Museus de Sitges

The Sitges Museums, together with Fetén Wines and Esteve Nabona, present the closing concert of Sitgestiu for the second year.
A musical and gastronomic pairing in which the audience will enjoy the Scherzo Female Choir while tasting an exclusive selection of Malvasía de Sitges wines, produced by the Sitges Hospital winery.
In addition, this year the pairing will be accompanied by appetizers prepared by Costa Rican chef Erick J. Solano.
An experience for all five senses in Sitges' most emblematic location: El Racó de la Calma.

A musical journey from the word to the soul

In this concert, three composers from seemingly distant worlds are united by a subtle and powerful thread: the poetic word and the natural landscape. Music here becomes a vehicle for contemplation, denunciation and connection with the deepest essence of the human being and the world around him. Gustav Holst, fascinated by the ancestral wisdom of India, set to music fragments of the Rig Veda, one of the oldest texts of humanity. In the Choral Hymns from the Rig Veda, op. 26 no. 3, the divine element is expressed through natural phenomena —light, fire, dawn...— with music full of mysticism and rhythmic force. Holst speaks with a modern voice from an ancient world, and what is surprising is that he himself translated the hymns from Vedic Sanskrit into English after training to do so. From the Mediterranean, Albert Guinovart invites us to immerse ourselves in the poetry of Joan Maragall with the suite El Mar. Known to the general public for his musicals, Guinovart here deploys a more elaborate language, with rich textures and harmonies, without renouncing the lyricism that characterizes him. The suite gives voice to the landscape and the poet's intimate gaze, capturing the heartbeat of a poetic sea with emotion and transparency. And already in the 21st century, Sarah Quartel, a Canadian composer, brings us closer to another nature: the interior. Her songs for female choir evoke soundscapes full of calm, hope and feminine strength. With an apparent simplicity, her music is luminous, accessible and profound. She is a singular voice that must be claimed, in a panorama where women composers are still too often invisible.

SCHERZO WOMEN'S CHOIR

The Scherzo Women's Chamber Choir is a vocal ensemble from Vila-seca founded in 1989. It has performed throughout Catalonia and Spain, and has collaborated with orchestras such as the OBC, the Vallès Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Municipal Band, the Catalan Baroque Orchestra, the Julià Carbonell Orchestra and the Terrassa 48 Orchestra. It has recorded three CDs and several concerts have been broadcast by Catalunya Música and RNE. The choir has won several awards, such as the First Prize and Gold Medal of the Orlando di Lasso International Competition in Rome and the “Europa i els seus cants” International Competition. Over the years it has collaborated with conductors such as Òscar Boada, Josep Vila, Salvador Brotons, Victor Pablo Pérez or Elisenda Carrasco, and has been invited to venues such as the Palau de la Música Catalana, the Barcelona Auditorium or the Teatro-Auditorio de San Lorenzo de El Escorial. He has premiered works by composers such as Alejandro Yagüe, Albert Guinovart, Josep M. Guix, Ramon Humet, Jordi Domènech and Manuel García Morante. The choir is currently directed by Esteve Nabona.

ESTEVE NABONA, conductor

Born in 1968, Esteve Nabona is part of a generation of choral conductors trained by masters such as Manuel Cabero, Pierre Cao, Gaby Baltès and Joan Company. After more than twenty years at the Orfeó Català-Palau de la Música Foundation, leading the Cor Jove and the Escola Coral, he currently directs the Scherzo Women's Chamber Choir and the Cambra 16 Vocal Ensemble, which he founded in 1999. As a guest conductor, he collaborates in various participatory projects, such as the Messies Participatiu de Barcelona. In 2025 he was invited again by the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile to teach a conducting course and conduct the Bach Santiago 49 concert. At the same time, he promotes the ViBracions project, which combines music and oenology. With a solid training in horn at the Barcelona Municipal Conservatory, he has conducted ensembles such as the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, the Orquestra Nacional Clàssica d'Andorra, the Orquestra Barroca Catalana or the Orquestra Camera Musicae, and has offered concerts in much of Europe and India, where he participated in a choral project in Mumbai promoted by Zubin Mehta.

Duration: 1 hour and 15 minutes
Limited places. Advance purchase