Lluís Llach i Grande (; born 7 May 1948) is a Catalan singer-songwriter, novelist and politician from

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He is one of the main representatives of the ''

nova cançó A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramat ...

'' genre and an outspoken advocate of the

right to self-determination The right of a people to self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international law (commonly regarded as a ''jus cogens'' rule), binding, as such, on the United Nations as authoritative interpretation of the Charter's norms. It stat ...

of Catalonia. His most famous song, " L'Estaca", has become the unofficial anthem of the

Catalan independence movement The Catalan independence movement ( ca, independentisme català; Spanish: ''independentismo catalán'') is a social and political movement (with roots in Catalan nationalism) which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. The beginnings ...

. He was a member of the Catalan Parliament from September 2015 until January 2018.

Music

He is one of the main representatives of ''

'' (New Song), a movement of musicians, and singers who defied

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general who led the Nationalist forces in overthrowing the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War and thereafter ruled over Spain from 193 ...

's dictatorship by singing political songs in Catalan during a time where the language, and other cultural manifestations of Catalan identity were allowed although Castillian was the official language in public institutions; nonetheless, on January 23rd, 1973, TVE aired the show ''Lluís Llach'', in Catalan languague, shot various locations in Gerona province. His famous song " L'Estaca" about a rotten stick about to fall was clear enough as an image of the regime. As many other singers, writers and politically involved artists, Llach left Spain and lived in voluntary exile in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

until the death of the dictator. Though partially dependent on arrangers, like Manel Camp or Carles Cases in his early works, Llach's songwriting has largely evolved from the more basic early compositions to a vastly more complex harmonic and melodic writing. Self-taught as a guitarist, Llach only strums simple chords on guitar. As a pianist, he shows a good knowledge of the European song tradition from

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

to Hahn with touches of

Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, Paris Conse ...

("Nounou") and his local imitators like Mompou and Manuel Blancafort ("A la taverna del mar"). Llach has used

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

piano patterns ("Terra") and jazzy whole-step block modulations ("El jorn dels miserables") and progressions ("Cançó d'amor a la llibertat"). Some early songs depicted some inspiration from Baroque dances ("Laura", "Jo sé", "Vinyes verdes vora el mar") and

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces includ ...

chord patterns ("Non", "Somniem"). Among his influences as singer, Llach has recognized

Mahalia Jackson Mahalia Jackson ( ; born Mahala Jackson; October 26, 1911 – January 27, 1972) was an American gospel singer, widely considered one of the most influential vocalists of the 20th century. With a career spanning 40 years, Jackson was integral to ...

and

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

. His lyrics can range from the most traditionally romantic songs, to more complex, philosophical song-cycles and also to some more ironic, politically based compositions, with a more upbeat tempo. Sea and vitalistic attitude in face of death are two of his cherished topics. When he doesn't write the lyrics of his songs he puts music to a variety of poets, including

Constantine P. Cavafy Konstantinos Petrou Kavafis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Πέτρου Καβάφης ; April 29 (April 17, OS), 1863 – April 29, 1933), known, especially in English, as Constantine P. Cavafy and often published as C. P. Cavafy (), was a Gree ...

, Màrius Torres, Josep Maria de Segarra, Pere Quart and, perhaps more often than with any of the others, Miquel Martí i Pol. Llach has occasionally performed as a classical

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

, including a series of performances of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (; 12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers ...

Requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

, and has also been a wine producer. He marked his retirement as front man in music with a farewell concert in Verges (March 2007), in

Baix Empordà Baix Empordà in Catalan (; en, Lower Empordà, italic=yes) or Bajo Ampurdán in Spanish () is a ''comarca'' (county) in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is one of the two ''comarca'' into which Empordà was divided in the comarca ...

on the

Costa Brava The Costa Brava (, ; "Wild Coast" or "Rough Coast") is a coastal region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Whilst sources differ on the exact definition of the Costa Brava, it can be regarded as stretching from the town of Blanes, northeast ...

, the village in which he grew up. Afterwards, he has performed incidental music for theatre pieces. His 1968 song "L'Estaca" has become the anthem of numerous freedom and political movements, including

Solidarność Solidarity ( pl, „Solidarność”, ), full name Independent Self-Governing Trade Union "Solidarity" (, abbreviated ''NSZZ „Solidarność”'' ), is a Polish trade union founded in August 1980 at the Lenin Shipyard in Gdańsk, Poland. Subse ...

in Poland, the

Tunisian Revolution The Tunisian Revolution, also called the Jasmine Revolution, was an intensive 28-day campaign of civil resistance. It included a series of street demonstrations which took place in Tunisia, and led to the ousting of longtime president Zine E ...

, the Indignados or Occupy movement in Spain, and the

Catalan independence The Catalan independence movement ( ca, independentisme català; Spanish: ''independentismo catalán'') is a social and political movement (with roots in Catalan nationalism) which seeks the independence of Catalonia from Spain. The beginnings o ...

movement, regularly sung by crowds at demonstrations.

Politics

Llach is a supporter of

and the left-wing party ERC. He stood for election in the parliamentary elections of September 2015, as an independent candidate in the

Junts pel Sí Junts pel Sí (; en, "Together for Yes", sometimes translated as "Together for the Yes"; JxSí) was a Catalan electoral, political and parliamentary alliance focused on achieving the independence of Catalonia from Spain. Established ahead of ...

(Together for Yes) pro-independence alliance. He headed the alliance's

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

for Girona, one of the four constituencies, and was elected. The coalition got 11 out of 17 seats in Girona. In

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

, Llach endorsed the left-wing, pro-independence

CUP A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, w ...

citing the issue of healthcare.

Controversial statements

In July 2017, Lluis Llach stated that civil servants in Catalonia who continued to follow Spanish law after a future declaration of independence would be "penalised". On 7 October 2017, prior to th
anti-independence unionist demonstration
the following day, he tweeted
"Tomorrow let's leave the streets of Barcelona empty. Let the vultures find no food"

Personal life

Llach is openly gay. During the trial of Catalonia independence leaders in 2019, he protested being asked to answer questions from the lawyers of the far-right party Vox, "as a homosexual and pro-independence citizen, and aspiring citizen of the world."

Discography

* ''Els èxits de Lluís Llach'' (1969) * ''Ara i aquí'' (1970) * ''Com un arbre nu'' (1972) * ''Lluís Llach a l'Olympia'' (1973) * ''L'Estaca'' (1973) * ''I si canto trist...'' (1974) * ''Viatge a Itaca'' (1975) * ''Barcelona, gener de 1976'' (1976) * ''Campanades a morts'' (1977) * ''El meu amic, el mar'' (1978) * ''Somniem'' (1979) * ''Verges 50'' (1980) * ''I amb el somriure, la revolta'' (1982) * ''T'estimo'' (1984) * ''Maremar'' (1985) * ''Camp del Barça, 6 de juliol de 1985'' (1985) * ''Astres'' (1986) * ''Geografia'' (1988) * ''La forja de un rebelde'' (1990) * ''Torna aviat'' (1991) * ''Ara, 25 anys en directe'' (1992) * ''Un pont de mar blava'' (1993) * ''Rar'' (1994) * ''Porrera'' (1995) * ''Nu'' (1997) * ''9'' (1998) * ''Temps de revoltes'' (2000) * ''Jocs'' (2002) * ''Junts'' (2003) * ''Poetes'' (2004) * ''Que no s'apague la llum'' (2005) * ''i...'' (2006) * ''Verges 2007'' (2007)

Bibliography

*''Memòria d'uns ulls pintats'' (2012) *''Estimat Miquel'' (2014) *''Les dones de la Principal'' (2014) *''El noi del Maravillas'' (2017) *''Escac al destí'' (2020)

Literature about Lluís Llach

Pep Blay's ''Lluís Llach'' (Col·lecció "Los Autores", SGAE, Barcelona, 1995) is a biography about the Catalan musician and songwriter Llach, which contains an interesting chronology, a collection of pictures, an anthology of songs and a discography.

Awards and Distinctions

* 1982: Creu de Sant Jordi *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fa ...

: Euskadi de Plata prize for the Spanish translation of ''Memòria d'uns ulls pintats''. *

: Premi de Narrativa Maria Àngels Anglada for ''Memòria d'uns ulls pintats''. * 2016: Prix Méditerranée for ''Les yeux fardés'' (French translation of ''Memòria d'uns ulls pintats).'' *

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a se ...

: Doctor Honoris Causa per la Universitat de Girona *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

: Medalla d'Or de la Generalitat

References

External links

Official website (in Catalan and Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Llach, Lluis 1948 births Living people People from Girona Catalan-language singers Spanish singer-songwriters Musicians from Catalonia Composers from Catalonia Members of the 11th Parliament of Catalonia Gay musicians 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Catalan Anti-Francoists