographic collections preserved in each space.
The performance includes a live rendition of György Ligeti’s Poème Symphonique for 100 metronomes.
Rubén Ramos Nogueira is a musician, writer, and performer. As a musician and artist, he has worked mainly in the field of live arts, with pieces exploring the relationship between music and life, such as the trilogy Amateur, Patada a seguir, and Can 60. He is currently working on reviving the 19th-century concept of the amateur salon and bringing it into private homes in the 21st century with the project Fanny (named after Fanny Mendelssohn), alongside Núria Lloansi, Pierre Peres, and other guest artists such as Juan Loriente and Gema Ramos. He has published two works of fiction, Punk cursi and Master, and is one of the founders of Teatron, a digital magazine specializing in live arts.
Activity within the framework of the Grec Barcelona festival.
In co-production with the Centre de les Arts Lliures – Fundació Joan Brossa.
With the support of the Barcelona Crea Grants (Creation and Museums)
Organized by: Institut de Cultura de Barcelona