Francisco Alió y Brea

Francisco Alió y Brea was born and died in Barcelona, in 1862 and 1908 respectively, and is a representative figure of the renewal of Catalan music at the end of the nineteenth century. A composer, folklorist and critic, he combined the writing of songs and piano pieces with the collection of popular material from his homeland.

His training was firmly rooted in Barcelona: he studied composition with Antonio Nicolau and Anselmo Barba, and piano with C. G. Vidiella. He worked as a music critic for several publications in the city, among them La Renaixença, L'Avenç and, between 1905 and 1908, El Poble Català. He was also an illustrator and left works of his own, and part of his painting was exhibited at a show held by the Sociedad de Acuarelistas de Barcelona.

In 1887 he published two collections of songs with piano, with texts by authors such as Àngel Guimerà, Francisco Matheu y Fornells, Apeles Mestres and Jacint Verdaguer. Three years later, in 1891, he issued Cansons populars catalanas, with arrangements of twenty-three melodies he had collected himself. These popular sources also appear in his songs and in piano pieces such as Ballet, Marxa fantástica, Nota de color and several barcarolles.

His legacy lies at the beginning of the Catalan music renewal movement, which developed in parallel with the founding of the Orfeó Català by Luis Millet and Amadeo Vives in 1891.