Palau de la Musica Catalana - a superb example of Modernista architecture

Translated in English as the Palace of Catalan Music, the Palau de la Musica Catalana is a must for any visitor to Barcelona. It is located in the narrow street Carrer de Sant Francesc de Paula, north of the Calle Princesa in the El Borne district of old Barcelona, which means that it is difficult to get an overall view of the outside without craning your neck from the street.

The nearest metro stations are the Urquinaona, Plaça Catalunya and Jaume l, and it is not far from the Plaça de Catalunya square.  Awarded UNESCO World Heritage Site status in 1997, this is a fantastic building with fabulous acoustics, and if you get the chance then make sure you attend a concert here because you will never forget the experience. However, if you can’t get to a concert the Palace is well worth a visit just for its architecture and interior.

Keep in mind that no photography is permitted inside, but you will find an interior where every square inch of it is decorated with paintings, carvings and many other forms of design such as mosaic. The Palace itself was designed by a contemporary of Gaudi, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, in the Catalan Modernista style and built between 1905 and 1908 for a choral society known as the Orfeó Català that was one of the major forces in the rebirth of Catalan arts at that time.

The façade of the building represents Catalan folk song by means of a rippling sculpture, and underneath that is a mosaic of the Orfeó, containing busts of many composers such as Wagner and Beethoven. The ornate sculptures on the outside of the building are merely a small taste of what you are about to see inside. The organ is magnificent, and the boxes are beautifully decorated.

However, nothing could ever prepare you for the fabulous stained-glass inverted globe in the ceiling:  this has been the subject of many famous award-winning photographs and is nothing less than divine. Everybody has their own favourite sculpture, painting or mosaic in the Palau de la Musica Catalana, and while for some it is the organ and for others the beautiful exterior façade, most will say that this is the crowning feature of the entire building, the stained-glass inverted dome surrounded by a stained-glass representation of a forty-strong female choir.

However, to pick out just one feature of this wonderful building would be to do it an injustice, since it was designed to be enjoyed as a whole, and not as individual miracles of artistic genius. To enjoy Palau de la Musica Catalana properly, you have to stand back and admire it for what it is and not the individual works of art that combine to make it so. The building has an effect on you that you won’t appreciate until you see it for yourself:  no photographs can adequately display its true beauty.

An example of this are the beautiful sculptures of the flower of Catalonia - the rose - that cover the entire interior. When you consider the amount of work that has gone into creating every individual one of these, then you can catch just a glimpse of the devotion of those that created this gem of what is much more than just a music hall. Another particular element is the enormous winged horses by the sculptor Eusebi Arnau that seem to fly over-head.
The vaulted walls behind the balconies are taken up with a large number of stained glass creations, crowned by the globe, or stained glass sun, in the centre.

Because of the limited amount of space available, the main concert hall was built directly above the entrance. With more than 2,000 seats in stalls and two circles, this is a magnificent setting for a concert.

The “Muses del Palau” are sculpted round the curved back wall of the stage on which the Orfeó Català perform to this day. The proscenium framing the stage is a wonderful creation with, to your left, a tree known as the “Flowers of May” from a Catalan folk song acting as the backdrop for a sculpture of Josep Clavé, the director of the Orfeó, and to your right, a sight of Beethoven poking through a rush of Wagner’s Valkyries.

Its heritage status has enabled the finance to be made available to extend El Palau to provide an additional auditorium underground, extra rehearsal facilities and a library among other facilities as part of the “A Palau for the 21st Century” project that was completed in 2004.

The best way to see the Palau de la Musica Catalana at its magnificent best is to visit a concert here, and there are regular programs of music ranging from classical orchestras to jazz and traditional Catalan folk music.  You can listen to bands and to soloists in a number of different genres of music, instrumental and vocal.

Failing that, the Palace offers daily guided tours in Catalan and English; although you are advised to purchase tickets in advance for these since they are very popular. They can be purchased up to one week in advance but they don’t take reservations. The telephone number for the booking office is (0034) 902 442 882, and concert tickets for Sundays and Holidays can be purchased at the box office from two hours before the concert, with no advance bookings on these days.

The 50-minute tour begins in the foyer and continues in the rehearsal room with a 20-minute film about the history of the building. And then continues in the grand concert hall, Lluis Millet Hall, a two-floor lounge and reception room.

You can visit official site at http://www.palaumusica.org